Muslims preaching movements in British-India: An appraisal of the Tablighi Jamaat and its competitors

Abstract

The article examines emergence of the Tablighi Jamaat (henceforth TJ) in colonial India. It discusses the emergence of Tablighi Jamaat in light of the proselytizing (Tablighi) competition among various Islamic schools that emerged soon after the failure of the 1857 war. This article answers the question of why Maulana Ilyas founded the TJ in undivided India? This study aims to understand the emergence of the TJ in light of the deprivation and Maududian theory of Islamic revivalism. The discussion is based on qualitative analysis of the existing secondary sources in the form of books, research articles, and reports, etc. This study finds that TJ was founded because several Tablighi Jamaats belonged to different Islamic sects during British rule, responded to the challenges of the Muslim community. The Deobandi, Barailvi, Ahl-i-Hadith, and Shi’a Muslims established their proselytizing societies. This study concludes that the Deobandi Tablighi Jamaat emerged not only in response to the anti-Islamic campaigns of Hindus and Christians. The TJ was also founded in response to the preaching struggles of other Islamic schools in the British Raj. It is recommended that the TJ works to implement the Deobandi version of Islam in the world should be further studied