Saudi Government
Declares the Jamaat to Be Deviant and a Danger to Society
Main
Points:
1. In
September, Maulana Arshad Madani had said that Taliban were freedom fighters
and not terrorists.
2. He had said
that if Taliban were terrorists than Gandhi and Nehru were also terrorists.
3. This is
another setback for Jamaat under Maulana Saad.
4. Kazakhstan
had already banned Jamaat in 2012.
5. Taliban have
close ties with Qatar which has rivalry with Saudi kingdom.
-----
New
Age Islam Staff Writer
14 December
2021
Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, President Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind during a press
conference. Express Photo By Amit Mehra
----
The Muslim
world was surprised by the imposition of ban on the Tablighi Jamaat that was
launched in Mewat bin 1927 by Maulana Ilyas Kandhalvi for making illiterate and
ignorant Muslims of the area aware of true Islamic teachings. The ban which was
announced recently by the Saudi government was imposed because according to the
Saudi government, it is ‘dangerous to the society’ and that it was ‘one of the
gates of terrorism’.
Surprisingly,
the Saudi government has accused the Jamaat of spreading shirk (polytheism), Qabr
Parasti (worship of graves) and Bidat (innovations). The Tablighi Jamaat,
to the contrary is against visiting Mazars and shrines and is critical of
Sufism.
The ban has
come as a surprise to many because the Tablighi Jamaat comes close to Wahhabism
or Salafism that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia espouses.
Though the
ban has been imposed officially now, it is said that the Saudi scholars did not
see the Tablighi Jamaat in good light. It viewed its activities and beliefs as
a deviation from the basic Islamic traits. For example, the former grand mufti
Abdul Aziz Ibn Baaz had said in 2012 that the group was a deviant and it was
not permissible to out with them.
Though the
Tablighi Jamaat has not been mentioned in the order issued by the ministry, it
is presumed that the Saudi government’s order is against the Tablighi Jamaat.
The order says,
"His Excellency the Minister of Islamic
Affairs, Dr.#Abdullatif Al_Alsheikh directed the mosques' preachers and the
mosques that held Friday prayer temporary to allocate the next Friday sermon
5/6/1443 H to warn against (the Tablighi and Da'wah group) which is called (Al
Ahbab),"
His Excellency the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr.#Abdullatif Al_Alsheikh directed the mosques' preachers and the mosques that held Friday prayer temporary to allocate the next Friday sermon 5/6/1443 H to warn against (the Tablighi and Da’wah group) which is called (Al Ahbab)
— Ministry of Islamic Affairs 🇸🇦 (@Saudi_MoiaEN) December 6, 2021
However,
the ban seems to be the reaction of the Saudi Arabia to the statements of Syed
Arshad Madani, the President of Jamiat Ulema Hind defending and supporting
Afghan Taliban after their ascension to power. It should be noted that Qatar
has been supporting the Taliban and has allowed them to open and run their
office in their land. Saudi Arabia’s rivalry with Qatar in economic and
political matters is known to the world.
Since the
US has been fighting against the Taliban, it might not have taken Darul Uloom
Deoband’s stand in favour of Taliban. The US and the Saudi Arabia seem to have
seen Maulana Madani’s statement supporting and defending Taliban as a
glorification of the extremist group that has been designated as a terrorist
group. Since the Tablighi Jamaat has its roots in Deoband, the Saudi Arabia may
fear that some members of the group may be influenced by Maulana Arshad
Madani’s statement.
The
Tablighi Jamaat has created its image as a reformist and non-political group.
It does not muddle in politics and concentrates only on piety and adherence to
the Islamic practices like Namaz, Roza and other Islamic practices.
But for the
first time, a religious leader of Deoband expressed his views openly in favour
of Taliban. Since, the Afghan Taliban have their ideological roots in Deoband,
defending and supporting it by a vocal and important member of Deoband schools
construes as recognition of Taliban ideology.
In an
interview given to Dainik Bhaskar in September 2021, Maulana Arshad Madani had
said,
” if fighting against subjugation is terrorism
then by this logic Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Hazrat
Shekhuddin were also terrorists”
Though
Maulana Arshad Madani denied any connection of Deoband with Taliban, he
reportedly praised Taliban as defenders of freedom and fighters against
subjugation. According to the newspaper, he further said, “They (Taliban) have
not even started ruling properly. Let them operate with freedom first. Let them
start ruling first,” he said.
It has alerted Saudi government and therefore
it seems that incensed by Maulana Madani’s espousal of Taliban ideology, it has
banned the Tablighi and Dawah group which is active in more than 150 countries
including Saudi Arabia.
The move
has come in for strong criticism from prominent clerics of India. Maulana
Salman Hasani Nadwi said that “Saudi Arabi has always been a puppet in the
hands of the Zionists and has now shown its real face to the world in delusion.
It should be noted that Maulana Salman Nadvi has already been a critic of Saudi
government because of their good relations with Madani group with whom he has
rivalry. So he found a good opportunity in this move to criticize the Saudi
government.
(Photo: Jammu Links News)
------
The rector
of Dar ul Uloom Deoband Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani issued a press statement
rejecting the accusations against the Jamaat as baseless and advised the Saudi
governmet to review its decision.
The ban
will prove big push back for the group which had come into existence in
reaction to the Hindu revivalist movement during the 1920s that were trying to
convert Muslims to Hinduism. The Pew Research Centre published an article on
Tablighi Jamaat that says,
” The Tablighi Jama’at was founded in 1926 in
Mewat, India, by Maulana Muhammad Ilyas, an Islamic scholar and teacher. The
movement began as an effort to counteract the activities of Hindu revivalists
in India, who at the time were attempting to convert Muslims to Hinduism.
Worried that existing Islamic educational institutions were not capable of
fending off the Hindu challenge, Ilyas envisioned a movement that would send
missionaries to villages to instil Muslims with core Islamic values.”
However,
the articles says that though the Tablighi Jamaat follows the Wahhabi style of
Islam it is more flexible and accepts the influence of other streams of Islamic
ideology.
“Although Deobandism originated in South Asia
(in the town of Deoband, near Delhi in northern India), it has much in common
with the Wahhabi style of Islam that is associated with Saudi Arabia’s
religious establishment. However, Deobandi doctrine tends to be more flexible
than Wahhabism and is more accepting of other Islamic approaches, such as
Sufism.”
It should
be noted that ever since Maulana Saad Kandhalvi has taken up the control of the
Tablighi Jamaat has suffered setbacks and has invited controversy. Last year,
it was accused by the Indian government of holding illegal assembly during the
lockdown and 36 foreign members of the Jamaat were arrested. However, they were
acquitted by a Delhi court later. The headquarters of the Jamaat at Nizamuddin
was sealed.
Now, the
main centre of the Islamic world, Saudi Arabia has imposed a ban on the Jamaat.
After the fatwa of the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia Abudl Aziz ibn Baz against
the Jamaat in 2012, Kazakhstan had banned the Jamaat in 2013. But the Saudi
government has abstained from imposing a ban then due to cordial relations of
the Madanis with the Saudi government. But Maulana Madani’s open support and
defence of Taliban in September has caused the damage, it seems.
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