Saudi Arabia links Tablighi Jamaat to 'terrorism', warns people against group

Saudi Arabia’s Friday preachers have been directed to warn people against the Tablighi Jamaat group and its ‘misguidance that leads to terrorism.' Kingdom’s Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdullateef Aal-Sheikh on Monday ordered the preachers of the mosques to dedicate the next Friday sermon, which is on 10 December to raise warnings against the Tablighi and Dawah group. 

In a Twitter post, the Ministry said, “His Excellency the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr ⁧‫Abdullateef Al-Sheikh‬⁩, the preachers of mosques in which Friday prayers are held, are instructed to dedicate the next Friday sermon 6/5/1443 AH to warn against (the Tablighi and Da’wah group).”

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs also suggested that the preachers, where Friday prayers are held, talk about four major points. These included, “Declaration of the misguidance, deviation and danger of this group, and that it is one of the gates of terrorism, even if they claim otherwise; Mention their most prominent mistakes;  Mention their danger to society; Statement that affiliation with partisan groups, including (the Tablighi and Da’wah Group) is prohibited in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

What is Tablighi Jamaat?

Originated in India in 1926 during British rule, Tablighi Jamaat is an orthodox missionary movement. As per reports, it calls Muslims to follow the religion especially in matters of rituals, dress and even behaviour on a personal level. The Tablighi Jamaat group is estimated to have somewhere between 350 to 400 million members across the globe. They collectively claim that their focus is only on religion and strictly avoid political activities and debates. 

United States Institute of Peace has described Tablighi Jamaat as an “Islamic revivalist organization” before noting that, in nations such as UK, France and America, the group “has appeared on the fringes of several terrorism investigations, leading some to speculate that its apolitical stance simply masks ‘fertile ground for breeding terrorism.’”

In India, the Tablighi Jamaat group was criticised for mounting on the nation's COVID-19 worries in March when it organised a religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque. Between 13-15 March thousands of attendees from Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan and from several states in India, before Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed nationwide lockdown, allowing many of them to return. State governments had to scramble efforts to trace, test, isolate and treat the members who were present at the COVID-19 hotspot.

(IMAGE: PTI/AP)