Front 5

INTRODUCTION
Tablighi JamaCat, from its rise in a rural setting in Mewat in India

to its global spread in less than a decade, illustrates a significant
variety of Muslim transnationalism. The present volume is an attempt
to understand this phenomenon . Studies of the Tablighi JamaCat gen-
erally refer to "Muslim transnationalism," "Da'wa" and "faith renewal "
as essential aspects of the movement. To provide background to the
chapters, the first section of this Introduction analyzes these three
concepts from theoretical and historical perspectives. The second sec-
tion explores Islam in Mewat, and the third the challenge of moder-
nity and the Muslim response.
1. Terms and Concepts
Tablighl JamaCat as a transnational movement has sometimes been

regarded as a potential threat to nation-state politics. Some see it as
another pan-Islamic movement, others as a fundamentalist Islamic
movement opposing the nationalistic basis of the state . These fears
reflect general debates about transnationalism and nation-states in
theoretical studi es in political science and international relations. Let
us begin by briefly outlining these debates.
"Transnationalism" implies the pr eexistence of nationalism and
nation-states. Historically, the phenomena of transnationalism (e.g.
imp erialism ) existed long before nationalism. Recent ideologies like
industrialism, eapitalism, communism and socialism have also ideal-
ized a supranational order. Transnationalism has raised several polit-
ical, cultural, religious and economic questions. For instance, docs
the rise of transnationalism imply necessarily the irrelevance of the
concept of nation-state? Is the advancement of transnational inter-
ests like trade, peace, world politics, international laws, knowledge
and education possible within nation-state systems? Culturally, trans-
nationalism tends to define the relationship between transnational and
other cultures in terms of great/little or centre/periphery civiliza-
tions . We must ask how and why certain cultures assume the status
of transnational cultures?
Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

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XI V I NTRODU CTION
J am es Piscatori (1992) has analyzed recent theoretical studies of

the ph enom en on of tran snationalism in the disciplines of political
science and intern ation al relation s. H e observes that scholarly int er-
est in tra nsnationalism's impact on the working of nation-states began
only in 1970s. "T he obvious common supposition was that nation-
states were the decisive components of int ern ational affairs" (Piscatori
1992, 4).
J oseph S. Nye (1972) and Robert K eoh an e (1977) observed that
state based int ern ational politics had failed. Roland Robert son (1978)
and othe rs found that intern ational interaction in social, political,
economic and cultural spheres had expanded to the extent that the
nation- state was becoming irr elevant. Further , global concern s like
the environment, hum an rights, and international capital made national
boundari es less significant.
Piscatori rem arks that the function alist theory had predicted that
coope ration between states and non-state sectors in such matt ers as
health and environme nt would promote interstate coope ration for
peace. The world culture would lead to 'an erosion of not only
spec ific forms of autho rity such as nation-states but authority in gen-
era l' (Piscatori 1992, 4). Some scholars, on the other hand, argued
tha t such developmen ts would not weaken nation- states bu t instead
would strengthen weaker states by connecting them with greater net-
works of power (Huntigton cited in Piscatori 1992, 4). In any case,
until now, tran snationalism has not made the states irrelevant , although
it has subjected their absolute sovereignty to high er world interests.
Regardin g the cultural aspects of tran snation alism, political econ-
omists find tran snation alism hegem onic, sprea ding the cultures of the
developed states. Some scholars have noticed a powerful trend toward
hom ogeni zation in favour of European-America n culture (Ern est
Gellne r cited in Piscatori 1992, 7).
Piscatori observes that the theoretical literatur e on tran snational-
ism has paid "minimal att enti on to religious phenomen a." According
to him , two assumption s in the social scien ces might explain this
indiffer ence. First, "The futu re of the int egrated nation-stat e lies in
secular and participat ory politics." Since religion encourages dog-
matism a nd 'intolera nce', it has no future. Second, becau se religion
favors society over the individual, it is regarded as irrational. Piscatori
qu estion s these assumptions and argues that the role of religion in
shaping the lan guage of politics, creating new communities an d gen-
era ting self-awa reness of one 's tra dition has been too crucial in

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INTRODUCTION xv
tran snational politi cs to be ignored . H e particularly refer s to Muslim

societies in this regard .
Muslim Transnationalism
Muslim transnationalism differs significantly from its Western con-

cept ion. Politically, religion do es not seem to threat en th e state . This
is first becaus e the sta te is not necessarily corre lated with nat ion al-
ism . The mo st prominent movement of nationalism among Muslims,
namely Arab na tionali sm , was not con fine d to the geo gr aphical
boundaries of a particular nation- state. Second, the Muslim nation -
states have mo stly come into existence after indep enden ce from colo-
nial regim es. The eleme nt th at has mo st un ited Muslim com m unities
during their struggle for ind ep enden ce has been , not th e usual com-
ponents of nat ionalism , namely lan guage, race, culture and territory,
but ra the r religion . Third , th e present Muslim-dominat ed territories
are mostly based on arbitra ry boundaries introduced by the European
colonial regim es. Thus, even though Muslim states are defined ter-
ritorially, the poli tical sense of na tion- stat e is not histor ically rooted
in mo st cases.
Indeed , Arabi c language, travel to Arab centres of religious learn-
ing and th e annual pilgrimage to M ecca have long provided transna-
tion al linkages among Muslim com m unities of the world. Nevertheless,
although movem ent from peripheries to th e centre has been quite
constant, during the premodern p eriod, the Muslim world always
had mul tiple cultural centres. Muslims living in the peripherie s now
ou tnumber those living in th e Ar ab world, and an inc reas ing num-
ber now reside in th e W est. Which Muslim culture is central and
which is peripher al has become, th er efor e, contesta ble.
The peripheral Muslim comm unities appear to have been more
sensitive of their transnation al linkages. For insta nce, South Asian
Muslim com m unities have pla yed a more active role th an their Ar ab
counterparts in keeping Muslim tran snationalism alive. Do'ioa has
served as an importan t tran snat ion al linkage in thi s regard. The
South Asian Muslim com m unities have also carried their religious
sensitivity and con cern for faith ren ewal to oth er Mu slim com m u-
nities abroad.
Alth ou gh the term nation-stat e may be an imperfect descript ion
of Muslim sta tes or sta tes in the contempo ra ry Muslim world, Muslim
tran snationalism has not weakened these states. It has rath er help ed

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XVI INTRODUCTION
in th e routinization of the idea of nation-state by defining 'transna-

tionalism' as a network of linkages between various Muslim states .
Transnational mo vem ents have been mo stly operating within a
nation-state fram ework. That is, even with their branches in several
countries, they have been concentrating their activities with the frame-
work of their respective nat ion-states. But then, why have these move-
ments transformed themselves into transnational movem ents?
With reference to Tablighf jama'at, we can point to two reasons.
First, Tablighf jama'at has adopted physical movement and travel
as the most effective method of personal reform. The jama'at has
gradually expanded this from local to national to transnational trav el.
Second, the jama'at has adopted transnationalism as a means of
seeking legitim acy for its ideology. The more the jama'at expa nds
transnationally the more universally its ideology is recogniz ed .
The Tablighf jama'at has adopted transnational travel and ph ys-
ical movement as a means of Da'wa, a nd travel appears to have
become a characteristi c feature of the movement. Reports about the
gatherings of the jama'at in the news media typically carry pictures
of Tablighrs walking along roadsides with bedding on their shoul-
ders or riding the trains in spectacularly large numbers. Groups of
Tablighis knocking at neighborhood doors inviting people to come
out to the mosque is a common sight in South Asia and in many
other places. The most important and frequ ent activity of an ad ept
of the jama'at is going out for God's sake.
'W hen combined with time and space, 'travel ' has a special meaning
in the Tablighf discours e. It is a physical movement from one's pre-
sent space (house, city, or country) to another. It is comparable with
the concept of Hijra, both in the sense of migration and withdrawal.
In these senses it is travel within one's self. One temporarily migrates
from dunyd (wordly pursuits) to din (religious concerns), a favorite
dichotomy among the Tablighls. It is a migration from corruption
to purity, withdrawing from wordly attachments to the Path of God.
Reform of self becom es feasible when one travels out of on e's pre-
sent setting. Staying in one's usual environment one cannot dis-
criminate between the vital and the trivial in one's life. Temporal
withdrawal enables one to give up th e trivial (tark La ya'nl), one of
the fundamental principle of the jama'at (see chapter on e). It is thus
a journey within one 's self. While going out and meeting others and
speaking to them, one is urged to keep addressing one 's self Knocking

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INTROD UCTIO N X Vll
at others' doors, one is expec ted to arrive at one's own doorsteps.

Du ring this tr avel a T ablighi creates a different space and tim e,
sacred in several respects. One repeatedly listen s to the stories of the
Prophet and his compa nions and is expec ted to imitate their model
in on e's daily routines, like eating and sleeping (see T ozy, this vol-
um e). A T ablighf is constantly reminded of the pr esence of the angels
a ro und him who inh abit the sacred space that the T ablighl has cre-
ated. With these travels a T ablighf begins to live in a world that has
different measures of success and failure (see T alib , this volume).
A T ablighi crosses several types of fronti ers in this travel. It is a
travel across the boundari es of gender since a T abllghl assumes cer-
tain roles and modes of beh aviour th at , in his original setting, belong
to the opposite gender (M etcalf, this volume). H e also travels across
the frontiers of ethnicity. T he j am a'at appeals to different Mu slim
communities across continents. A T ablighf is not the only one mad e
aware of the fact that he can tran scend national, geographical, and
lan guage boundari es across Mu slim comm unities in the world; oth er
Mu slims, too, are sensitized to the bond that creates a n 'imagined'
boundary that encloses them all. Finally, the transnat ional linkages
also convince a T ablighi of the legitim acy of his Da'wa.
Let us now turn to Daua, which has provided an imp ortan t link-
age to Muslim tra nsnati onalism.
Do'uia, or call for the renewal of faith, appears to be a common
phenome non in almost all religions in the twentieth century. Some
of these movem en ts sha re an emphasis on a return to scriptures, and
an aversion to modernization . These m ovem en ts have been called
revivalist, reformist, fund am entalist, puritan, evangelical a nd so on,
depending up on the perspective of the scholar. No twithstan ding their
utility as convenient term s for a comparative study of religious move-
ment s in oth er comm unities, one mu st not forget that these terms
were develop ed in specific contexts in Europe and America during
the last two centuries. The sema nt ic impli cation s might be distort-
ing in other religious contexts.
For instan ce, revivalism and renewal might have different specific
semantic structures in different religious tr aditi ons. Similarly, the phe -
nom ena of reformi sm, fund am entalism and evangelicalism may sha re
commonalities in, say, C hristianity and Islam , but their historical and
local contexts may shape them very differently.
Revivalism in the Western context refers to the restoration of

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XVIII INT RODUCTI ON
religious values which secularism and scientism claim to have replaced.

It does not nece ssarily mean restoration of the autho rity of churc h
and clergy, but rather the authority of scriptures that a re believed
to contain pure religion a nd its fund am entals. The fundamentalists
defend scriptures aga inst modern historical criticisms of Bible and
the cha llenge of the scientific tradition. The evangelical movem ents
take a missionary and tran snational stance to reach out to the adher-
ents of oth er religions.
The concept of "revivalism" has qu ite different connotations for
the Mu slim mov ements who define their agenda, religious or polit-
ical, in terms of datoa. The four terms, namely, ibyii, tojdid, labligh
and do'ioa, to which Mus lim mov ements refer are an alyzed below to
explain the Mus lim sense of 'revivalism.'
Iby ii (Revival)
In the hadith literature the term iby ii is used to denote the revival of
Sunna, often meaning the practice of the Prophet. An example of
th is hadith usage is the following saying of the Prophet: "W hoever
revives my Sunna (p ractice) revives me. And who ever revives me he
will be with me in Paradise" (T irmidhi n.d., 4: 151). The other ahddith
explain the meaning of revival as elimin ating bid'a , or deviation from
Islami c tradition . Bid'a could be a survival of pr e-Islami c customs in
a society, or it could be ideas and practices int roduced under for-
eign influence.
The use of the term i{zyii was often prompted whe n there was a
threat of deviation from th e tradition du e to either foreign or local
influences. For instan ce, Ghazall (d. 11 11) called his book Iby ii 'Uliim
al-Din, revival of religious sciences, to counter the imp act of Greek
sciences in his day (Al-G hazali n.d.). Again, Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328)
used it against Sufism and philosophy, which he believed were for-
eign to Islam . H e also opposed taqlid (adherence to one particular
school of Islamic law), an int ern al development in the Islam ic legal
tradition, which he regarded as a religious innovation (H aras 1952).
One mu st follow the ancients (salaj, usua lly meaning the first gen -
era tion of Islam), and deviation from their ways is called bid'a, and
mu st be avoided. The term salrifiJJ'a, which mean s those who follow
ancients as opposed to mod ern s, is closely associated with the revival-
ism of Sunna.

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INTRODUCTION XIX
The revivalism of th e ilzyii movem ents is not , however, a return

to or restoration of an agreed 'tra dition.' In stead , we find in it a
"reconstruc ted tra dition," one that is co ntested by othe rs. T o seek
legitim acy, the ilzyii movem ents invo ke the autho rity of scriptures .
The scriptures under debat e are not sim ply th e Qur' an ; more often
they are ahiiditlt texts. Compa red to oth er Fundam en talisms that ca ll
for a return to th eir prima ry scriptures, the ilzyii movem ents place
little stress on a return to the Qur'an , th e prem ier scripture in Islam .
Instead th ey emp hasize Sunna, the practice of the Prophet and his
compa nions. The focus is on scriptures, but of a differ ent type. Iby ii
movem ents also employ tran snati on al linkages to seek legitimacy and
to surp ass local authorities, and in this sense ibyii is very close to
tojdid. Indeed, bo th terms are some time s used together.
Tqjdzd (Renewal)
Tqjdld has the same root as jadid (new, modern), but it is understood
as 're newal or ren ovati on.' It is distinguished from mod ernization,
which is pejorati vely called in U rd u taj addud (Ahmad 1991a, 471 ).
Mujaddid is the person who ren ews th e religion . In Islamic tradition ,
as the followin g hadith. descri bes, this ren ewal is believed to take place
centennially:
T he Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Allah will raise for this com-
munity at the end of every hundr ed years the one who will renovate
its religion for it" (Abii Da'ud 1989, 3:80).
Muslim scholars have not un animously recognized this hadith. as essen-
tial. It is not included in five othe r reputed collections of ahiidith.
Lat er collections have also classified it under non essenti al topics such
as escha tologica l matters (e.g. ~a(fdf n.d., 8). T ojdid, in this hadith,
refers to a view of the history of religion according to wh ich the
original teac hings becom e corru pted with the passage of tim e. New
matters are adde d to the religion 's core. The function of tojdid is
to purify the religion by elimina ting the se later additions, and to
ren ew faith by returning to th e pure and original religion . Gabo riea u
(1997) regards tojdid as a Muslim conce pt of th e ren ewal of tim e,
acco rding to which there is a continuous deterioration after the period
of Prophet Muhammad . A mujaddid averts this process of deterio-
rat ion by ren ewing th e religion . This co nce ption of tajdid is not

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xx INTRODUCTION
found in the literature of the ren ewal movement. They believe that
the early centuries were the best period of Islam and that they con-
stitute the ideal to be imitated. They do not state that the period
can be repeated or recreated; no mujaddid can bring it back . Tojdid
is nevertheless a conservative concept.
Several persons in Islamic history have been claimed as mujaddids
or renovators. jamalud Drn Afghani" (d. 1897), Mufti" Muhammad
'Abduh (d. 1905) and Mawlana Ashraf 'Ali" Thanawi (d. 1941) have
recently been claim ed as th e mujaddids of the modern period (see
~a'i"di" n.d., 12; 'Abdul Bari" Nadwi 1962, 35). Mirza Ghulam Ahmad,
the founder of the Ahmadiyya Mission, is also claimed to be a
mujaddid by a section of his followers. Some Tabllghf writers also
explain Mawlana Ilyas's mission within the framework of the mujaddid
concept (Ferozpuri n.d., 5; also see Chapter four, this volume).
In India, tajdid responded to the challenges of modernity in the
twenti eth century by developing a special meaning of resistance to
changes and reform in religion . Mawlana Sulayman Nadwi defined
tqjdzd as 'overhauling' (Nadwf 1962, 35) to emphasize restoration to
the original position. The Tablighr jama'at uses the terms ibyii and
tojdid interchangeably, but the term tablzgh is more central to this
movem ent.
Tablzgh
Balagha (b-l-gh), the root verbal form of tablzgh, connotes the follow-
ing meanings: to reach one 's destination, to arrive, to achieve one 's
objective, to com e to hear, and to come of age. The verbal form
ballagha, from which the noun tablzgh is derived, means to cause some-
thing to reach, to communicate, and to report. This verb appears fre-
quently in the Qur'an (e.g., 5:67; 33:39; 7:62, 68, 79, 93), in association
with tisiila (mission of a prophet), meaning the communication of
the revelation or message. The Qur'an do es not use the term tablzgh.
The word baliigh, which is used, is considered synonymous with tablzgh
by Qur'anic lexicographers (Isfahan! 1961, 60). The Qur'anic usage
signifies that communication of the message alone is the objective.
Conversion is not the duty or the mission of a prophet or a preacher;
this is left to the free choic e of the addressees.

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INTRODUCTION XXI
And say to the People of the Book and to those who are unlearned:
Do you submit yourselves? If they do, they are in right guidance. But
if they turn back, your duty is only to convey the message (Balagh)
(3:20).
Had God willed, they had not been idolaters. We have not sent you
as a Keeper over them, nor are you responsible for them (6: I 07).
These and other verses (e.g., 5:99, 105; 13:40; 16:35,82; 42:48) em-
phasize a very significant asp ect of the Islamic concept of tabligh, that
the duty of a preacher ends with the communication of the message.
Another literal meaning of tablzgh is communication. The mean-
ing of preaching or a mission is produced when tablzgh is combined
with nsala or Da'ioa. The Qur'an uses the term risala in conjunction
with the word balagha or ballagha. Do'ioa often replaces the word
nsiila in common usag e to produce the phrase tabligh al-Daioa (com-
munication of call). In modern usage, tablzgh and Daioa ar e often
used interchangeably. In modern Urdu usage tablzgh by itself has
acquired the meaning of mission or proselytization. Qa<;lf Sulayman
Mansurpurr defined tabligji as follows: "Tablzgh means calling others
toward on e's religion" (1928, 4). This particular sense of tablzgh is a
product of developments in the twentieth century, especially within
the context of Hindu and Christian missionary activities during this
period, discussed in th e next section. The Tabljghi Jama'at defined
tablzgh without reference to conversion, probably to avoid this par-
ticular sense of tablzgh and Da'wa.
Da'wa (root d-C-w), literally meaning 'to call,' connotes the following :
invitation to a meal, prayer, invocation, vow, appeal , claim and law-
suit. Usually, the verb do'a means to 'call on ,' and 'pray' if it is
addressed to God. If it is suffixed with the preposition an, it means
'to invite to something.' The word Daioa has been used in the Qur'an
to mean 'invocation,' 'prayer' (2:186; 13:14), 'claim ' (40:43), and 'call'
(14:44; 30:25). Da'ioa and its related words mean mission wh en used
with reference to the Prophets and other people who were assigned
such missions (12:108; 14:22 , 44 ; 33:46; 71:5- 8). The following
Qur'anic verses illustrate this point:

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XX II INTRODUCTION
Who could be a bett er person than the one who called (daC ii) toward
God and acted right eou sly (4 1:33).
There sho uld be a gro up of people amo ng you wh o call (y arfuna)
to good, enj oining [what is known to be] good and forbidding [what
is know n to be] evil (3: I 04).
The T ablighf J am a'at defines its mission with in the fram ework of
these verses. According to the m, Da'wa mean s enj oining good and
forbidding evil (Amr bil-ma'ru]' wa nahi 'anil munkar). The acceptance of
the message is left to the free choice of a person. "T here is no com-
pul sion in religion. Truth is henc eforth distinct from falsehood"
(2:256). The Qur'an , therefore, cons iders the mission acco mplished
when the T ruth has been made known to a person.
Wh en it is said to them , "co me to wh at God has revealed , come to
th e Apo stle," they say, "Enough for us are th e ways we found our
fathers following." What! Even though their fathers were void of knowl-
edge and guidance? Oh you who believe! You have cha rge of your
own soul s. He who errs does not harm you if you follow guida nce .
All of you will return to God, H e will then inform you of what you
used to do (5: 104- 105).
Mawlan a Ilyas, the founder of the T ablighf Jama'at, elaborates th is

point as follows:
One ca nnot call others to religion by compulsion, bu t it is possible
only in th e manner th at tru th may be sifted from the untruth and the
genuine mu st be distinguish ed from the counterfeit. T o use human
force to make people acce pt the divine message do es not mean ob e-
dien ce to God, but it is rather compliance of human ord ers (Kandhalwi
1962, 15).
It appears from th e Qur'an th at Da'wa combines two acts sim ulta-

neously: invitation and claim. When some one invites another to God
he also claims the truth of his mission . Hi s duty is complete with
the call, becau se tru th and falsehood are clear to the human mind,
which is free to choose between th em . T he person who denies this
invitation deni es also the claim to th e truth. It is the n for God to
take action; the preach er has no furth er charge. This sense also
reflects the pre-Islami c usage of Da'wa meaning 'a call to help ,' mostly
in trib al wars (Ibn M anzur 1988, 4, 361). In the Qur'an 'Da'wa'
means also calling up on God to help a nd establish the proof of that
truth. T he Qur'an na rrates stories of prophets who wer e denied and
whose people wer e consequently punished as a proof (1 6: 11 3; 26:189;
29:37; 39:25; 54 :18).

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INTROD UCTION XXIII
The Qur'an prescrib es Da'wa as both an individu al and a collec-

tive du ty of Mu slims. Prophet Muhammad explained the scope of
the performan ce of th e dut y, saying that a believer mu st correct evil
by hand or by tongue, respec tively, dep ending on his or her abili-
ties. Failing that, one sho uld at least conde mn the evil in one's heart
(M uslim 1954, I:69). T he three levels in this hadith, hand, tongue
and heart , provided a basis for the doctrine of Tart/bud Da'wa (p ri-
ority in Da'wa), as three levels or phases of Islami c mission in the
following descending orde r: J ihad (physical strugg le), Da'wa (commu-
nication) and hijra (abandoning, migration), respectively.
Theology
Among the early Muslim sects, the Mu'razilis and the Ash'aris differed
regarding the basis of religious obligations. The Ash'arfs argued that
obligations come into effect with Revelation or its Da'wa. The Mu 'tazilis
believed that reason was the tru e source of obligation, religious or
otherwise (Ahmad 1965, 69; Zuhayli 1986, 146; Ibn Humam 1898,
165- 166; Baghd adi 1928, 262-264; Bayhaqi n.d., 76). Co nsequently,
the Ash'aris believed th at Da'wa was necessa ry to com munica te
Revelation to the people. The people who do not receive Revelation
or Da'wa have no obligation . The Mu'tazilis held that such people
were still obliged to do good a nd avoid evil acco rdi ng to their ra tio-
nal percepti on and that they would be judged by Go d acco rdingly.
It is clear from these discussions that the subject of Da'iua in this
period was enjoining good and forbidding evil iamr bil mo'riif wa nahi
'anil munkar). Its audience includ ed both Muslims a nd non-Mu slims.
After the conquest period in Islam , Muslim theologian s gene ra lly
came to consider it imp ossible to imagine a community in any part
of the world that was ignorant of Islam . Con sequ ently, Da'wa was
no longer a perennial obligation. Only in tim es of war was da'wa
required as a form of legitim ation .
In Fiqh books , Da'wa was treat ed as a p robl em of comm unica-
tion. Buliighud Da'wa, or the qu estion wheth er the call to Islam ha s
reach ed its destination , was a qu estion on which the jurists differed
a mong th em selves. The followers of M alik b. Anas (d. 795), Zayd
b. 'All (d. 740) and a Shafi'I jurist al-Mawa rdi (d. 1031), rega rded
Da'wa as obligatory before every battle with non-Muslims, regardl ess
of whet her the ene my had knowledge of Islam or not. The lrn arni
Sh r'a , the Iba9I, and a majority of Sun ni scho lars ma intained tha t

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XXI V INTRODUCTION
Daioa was obligatory only if the enemy had not heard of Islam at
all. The Hanbali School did not consider it an obligation because Islam
was universally known (ZuQayll n.d., 136fI ; ZUQayil 1989, 4 19).
The H anafis in Indi a held similar views in the twenti eth century .
The 'ulamd of Deoband maintained that every non-Mu slim was obliged
to acce pt Islam becau se the message of Islam had reach ed the whole
of mankind (Sherk6tl 1985, 134). Mawlan a 'Ubaydullah Sindhi
(1872- 1945), a convert from the Sikh religion to Islam , disagreed
with this view, saying th at Da'ioa was the duty of Mu slims and that
non -Muslims cou ld not be held responsible for not acce pting Islam.
During the debate, th e Qur'ani c verse s (2:62; 5:69) that promise
reward in the hereafter for believing and practicing C hristians and
J ews as well was cited. The verse imp lied that conversion to Islam
was not necessary. M awlan a Manazir Ahsan Gllanl rebutted this
claim by arguing that the beliefs mentioned in these verses included
belief in the propheth ood of Muhammad (Gllanl 1962, 223).
Institutionalization
In the light of the above discussion it is easy to understand why
Mu slims had no regula r mission ary orga nizat ion. Am ong modern
scho lars, Wahba Zuhayli (n.d., 55), Muhammad al-Ghazali (1 988,
80) and Thomas Arno ld (1968, 443; 1958 ,746) have explicitly noted
the absence of such an orga nization in Islam . ~alil! (1968), in his
history of the instituti ons in ea rly Islam , does not menti on the exist-
ence of a ny proselytizing organization. Muslim writer s frequently
criticize past Muslim rulers for not esta blishing suc h institutions
(G hazall 1988, 80).
The ab sence of such a referent for Daioa in nin eteenth century
encyclopedias also suppo rts our point. The Shorter Encyclopedia cf Islam
(Juynboll 1961) defines Daioa only as an accusation or arraignment
of a legal claim. A Dictionary of Islam (H ughes 1885/1 964, 472) men-
tions several terms under Da'ioa, but not preachin g. On the other
hand, under "preaching" it refers to khatib, mudhakkir, wii.ci?, and ndsih,
but not to Daroa or tabligh. This means that during the nin eteenth
and ea rly twenti eth centuries whe n these works appeared, no insti-
tution for Do'ioa existed, nor did Western writers yet associate the
term Da'toa with preachin g.
In fact, Western ers genera lly believed that Islam was not a mis-

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INTROD UCTION xxv
sionary religion. T. W . Arno ld had to argu e at length that the concept

of Daioa existed amo ng Mu slims and that Islam was indeed a mission-
ary religion, although it had no organized m issiona ry instituti ons as
did C hristianity (Arn old 1968, 4 13). H e noted that when the British
Government of the Sud an marked out zones of influence for various
C hristian missionary societies, M uslims in Egypt demanded a zone for
Islami c Da'wa. The demand was turn ed down becau se Mu slims had
no missionary organization (Arnold 1968, 443; Go ldziher 1952, 343).
C ertain histor ical factors discouraged the orga nization of Da'wa
as a sta te instituti on . First, Da'wa was regar ded as a function of
proph ets. Since prophecy came to an end with Proph et 1\1 uh amrnad ,
the concept of Da'wa had to be redefined. Although Do'ioa is still
characterized as "a prophetic work " (M awdudi 1940, 76), it came
to be seen as a responsibility of the Muslim Umma. Second, Da'wa
was considered a function of J ihad. Like J ihad, after the period of
conquests it came to be classified as a collective duty (fa rr/ kifaya)
ra ther than a personal du ty.
During the Uma wi period (660- 750), Da'wa began to be politi-
cized. The state obliged a new convert to change his nam e and to
adopt Arabic as his lan guage (Fatimi 1963, 124, 129). This empha-
sis on Ara bic led to pr otests by the non-Arab s. The Kh awarij, Shi'a,
Fatimi and 'A bbasi movem ents politicized Da'toa aga inst the Umawis
and called for altern ative political orders. The Kh awarij conde mned
their political oppo nents as disbelievers and declared Jihad against
them to be a person al religious du ty. The Fatimis organized Da'wa
more efficiently, with a distinct hierarchical structure and secrecy at
various levels (H amdani 1976, 86).
T he politicization of Da'uia had serious implications for its further
growth . First, the state tried to control Da'wa movem ents. Since in
J ihad permission of the imam (ruler) was need ed, and Da'ioa was
closely linked with J ihad, the state mad e permission of the ruler nec-
essary also for Da'wa. The state, however, did not develop an official
organization for this purpose. Second, theologian s and jurists redefined
the concept of Da'wa within th e fram ework of amr bi'l-marif wa nahiy
'anil munkar (enj oining good and forbidding evil) in order to assign
Da'wa to 'ulamii, although it was still subj ect to the ruler 's permis-
sion ('Awda 1959, I :495- 500). Co nseque ntly, Da'wa came to be lim-
ited to the forms with which the 'ulamii were familiar. Al-Iluri (1 979)
menti on s the following as forms of Da'wa: wa'? (speech), tadris or

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XXVI INTRODUCTION
ta'lim (teaching), tasnif wa talif (writing books), irshad (guidance) and

tadhkir (reminding). They all typified individual efforts, not mission-
ary organiz ations.
Political Do'ioa movem ents often worked secretly. Som e of them ,
like the Fatimis in India, operated in such a fashion that it was hard
to distinguish them from Hindus.
The ~ufi Daioa also develop ed its own system indepe ndent of the
state. T he ~ufis defined conversion as tawba, meaning to return . In
oth er words, it placed stress on making J'vluslims tru e Muslims. The
~ufi orders wer e closely connec ted with educa tion, guilds and sol-
diers. ~ufi Da'wa included welfare and health programmes in the
form of cha rms, am ulets and prayers for the sick and needy, and
also the fear of divine wr ath for those who denied the Sufis. The
~ufi Da'wa was nonpolitical and nonmissionary . The focus of Daioa
on conversion of non-Muslims to Islam reem erged in reaction to
European Christian missions.
Modem Da'wa Movements

There are numerous Da'wa organi zations working at present, and it
is not possible to list them all in this essay. A selected list is given
in appe ndix 1. Instead of a detailed an alysis of them , a compa ra-
tive ana lysis is provided in the form of a cha rt, which requires some
brief explanation.
This cha rt analyzes sixteen aspects of th ese mov em ents. The first
three categories are yea r of foundation, country of origin and sec-
tari an affiliation. In this list only one mov em ent belongs to the Shl'l
sect; oth ers are Sunni, one of which was declar ed non-Muslim. The
next three categories an alyze their relation ship with the state and
aspects of their organization. Four of th em are sta te sponsored Datoa
mov em ents and the oth ers are privately established. Besides the state
or gani zations, on ly one, the Ahma diyya Mission , is registered. T he
T abllghl j ama'at is not registered in its country of origin. It does,
howe ver , operate as a registered society in some countries in Europe
and Africa. All organizations hav e a system of registered regul ar
membership , with the exception of the T ablighf j am a'at , which does
not maintain regula r membership . Anyone can join in or leave the
j ama'at activities at an y time , and there is no membership fee.
The next ten categories an alyze the agenda of Datoa. Most of
these movem ents are non-political; only five have an explicit politi-
cal age nda . Three of them ar e sta te sponsore d and two (M uslim

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INTRODUCTION XXVII
Brotherhood and JamaCat Islami) are private. Most of these move-

ments work among Muslims; only four work among non-Muslims
for their conversion to Islam. Five movements have Sufi affiliations.
All of them operate transnationally in at least one or two countries
outside their country of origin. Most have mosques as the centre of
their activities, and some have their own mosques.
With the single exception of Tablfghf JamaCat, all of them have
their own publication programs and periodicals. Only three support
militancy and have participated in militant operations. Except for
Tabljghf JamaCat, all have educational and welfare programs as part
of their Do'ioa. The Tablighf JamaCat has educational institutions
attached to some of its centres but these are not part of its Do'ioa
activities.
Lastly, the movements are usually ambiguous regarding the ques-
tion of female participation in Daioa activities. Most of them have
programmes for women, and some even have women members,
but their activities are generally limited. No clear information on this
is available for four of the organizations. The Tablighi JamaCat allows
limited female participation under due care (see Metcalf and Faust,
this volume).
Datoa organizations in the modern period have generally worked
in four areas. First is the defence of Islam against Christian and
other non-Muslim missionaries, and to make counter or parallel mis-
sionary efforts to gain new converts to Islam. Organizations such as
the Ahrnadiyya Mission in India, founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
(d. 1908), and PERKIM (Pertubuhan Kebajikan Islam Se Malaysia) are
examples of this type. The missionary form of Da'wa often follows the
model of modern Christian missionaries. Organizations like the World
Council of Mosques, the Organization for the Distribution of the
Qur'an, and JamCiyyatul Shubbanil Muslimin resemble the World
Council of Churches, the Bible Society, and the YMCA, respectively.
The second area in which Da'wa organizations have worked is for
the education and welfare of the Muslim community. Abd al-Rahman
al-Kawakibi's JamCiyyat Ta'Iirnil Muwahhidin in Egypt, and several
other educational movements in India like the Aligarh Movement,
laid the foundation for this type of Da'wa. The early educational
movements favoured modernization of education, with emphasis
on Western sciences . The educational movements led by the 'ulamii,
such as the Deoband School, stress purely traditional religious edu-
cation. Tablighf JamaCat found Da'wa work in this area to be quite
ineffective.

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~
~
s:
SOM E DA'WA MOVEMENTS*
Ser ial Na me AL'V1 ICS MB PM HOI DAM MWL JI MA TJ

Num ber (I) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)
Categor ies
I YEAR 1889 1972 1928 1960 1957 1968 1962 1941 1960 1934
2 COUNTRY India Libya Egypt Malaysia Iraq M alaysia Arab ia India Egypt Ind ia
3 SECT Ahm adi Sunni Sun ni Sunni Shi' a Sunni Sunni Sunni Sunni Sunni
4 SPONSOR Priv State Priv State Priv Priv State Priv Stat e Priv
5 REGISTERED Yes Yes No Yes No No ? No ? In some ..,51
coun tries 7"
6 OPEN No No No No No No No No No Yes 0
I:'
7 POLIT ICA L No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No c:::
8 NON-MUSLIM Yes No No Yes No No Yes No Yes No o
:j
9 ~OFI Yes No Yes No No Yes No No No Yes 0
10 M O SQUE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Z
II T RANSNATION Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
12 PU BLICITY Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
13 M I LITAL~T No No Yes No Yes No No Yes No No
14 ED UC AT ION Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes In some
countries
15 WELFARE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
16 WOMEN Yes ? Yes Yes ? Yes ? Yes Yes Yes
* O rgani za tion nam es are given in a bbreviated forms corresponding with those listed alpha betically in appe ndix I.
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INTRODUCTION XXIX
The th ird area of Da'wa relates to politics, either state sponsored

or independent. State spo nsore d Da'wa goes ba ck in rece nt history
to the Ottom an Sultan 'Abdul Hamid I (l 725~ 1789), who claimed
authority over Muslims everywhe re as a defender of religion . Sultan
'Abdul Hamid II (1876- 1909) sent emi ssari es to Muslims out side
Turkish borders to obtain recognition as a caliph of Islam . This
Da'wa sat well with Europ ean s, who wer e used to comparing Muslim
khalifa with the Pop e (Arn old 1968, 167-17 3, 190- 194). M odern ex-
amples of the state spo nsore d Da'wa ar e al-Maj lisul A' ia lish Shu 'un
al-Islamiyya in Egypt, R abitatul 'Alamil Islami founded in Saudi
Arabi a and J am'iyyatul Da'watil Islamiyya in Libya.
Muslim Brotherhood and J ama'at Islami illustrat e political Da'wa
movements tha t are not stat e sponsored. This type of Da'wa is tran s-
national as well as national in that they seek the un ity and solidar-
ity of the Muslim Umma and hav e established br an ches and offices
in oth er countries. They are national insofar as they work for the
form at ion of Islam ic states in particular countries.
T he fourth a rea of Da'wa is th e reform of religion and religious
practices. In this area we find three general approaches: mod ern-
ization, revivalism and faith ren ewal. Modernists aim at reforming
traditional Islam to meet the cha llenges of mod ern ity. T hey inter-
pret Islam from a liberal, dynamic and forw ard looking perspective.
They do not rejec t th e valu e of fiqh (texts) but they reject adherence
to them . Revivalists reject modernity as well as tr ad ition as expressed
in fiqh schools and $iifi orders. T hey call for the revival of the orig-
inal Islam , and oppose modernity as secular ism and ma terialism .
Several revivalist trends with various int erp retations are contested by
other Mu slim groups.
The faith renewal approach, such as Tablrghl J ama'at' s Da'wa,
addresses similar issues. It also speaks of revival and reform, but
these ar e comparatively mo re objectified. Revivalism here refers to
the restorat ion of the religiou s tradition, which is established in $iifi
orders and schools of Islamic law. It rejects modern ity as manifested
in materialism and secularism . The focus on faith renewal is explained
by saying that the faith has been corru pted a nd needs to be ren ewed.
T he faith ren ewal movem ents are often rooted deeply in their local
environme nts. Their Da'wa can be properly understood only with
reference to their local contexts , to wh ich we now turn .

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xxx INTRODUCTION
II. Mewat
Having analyzed the concepts of transnationalism and Daioa, we now

examine the concept of faith renewal, with particular reference to
South Asia. The 'ulamii and the Sufts both emphasize faith renewal
in their Daioa. They differ, however, in their emphasis on shari'a
(Divine Law). The 'ulamd stress the supremacy of shari'a as expressed
in fiqh . The Sufls find fiqh concerned only with the external aspects
of shari'a, disregarding the inner meanings which the ~iifi Da'wa
highlights. Tablighi ]ama'at's approach is closer to that of the 'ulamii.
South Asian Muslims, especially the 'ulamii and the elite, regarded
both Hinduism and modernity as threats to their faith and identity,
and these threats intensified in twentieth century Mcwat where
Tabltghi ]ama'at originated.
Mewat, the land of the Meo Rajput tribes, is a vast area in Central
India to the south of Delhi and north of Hadiitl. The river ]amna
lies to its east and to the west is K6t Qasim. During the British
period, Mewat included the princely states of Alwar and Bhartpur
and the district of Gurganwa, and some parts of the district Mithra,
Present day Mewat consists of the area from Sohna to Ferozpin'
]hirka and Alwar, and some parts of Bhartpur (Shams 1983, 17).
The geographical conditions in the area shaped the habits and
lives of the Mcwatis. They lived a hard life and were constantly
occupied in robberies, raids and rebellions. They trace their geneal-
ogy to Meeds from Central Asia (C unningham cited in Shams 1983,
18; Mewatf 1979, 35). Shams (1983, 30) says that the Meos claim
to be a warrior class, the Kashatriya, and adds that they belong to
the same stock as the Minas of Rajputana, who later mixed with
the Rajputs. In Indian history they are mentioned frequently as
attacking and plundering Delhi (Nadwi 1985, 74). Qadirr (1971)
explains that the Mewatis found it hard to integrate with the Delhi
Sultanate because the rulers treated them as inferior to the privileged
nobles, who were mostly from Arab, Persian or Turkish families.
The Meos continually rebelled against Delhi and suffered the con-
sequences. Sultan Balban massacred many to subdue the tribe in
1267 (M ewatf 1979, 38). Mewatis, under Bahadur Nahar and Lakhan
Pal, fought against the Tughlaqs (1320- 14 13). Sultan Fer6z Shah
Tughlaq (1351-1388) integrated Mewat into Delhi Sultanate. Lakhan
Pal accepted Islam, and the Sultan founded a cantonment in Ferozpur

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INTROD UCTIO N XXXI
Jhirka, also known as Hisar Fero z (Nadwi 1985 [1944] , 74; M ewatf
1979, 38). Opposition to Delhi continued during th e Mughal period.
Shahjah an 's armies raided M ewat to crush a rebellion. After th e
British con quest of Delhi in 1807 Lord Lake also massacred M eos
to subdue them com pletely (M cwati 1979, 38), and after 1857 William
Fra zer did so aga in (Ali 1970, 24ff.). W e see th en th at historically
M ewat has been un able to int egra te politically into Muslim India.
It is gene rally claimed th at M ahmud Ghaznawf and Salar Mas'ud
Ghazr converted M eos to Islam in the twelfth century (M jr M ahbub
'Alf M ewatf d. 1853 cited in M ewatf 1979, 52; Kaye Watson and
W. Hunter cited in Sham s 1983, 34). H abibur Rahman Khan Mewatf,
how ever , argues that M eos, as M eeds, had acce pted Islam already
du ring Muham mad b. Q asim's rul e in Sind (M ewatf 1979, 52).
In fact, Islam came to India gradually and in several ph ases through
soldiers and th e ~ufls . O f severa l ~ufi or ders working in India the
following five came to Mcwat : Chishtiya,' Qadiriya,2 Suhrawardiya,"
I Shaykh Khw eshgi (d. 1155) int rod uced the C hishtiya orde r among the Afghans
(Ikram 1992, 190). T he second imp or tan t inr oad was made by Khw aja Mu 'inud
Din (d. 1235) in Ajmer, who arrived duri ng the reign of Sultan Muhammad Ghawri
(d. 1206). The C hishtis worked mainly among th e Rajpu ts. Baba Farid's disciple
Makhdu m Sabi r (d . 1291) is buried in Kalyar, Sa haranpur, The C hishtis were pop-
ular amo ng the local po pulatio n becau se they never acce pte d fina ncia l suppo rt or
esta tes from the kings (Ikram 1992, 192). Delhi became the centre of the C hishtiya
from Kh awja Nizarn ud Din Awliya (d. 1325); on e branch of their orde r was ca lled
Niza rniyya after him. T he area aro und the hospice lat er becam e known as Ba stf
Nizarnud Din . M awlan a Ilyas belonged to the Sab iriyy a branch of the Ch isht iya, yet
he began his work in this Basn where the headqu arters of the J ama'at arc now located .
The Sabi rivya , attributed to Makh d um 'Ala' ud Din 'Ali Ahm ad Sabi r of Kalyar
Sha rif (d. 1291), a relative and disciple of Bab a Fa rid Ganj Shakar (d. 1265), became
po pu lar in Northern Indi a dur ing th e fifteenth century. T his bra nch was known for
its active interest in the prop agation of religion. Sab iriyya rose to promin ence thro ugh
th e efforts of Shay kh 'Abdul Q uddus of Gangoh (d . 1537), who supported the Lodis
in their battle aga inst the Mu ghals. The Sa biriyya was frequently in conflict with
M ugha l Delhi, and only D ara Shikoh had cord ial relation s with them.
2 The Q ad iriya ~ u fl ord er, att ributed to Shay kh 'Abdu l Q adir J ilani (d. 1165),
was introduced into India by M akhdum M uh am mad G ila ni (d. 1517), who ca me
fro m Iran an d settled in Uc hch, near M ultan (Panjab), du ring the period of Sultan
Sikandar Lodi (d. 1516).
3 T he Suhraward iya order, attributed to 'Abdul Qahir Abu Najib al-Su hrawar di
(d. I 168), was introduced into India by Bah a'ud Din Zakariyya (d. 1262), and spread
to Kashmi r, Bengal, G ujarat, Sind and Baluch istan. This ord er rem ained close to
the Muslim kings and accepted gra nts from them. T hey gene ra lly worked among
th e Mu slim elite and in political centres.

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XXX11 INTRODUCTIO N
Naq shbandiya" and M ad ari ya .' M ewatf (1979, 182-440) mentions

th e names of more th an forty Chishti ~iiffs in Mewat, including
Mu'Inud DIn Ajm erf (d. 1235), Sh aykh Muhammad Turk Narnawli
(d . 1244), Sh aykh Chap an (d. 1589), Shah Chokha (d . 159 1) and
Mi yan M astan Shah (d. eighteenth century). Among th e Q adiriyya,
more th an twenty ~iiffs came to M cwat (M ewatf 1979, 47 3-610).
One Q ad irl ~iiff Miyan Lal Khan , alias Lal D as (d . 1754), is claimed
to have instructed Dara Shikoh on spiritual matters (M ewatl 1979 ,
600 -60 1). Nine Suhrawardi ~iiffs of the Rasul Shahl M ajdhub ord er
(M ewatl 1979, 639-664) and seven Naq shb andi ~iiffs cam e to M ewat
(M ewatl 1979 , 611 ~ 638) .
The M adariya order became more popular among th e Rajput
trib es of M ewat . T heir soldierly appearance and organizational struc-
ture p robably appealed to the warrior M eo tribes . According to
Habibur Rahman Khan M cwatf, Shah M adar came to Mewat in
th e later days of his life. Miyan Chand Shah (d. 1395), wh ose tomb
is in Ghansoli, became Shah Madar's disciple in Alwar (M ewatl
1979, 412 ). Another ~iiff of the M ad ari ya order was Khwaja 'A bdur
R ahman , popularly known as Chuhrsiddh (d . 1599). Hi s tomb in
C handoli is a popular shrine . The tomb of anothe r M adari ~iiff
known as Ghazf Gaddan , probably Ghazanfar 'All (d . 1599), was
built in the days of Sh ah J ahan (M ewiUI 1979, 416 ).
Two no table Madari ~iiffs-Baba K apur and Baba Gopal- are
revered by the M ewatfs . Shah 'Abd ul Ghafur (d . 1571 ), popularly
• The Naqshbandiya order, attributed to Shaykh Bah a'ud Din Naqshband (d. 1390),
came to Ind ia with Babur who was devoted to Kh awj a 'Ubaydullah Ahr ar. Kh awja
Baqi Billah , a disciple of Kh awja Ahrar form ally introduce d the order. His disciple
Sh aykh Ahmad Sirh indi, known as th e Muj addid Alf Thani, tra nsformed the
Naqshba ndiya order into a reformist and politically active $ufi ord er. H is bran ch
later ca me to be known as Naqshbandiya Muj addidiya.
5 The Mad ariya, more popul ar among the illiterate masses than among the 'ulamd,
is attributed to Sha h Badf'ud Din Mad ar (d. 1434). Sha h Mad ar came to Kalpi
(India) from Hurmuz (Iran) and quickly gained popu larity among the people for
his ascetic practices. T he Mad ariya were accused of living naked and using ashes
to cover thei r bodies. Prob ably their emphasis on ascetic ism and minimal clothing
led to such exaggerations. There are nine orde rs of his successors, all ca lled 'ashiqan
(devotees): Imam Na wrozi, Sokht a Shahi, Kama r Basta, La'l Shahbazi, Bab a Gop al,
Lakh a Shah i, Kalami, Kam al Qadiri and Karim Shahl. T hese orders take their
nam es from the disciples of Shay kh Kapur. Imam Naw roz was a soldier who joi ned
Shaykh Kap ur. Sokht a Shah refers to Sayyid 'Abid who used to play with fire in
his states of j adhb (spiritual states of possession) withou t being burned . La'i Shahbaz
refers to Sha h Arnan ullah .

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INTRODUCTION XXXlll
ca lled Baba Kapur, ca me to M ewat from K alpi . A water carrier by

profession , he had serve d in th e Muslim army. Shaykh 'Abdul Haq
describes him as a majdhub (possessed per son ) wh o ate and wore
very little. H e is kn own as Sh aykh M adar's successor (M ewatr 1979 ,
42 4ff.), and his tomb is in G aw alior. Hi s disciple Baba G op al, a con-
vert from Hinduism , is described as a prince wh o abdicat ed his
thron e for asceticism. In a co mpe tition of ascetic (y oga) feat s, he lost
to Bab a Kapur and becam e his disciple (M cwatl 197 9, 422). It is
significant to note th at most co nve rts to Islam adop t Ar abi c names,
but he retained his Hindi nam e. Both th ese Suns wer e reponsiblc
for th e sp read and organization of th e Madariya order in this area.
An annual festival was held in Makanpur at the tomb of Shah Badi 'ud
DIn Madar, which M ewati discipl es celebrated in a cerem onious
manner. First th ey gathe red for two or three days in th e pla ces wh ere
branch es of th e M ad ari ya order were already esta blishe d. From th ere
th ey tr aveled in gro ups, ca rrying flags, to M akanpur. The flags wer e
offere d at the grave and fixed th er e.
Madari ya attract ed more peopl e among th e m asses of th e lowest
stra ta th an other Sun orde rs. The M adari Suns belon ged to lower
service classes like wat er- carrier s, privat e soldiers and juggler s. One
may suppose severa l reason s for th eir popularity; th eir mi raculous
feat s suc h as playin g with fire, and th eir sold ier-Sun im age, known
popularly as ghii:(i, mu st have attract ed the M co warriors.
Comparing th e variou s Sun orders, Shaykh Ikr am concludes th at
all of th em stresse d th e significance of dhikr (chant ing God's nam es).
Yet while th e C hish tiya perform ed dhikr loudly while moving th eir
bodi es, th e Naq shbandiya insisted on silent dhikr. The Suhraw ardiya
and th e Q adiriya allowed both loud and silent dhikr. On th e ques-
tion of samii' (listening to mu sic), again, th e Chishtiya practiced it,
while the Qadiriya and the Naqshbandiya forbade it. The Suhrawardiya
ga ve it no importance, with th e exce ption of a few prominent indi-
vidu als among th em . The Q adiriya distinguished them selves by includ-
ing dariid (salutations to th e Prophet) in the dhikr. Of th e four orders,
th e Naqshb andiya were most strict in observing shati'a. Others believed
th at T ariq at (T ariqa , Sun Order ) was conce rned with th e inner
meaning of religiosity while shari'a cared more for th e extern al form
(Ikra rn 1992 , 254). The SufI orde r of Madariya obviously focu sed
th e least on external forms of religiosity and scho lars like Massignon
classify it as a Hindu sect (196 1, 67 6).

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XXXIV INTRODU CTION
N ominal Islam
It is quite com mon to describe M ewatls as Muslims in name only.

Allow me to reproduce som e typical descriptions, whi ch will then
be analyzed.
M awlawi Murad 'All, who accompanied his father on a tabllgh
tour in Mewat recalled th at R ajii Khan, a head of one town , had
lon g whi skers, no beard , and wore a sm all cloth aroun d his loins,
barely covering his p rivate parts (Ali 1886, 11 -12). H is father's advice
to give up Hindu practices and to d ress like Muslims ea rne d no pos-
itive response.
M awlawf 'Abdul Baql Sah sawani, a contractor in Tahsil R ai Sen ,
wrote that M ewatls worship ed Hindu deities. Their only Islami c trait
was that th ey ate cow meat and rever ed Shah M as'ud Ghazl and
Shah M adar, som etim es prostrating at their gra ves. The people of
Mowat were said to be very cunning and deceitful. Theft and da coity
wer e th eir profession (Sahsawani 1924, 33).
M ajor Powl ett , a settleme nt officer in th e Alwar State, described
M ewatls in the Alwar G azetteer as follows:
T he Meos are now all Mu salmans in name, but their village deities
are th e sam e as those of Hindus, th ey keep several Hindu festivals.
T hus, the Holi is with Meo s a season of rou gh play, and is consid-
ered as imp orta nt as Muharram, 'ld a nd Shab i Barat ; and they like-
wise obse rve the ]anam Ashtami, Dasah ar a and Divali. They often
keep Brahmin pri ests to write the note (pm C hiththi) fixing the date
of ma rriage.
T hey call themselves by H indu nam es, with the exception of Ram ;
and Singh is a frequent affix, though not so common as Khan is. On
the Am ass [Amaawas], or mon thly conj unction of the sun an d moon,
the M eos, in common with Hindu Ahirs, Gujar s etc., cease from lab or ;
and whe n they make a well, the first proceedin g is to erect a platform
to Bhaironji or H anuman . However, when plunder was to be obtained,
they hav e shown little respect for Hindu shrines and temples.
As regards their own religion, the M eos are very ignora nt. Few know
the Kalima, and fewer still th e regular prayers, the seasons of which
they entirely neglect. . . . Indeed, in Alwar , at certain pla ces where
there are mosques, religious observan ces are better maintain ed and
some know the Kalima, say their prayers . . . As alread y stated, Brahmins
take part in the form alities pre cedin g a marri age, but the cere mony
itself is performed by the Q azi.. .. The men wear loin and waistcloth
(dhoti, kam ari) and not dr awers (pajamas). Their dress is in fact Hindu.
The men often wear gold orn am ent s .. . .

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INTRODUCTIO N xxxv
Meos in their customs are half Hindu. In their villages there are hardly
any mosques. In the Tajara Tehsil, in fifty-two Meo villages there are
only eight mosques. . . . Th e Meo places of worship are similar to
those of their Hindu neighbors (as) for example, Panch Pir, Bhaiyya
and Chahand. Chahand or Khera Deo is dedicated to Mahadevi to
whom sacrifices are made. . . . During Shab-i Barat the flagstaff of
Sayyid Salar Masud Ghazi is also worshipped in every Meo village
(Powlett quoted in Nadwi 1985, 66-67).
Recently religious teachers have become numerous among them and
some Meos now keep the Ramad an fast, build village mosques, say
their prayers and their wives wear trousers instead of the Hindu pet-
ticoat- all signs of revival (Gazetteer Gurgaon District 1911, 4 A, 70,
quoted in Haq 1972, 106).
Sh amsuddin Sh am s, during his field studies of M ewat in th e 1980s,
also rem arked that the M eos were only nom inal Muslims until 194 7.
Their Islam did not go beyond male circ umc ision and burial of the
dead (1 983, 35). Accor ding to him, the conversion of the M alkan as
of Rajputana a nd M eos of Panj ab was incom plete; th ey adopted
only wh at wa s suited to their rural setting. H e observed th at "A
large number of M eos do revere Hindu gods and goddesses while
believing in Allah as tru e Muslims" (1983, 187). Sh am s men tion s
Chan soli and Choorsid amo ng th e Hindu temples that the M eos
revered (1983, 187).
Let us now analyze th e non-Muslim (H ind u) elements in these
descriptions. As far as Hindu nam es an d dresses are concern ed, this
phen om enon was common among most North Indian Muslim com-
munities in Awadh, Balgaram , Kashmir, Sind and Bengal. In No rthern
India it was custo mary to request a Hindu Brahman to suggest a
Hindu nam e for a Muslim child at its birth. After du e study of horo-
scopes th e nam e was given. In Balgar am , th e Sayyid famili es invit ed
th e Brahmans to name th eir childre n. In Soni Pat , for instance,
Muslims used to have two names: one Muslim, the other local and
given by the local Hindu ruler. This was often a "H indu nam e" and
used as an alias or (Wf 6 (Qjt dirf 1971 , 52). Local nam es were used
as aliases in addition to Ar ab ic names in Lucknow and othe r areas.
It is significant that the ab ove mention ed areas belonged to a high
Muslim culture th at p roduced renowned 'ulamii in the pre-modern
period.
ti 'Uif litera lly mean s 'known as' or alias. T he ter m also refers to the distinction
between 'uif and shari'a, the for mer referring to the local custom s.

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XXXVI INTRODUCTION
It is questionable if Muslims were obliged Islamically to have only

Arabic names. A number of 'ulamd in the medieval period are known
by their non-Arabic local names, for instance QaQI Jaggan, Shaykh
Budhdhan or Mulla Jlwan. Sometimes they were local pronuncia-
tions of Arabic names, for instance K apur for Ghafur.
Muhammad Habibur Rahman Khan Mewatf explains that M ewatis
did maintain a distinction between local and typically Hindu reli-
gious names. He says that the Mewatis used names like Singh and
Mall because they indicated their Chattari (K ashatriya) identity, but
they never used names like Ram or Krishan, since they were typi-
cally Hindu names. The Meo never had Brahmans prescribe Hindu
names for their children.
Similarly, Muslim Meos participated in local seasonal festivals; they
were never involved in miirti puja (idol worship). Even the Mewatf
dialect spoken by Muslims differs from that spoken by the Hindus
(M cwatf 1979, 6). The question of worshiping Hindu deities also
needs further investigation. Madan saints are often mistaken as Hindus.
We have already mentioned Massignon regarding Madariya as Hindus.
Ghansall and Choorsid, which Shams regards as Hindu temples (1983,
187) arc Madarf ~ufi shrines. Chansoli (Alwar) belongs to Miyan
Chand Khan, alias Chand Shah Madari, known as a disciple of
Badi'ud DIn Shah Madar (M ewatl 1979, 413). Similarly, Choorsid
or Chuhr Sidh Shrine (C handall, Alwar) belongs to Khawja 'Abdur
Rahman, another Madan ~ufi (Mcwatl 1979, 416). Habibur Rahman
Mewatf categorically refutes that the Meo worshiped any Hindu deities.
Some recent studies have remarked that the term 'nominal Islam '
was a product of British ethnic and religious classification . It was
British administrative policy to distinguish betwe en the backward
rural and the progressive urban societies. One may note with inter-
est that in the abov e descriptions Hindu customs imply ba ckward-
ness while revival of Muslim customs is a sign of progress which is
credited to British schools and religious teachers.
Studying a similar phenomenon in Bengal , Asim Roy (1983) argues
that the British dismissed the Muslim majority in that area as nom-
inal. They argued that either the Muslim conversion was incomplete
or that their beliefs had corrupted or degenerated under local influences
(R oy 1983, 5).
It is significant to not e that the th em e of Mewatls being nominal
Muslims appears prominently from the nineteenth century onward.
It is usually the British or Indian officials working for them who
underscore this aspect of Mewatf Islam . Sahsawani frequ ently char-

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INTRODU CTION XXXVIl
acterizes th e J.\tfewiHf peasants as lethargic, ignorant, cunning and

dishonest, whil e the landowners are always described in laudable
terms (Sahsawani 1924, 33). T he re formist Muslims and th e Tablighis
gen er ally rely on th ese sources. Obviously, bo th th e British and th e
re formis ts exaggerated this state of affairs to justify th eir respective
reform agendas .
Some scholars regard 'nom inal Islam' as 'syncretic' because th ey
assume conve rsion to Islam was a result of Muslim raids, in between
whi ch th e Muslim converts reverted back to Hindu practices (e.g.
Atulananda Chakrawarti 1934, cited in Ali 1970 , 22). W e find it
difficult to call thi s phenomen on "sync re tism" or assimilation in the
proper sense. Muslim M cwatfs cont inue to distinguish th em selves
from Hindus. O ther scholars have called it a ph enomenon of 'regional
Islam .' Accor di ng to th em , du e to geog rap hical distance from th e
centre , the process of Islamization accommodated a wide variety of
local religi o-cultural elem ents and th ere develop ed a regional typ e
of Islam (e.g., Tarafdar 1986, 93). Appare ntly, thi s view assumes th at
th e local Muslim s were completely .isolated from th e Muslim culture,
th at th ey had no acce ss to Islamic tr adition, and th er efor e retain ed
th eir local Hindu traditions. M cwatf (19 79) has rejected thi s view.
H e notes th at th irteen religious educationa l in stitutions existed in
M ewat when T ablighi j ama'at arrived th ere. He argues that Mewat
was known for its int ellectual centers in Bayana , N arna wl, Alwar
and Palol in th e Islamic period. W e have already m en tioned several
Sufis and scholars who lived in M ewat and whose tombs are th ere.
Islam ca me to M ewat by ~u fi Da'wa, which , as we have indicated,
differs from th e reformist Da'wa. Before we ana lyze th e charac teris-
tics of th e $ ufi Da'wa, let us bri efly exa m ine a popular cult in Mewat
th at is quite close to $uf[ Da'wa.
TIe Cult if ssu. Mas'ild Glzaz!

As noted above, according to popular belief th e M eos were con-
verted to Islam by Salar M as'ud Ghazf. Hi s cult offers an int er est-
ing exa mple of the $ufi Da'wa. Salar M as'ud Ghazi, a nephew of
Sultan Mahmud Ghaznawi died in Bhar a'ich in 1030 in a battle
against the local H indu R aja. T he re is an ann ua l festival in the form
of a wedding ('urs) held at his tomb b ecaus e it is believed the he
died young befor e m ar ryin g. The people come to his shrine with
flags of cloth and fix the m on and aro und the gra ve.
Ghazf is a relativel y small figure histor ically but he looms large in

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XXXVlll INTRODUCTION
the folk literature. The folk stories transcend historical and religious
boundaries to make him a living personality in people's minds. Ghazi's
cult is not confined to Mewat. The Chhati fair is celebrated every
year in May in Ambala in the name of Ghazl, known as Bala Miyan
(bridegroom). All the inhabitants of the military cantonments in north-
ern India consider him the ir patron saint (T emple 1962 , 102).
Shaykh 'Abdur Rahman Amb cthawi wrote the story of the Ghazl'
in a peculiar style of a jangniima (war epic) told by an eyewitness.
'Abdul Hayy Hasani affirms the historicity of Salar Mas'ud Ghazi
and the battle in which he died , but he rejects stories narrated by
Ambethawf as fictitious? (H asanj 1947, 112-114). Hindu poets in
Punjab composed the stories of Gajjan, apparently a local pronun-
ciation of Ghazi, and Gaga Plr (T emple 1962, 267), reflecting the
spread of the cult in these areas. We find in the cult folk songs
Hindu, Sikh, Sunni, Shi'a and Madan ~ufi elements. It is, however,
significant that there has been no attempt to integrate them into a
syncretic cult.
The stories stress the separate religious identiti es of the charac-
ters. Gaga Pir 's song, composed in the Krishna devotional tradition
with a background of pastoral life, describes Bala Ghazi (Salar Mas'ud)
as a supporter of Gaga who fought against Muslim Kings . He is
nevertheless a Muslim and a Sayyid (T emple 1962 , 102). The song
also includes the names of Gorakh Nath, a Hindu saint, as the Pir
of Gaga, and Guru Gabind Singh , a Sikh hero. References to the
Qur'an (Piik Kaliim, the Pure Words), Houris, and Imam Gha'ib, the
last Shi 'a Imam, are invoked during the preparation for the battle.
Most interesting is the part about the death of Gaga Pir. Gaga requests
the earth to accept him in her bosom. The earth refuses saying that,
"I have made a pact with the Prophet (Pak Rasul) that I will not
accept any Hindu in my bosom. You ar e a Hindu by birth and
caste. First recite the Kalima (the Muslim profession of faith), then
you will be accepted." H e repeats the Kalima and the earth takes
him in (T emple 1962, 267). Written versions, composed by Muslims ,
abound with the names of Shl'a Imams. Salar Mas'ud is a descend-
ent of Imam Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya and his companion Sayyid
7 Ibn Battuta (1934, 2,111) and Muhammad b. Qasim Farishta (1962, 483) men-
tion this festival. Shaykh 'Abdur Rahman Amb eth awi in the sixteenth century wrot e
Mirtit lv!as'ildf, on Salar Ma s'ud's life. It is available to us in Urdu translation
(H usayn, 1870).

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INTRODUCTION XXXIX
Ibrahim of Imam Musa Rada. The martyrs of the army of Imam

Husayn also appear in the story. Despite these Shi'a elements, the
author warns against vilifying the first two caliphs Abu Bakr and
'Umar, who are highly regarded by the Sunnls.
The Ghazi cult story employs established plac es of reverence and
symbols . For instance, the Suraj Kund where Ghazi's tomb was
erected was already revered by the local Hindu population. This
confirms Rahim's view that conversion might be seen as a phe-
nomenon of socio-religious continuity. "M ost of the ~ufi hospices
were locat ed on the ruins of shrines or temples" (1959, 164).
The ~ufis used spiritual phenomenon for the purpose of healing
without discriminating between Hindus and Muslims, and the Ohazi'
cult does also. One of th e stories refers to a miracle in which Zuhra,
the blind daughter of a Muslim noble , Sayyid Jamalud DIn, regains
her sight and erects a mausoleum for the Ghazf at the Suraj Kund.
She died young before marriage. Since she had fallen in love with the
Ghazl, her parents would return each year in the month of Jeth
(harvesting season) to Bhara'ich in a procession and celebrate the
curs, the wedding ceremony at the tomb (H usayn 1870, 70). Atulananda
Chakrawarti (cited in Ali 1970) mentions that Hindus also worship
the Gh az! as the one who gives eyesight to the blind.
The Ghazf cult stories reflect a religious world where people of dif-
ferent religious identities interact without fear of assimilation or absorp-
tion by oth ers. This self-confidence was provided by the Sufi Da'wa.
Sufi Da'wa
According to Shaykh Muhammad Ikrarn, the Chishti ~ufis in India
did not focus on conversion. Their objective was to provide spirit-
ual guidance to the people . T hat they did not discriminate between
Hindus and Muslims in this regard as becomes clear from the study
of ~ufi texts like Fauia'idul Fuiodd, Sofinatul Awlrya and Khazinatul
Agiya (Ikram 1992, 190). Gradually, this became a specific strategy
of the Da'wa of this ~ufl order.
The ~ufis certainly differed from the 'ulamii in their conception of
an ideal Muslim. They focused on devotional aspects of religion ,
stressing the unity of God and man 's devotion to Him. They
trained their devot ees to be faithful to their spiritual guid e (the Sufi,
the Pir) by taking an oath of allegiance (bay'a) to him. The Sufi as
Pir was responsible for the guidance and spiritual well being of his

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xl INTROD UCTI O N
disciples (mufid) and was believed to intercede before Go d for them.

T his Da'wa approach was quit e different from that of the 'ulamii , who
stressed the accuracy of belief and pr actices in acco rda nce with the
scripture as interp reted an d agreed up on by the 'ulamii. T he ideal
Mu slim, according to the 'ulamii, was a person who acq uired knowl-
edge of shari'a and tran slated it into practice. In the Indi an context
a Mu slim mu st consciously distinguish his beliefs and practices from
any that would resembl e those of the infidel Hindus.
Whil e the C hisht iya and the M ad ariya worked amo ng the masses,
the Suhrawardiya, like the 'ulamii, pr eferred to tar get the elite and
the rulers in their Da'wa. The rulers gave land grants to support the
educational institution s and the ~ufi ho spices. ~u fis and the 'ulamd
becam e fief-holders like the Hindu and Buddhist priestly classes. They
served as revenu e farmers to the state in an agra ria n based econ-
omy where th e land system was linked with the collection of taxes.
Socially, the system worked quit e well with the Hindu hierar chical
caste system, which the Mu slim elite replicated so as to keep benefit-
ing from it. O ccup ational and service gro ups continued to have a
lower status even after conversion to Islam. They were not integrated
into the main com munity, but they found hospitality at the ~ u fi
hospices.
Anwarul H aq (1972) conside rs the T ablrghi J am a' at to be a Sufi'
refor m movem ent, for two primary reason s. First, beca use of its
founder's connection with Sufism, and second becau se it bor rowed
extensively from Indian ~u fi practices. He traces the origin of sev-
era l term s a nd practices of T ablighi J ama' at (e.g. chilla and dhikr) to
Sufism. In fact H aq concludes his discussion by saying:
Ilyas adopted ~ u fl terms and pr actices such as zil,:T, muriiqaba a nd chilla,
with certain changes, to popularize Sufism and create a better under-
standing of it amo ng the masses. At the same time, he sought to elim-
inate the abuses which had crept into ~ufl ord ers, contributing to their
popul arity among certain sections of the community (H aq 1972 , 173).
We find it hard to accept Anwarul H aq 's conclusion. T abllghi J ama'at

does not seem to be a ~ u fi movem ent, nor does it focus on the
reform of Sufism. It is more in line with the 'ul am a's reformist activ-
ities, to which we now turn.

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INTRODUCTION xli
Tabligh Activities in Msou

Ayyub Qadirl (1971) finds Tablighi jama'at in the Mewat a con-
tinuation of tabligh efforts that began in the nineteenth century among
the Meo trib es. Mostly , these were the 'ulamii of the reformist school
of Shah Waliullah of Delhi who came to Mewat for Tabllgh. They
also belonged to the Qadiri and Chishtf ~ufi orders. Among them
Shah Muhammad Ramadan Muhimi (d . 1825), Muhammad Isma'Il
Muhimf (d. 1857), Mahbiib 'All Dihlawi (d. 1864), and Karimud DIn
(d. 1857) were disciples of Shah 'Abdul 'Aziz (d. 1824), the son of
Shah Waliullah (Q adirl 1971:54- 60). Som e Mewau scholars, like
Miyan Raj Shah (d. 1888) and 'Abdullah Khan (d. 1879), also car-
ried out Tabllght activities in Mewat. These 'ulamd want ed to elim-
inate non-Islamic practices among the Meos such as infanticide and
worship of Sltla DevI, Shaykh Siddu, and Mamim Allah Bakhsh ,
and to establish the wearing of Muslim dr ess (Q adiri 1971, 55) and
the observance of Islami c obligations. Wa'~ (sermons) were employed
as a method of Da'wa. They wrot e in local languages and dialects,
sometime s in the form of poems that could be recited , and held
debates with the scholars of other religions .
Shah Muhammad Ramadan Shahid (d. 1825) was a prominent
reformer of Mewat who typified this Da'wa. He was dissatisfied with
the ~ufi religious system und er his father Shah 'Abdul 'Azfrn, whose
Rajput devotees presented him with a tithe from everything taken
in their raids . Shah Ramadan therefore left his family to study with
Shah 'Abdul 'Aziz in Delhi. Shah Ramadan made the Rajput Muslims
conscious of their separate identity from Hindus. H e countered Hindu
practices by introducing new rites to replace th em . For instance,
where people had offered sweet food (gulgule and pure) to Sn1a DevI,
Shah Ramad an instead introduced the practice of fasting on that
day . To lessen the reverence for cows among Muslims he introduced
the practice of HiM Maryam ka Roza (M ary's Fast) that was broken
with Rot Bot (Beef Bread ), a special kind of fried bread containing
a large chunk of beef (M ewau 1979, 487).
Shah Ramadan observed two types of idolatry worship being prac-
ticed ; one due to fear of harm, the other to revere beauty and
majesty in nature. People feared that if they did not mak e offerings
to Shaykh Siddu, Sarwar Sultan or Gaga, these three beings would
punish them by respectively turning them into lunatics , making them
lepers, or visiting a poisonous snake upon them. (Mewatl 1979, 488).

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xlii INTRODUCTION
Hindus also revered Shah Ramadan, and in several Hindu villages

there were Shah Rarrgan ke Chabiltre (raised platforms for Shah Ramadan).
Like the other British officials discussed above, Shah Ramadan's
biographer, a British district officer in Hisar, describes Meos as being
almost Hindus. He compares Mcwat with pre-Islamic Arabia and
the Rajputs in Hisar with the Arabs of that period. Each tribe had
its own idol, worshiped trees , fire, and Sltia DevI, practiced infan-
ticide , celebrated festivals of Hall and DIvalI, and made offerings to
Zayn Khan , Gaga, Luna Chamari and Shaykh Siddu (Mewatl 1979,
474). We have already analyzed the exaggerations contained in these
'nominal Islam' descriptions.
III. the Challenge if Modernity and South Asian Responses

We have seen that the South Asian Muslim community has remained
conscious of its minority status throughout its history. Situated on
the periphery of the Muslim world, the fear of absorption into the
local Hindu majority kept the community sensitive about its sepa-
rate religious identity. This sensitivity was heigthened with the advent
of modernity and the Christian missions under British rule . A num-
ber of Muslims converted to Hinduism and Christianity under the
British , and it was feared that modernity was corrupting the faith.
In India, the nineteenth century introduced far-reaching political
and social changes. A number of ideas and mov em ents curre nt in
Britain at that time circulat ed in India such ideologies as reforma-
tion of religion , liberalism, and scientism. More significantly , a num-
ber of Christian missionary, reformist and evangelical organizations
established missions in the country. British officials believed in pro-
moting religious reforms in India and provided official patronage to
Christian missionaries who debated with Muslims and Hindus. These
efforts, however, presented modernity as being a religious, or to be
more exact, a Christian missionary programme, which challenged
the Indian religious traditions (See Peter van den Veer 1994, 1999).
Traditional economic, educ ational, social and religious institutions,
in India were changing. The religious literature in this period reflects
the resulting anxiety of Muslims. Religious leaders were being asked
about the religious doctrines challenged by the nineteenth century
scientism and about Christian missionary activities . People inquired

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INTRODUCTION xliii
about the permissibility of wearing English dress, using the banking

system, and learning English language and foreign sciences (M as' ud
1969). Self-rule and other political reforms were generating a new
consciousness that large numbers meant political power.
Indian society responded to these changes in a number of ways.
Generally speaking, both Hindus and Muslims developed two
approaches. Modernists viewed the issue as one of modernization
and reform , and tried to interpret the teachings of their respective
religions to accommodate scientism, modernity and liberalism. Con-
servatives , on the other hand, perceived those changes as a threat
to their traditions and religions . They developed defense mechanisms
against the chall enges of modernity, especially against materialism
and scientism.
To better understand this development let us look briefly at the
six prominent movements: the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj and
Shuddhi movements among Hindus, and the Aligarh , Deoband and
Khilafat movements among Muslims. They are significant not only
as reformist movements but also because they are referred to fre-
quently in connection with the Tabljghf jama'at.
Brahmo Samoj
The Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1843 by Raja Rammohun Roy,
who some writers have called "the father of modern India" (K opf
1988). The Samaj supported modernity and science , stressing that
the Hindu religion was itself scientific and promoted scientific meth-
ods and education. The movement at the same time criticized reli-
gious taboos. It stood for social reforms, advocated remarriage of
widows and the abolition of child marriages, encouraged intercaste
marriages, and supported equality for women. In politics it called
for democracy and Indian nationalism. The Brahmo Samaj intro-
duced religious reformation by stressing the authority of scriptures,
and the Vedas as the only source of Hinduism. It systematized Hindu
religious thought as a rational theology. The Samaj explained Hindu
rituals in symbolic terms and develop ed a this-worldy Hindu ethic,
stressing the social role of the Dharma (Kopf 1988, 314).
Despite its significant contribution toward the modernization of
Hindu society, the Brahmo Samaj movement was confined to the
educated middle classes, and never became popular among the masses.

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xliv INTRODUCTION
The mov em ent was more influenti al in Bengal where it had leaders
like Rabindranath T egore and Chandra Keshab Sen, but gained
little ground in places like Panjab and North India. One reason,
perhaps, was its close association with th e British administration and
Christian Unitarian missionaries. The Christians con tinuously tried to
convert Rammohunroy and others. Its critics, espec ially the Arya
Samaj, which we shall discuss shortly, saw Brahmo Samaj as an
extension of Christian missionary efforts in India (Rai 1977, 130).
Aligarh
More than the Hindus, Muslims found it harder to adju st to the
new changes. First, the Mu slim aristocracy lacked the skills and edu-
cation to find employment and influence within the British system ,
nor were they trusted by the British . Sir Syed (Sayyid Ahmad Khan,
d.1898), who founded the Aligarh movement in 1858, believed that
only by gaining British trust could they restore the aristocra cy to its
former position. Toward this goal he took four steps. First, he refuted
William Hunter and oth er Brit ish officials who claim ed that th e
Muslims were religiously duty-bound to rebel against the British. In
his Asbiib Baghiiwat Hind (Khan 1858), Sir Syed analyzed the caus es
of the 1857 Indian revolt and suggested that British attitudes and
Christian missionaries were mainly responsible for the mu tual mis-
understanding, and that the Muslims were loyal to the British gov-
ernment. Second, to encourage scientific attitudes among Indians
and particularly among Muslims, he founded a scientific society in
1863, "to foster and encourage the growth of an enlightened pub-
lic spirit in the population" (Jain 1979, 18). Among its oth er objec-
tives wer e th e "app raisal of the British crown, improving Urdu
literature, and improving the method of agriculture in India" (J ain
1979, 19). The bylaws of the society also advocated translating works
on art and sciences from European into native languages, and the
publication of rare and valuable oriental works. The do cument
specifically excluded religious works (M uhammad 1986, 1:4).
Sir Syed 's third step was to encourage Muslims to seek modern
education. H e was convinced that all-embracing reforms were needed
in education and religiou s thought for the revival of Indian Muslims.
H e believed that education must proceed along Western lines, with
an empha sis on the English language. After his return from England
he established for Muslims Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College.

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INTRODUCTION xlv
The college's policy was to teach major subjects in English. The

spirit of fraternity, love for the Urdu language and a sense of Muslim
identity were the values that Aligarh inculcated among the students.
Various other Muslim groups also began working for modern edu-
cation among Muslims. These included the Anjuman Himayat Islam
(1865) in Lahore, Panjab (M athur 1983, 33), Nawwab 'Abdul Latif''s
(d. 1893) Mohammedan Literary and Scientific Society (1863) in
Calcutta, and Syed Amir Ali's Central National Mohammedan Asso-
ciation (1876) in Bengal.
The Aligarh movement had several aspects in common with Brahmo
Samaj , including its scientific spirit, its modern interpretation of reli-
gion, and its loyalty to the British. It was, however, more politically
oriented than th e Brahmo Samaj, and it emphasized a separate
Muslim identity. Dr Tara Chand summarized the achievements of
the movement: "T he Aligarh Movement exercised a tremendous
influence on the Muslims. It created among them the ambition to
obtain for their community its proper place among the communi-
ties of India, and turned their thought from the fruitless contem-
plation of their past glories and defeats to the actual pursuits of the
idea of progress and advancement in the modern world" (quoted in
Muhammad 1986, v).
Sir Syed's fourth step , for which he may be rightly called the
father of Muslim modernism in India, was his active pursuit of reli-
gious reformism . He wrote extensively to argue that there was no
conflict between science and Islam, and that indeed the Qur'anic
teachings were in accord with the laws of nature. The 'ulama dis-
agreed with his views on scientism and called him a nichari (natur-
ist), one who preached for the supremacy of nature. He supported
scientism, rationalism and reformism, and also rationalism in Islam
on the basis of ijtihiid as a principle of research and investigation.
He opposed taqlid (the doctrine of adherence to schools of law), qiyiis
(analogical reasoning) and ijmii' (consensus) as doctrines of stagnation
(M asud 1995, 64). In addition to several books, Sir Syed also pub-
lished magazines, such a Tahdhibul Akhliiq in 1870. He was joined
by a like-minded group of writers and thinkers like Chiragh 'All
(d. 1895), Altar Husayn I:IalI (d. 1914), Deputy Nadhir Ahmad (d. 1912)
and Shibli Nu'mani (d. 1914). These were the vanguard of modernism
among Indian Muslims, and they introduced new approaches to the
study of Islamic laws, literary criticism , Urdu poetry, Islamic history
and historiography. Their efforts, aimed at "a compl ete regeneration

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xlvi INTRODUCTION
of Muslims in all phases of life and enabling them to acquire strength

and qualities, which they need to secure and stabilize their position"
are what is known as the Aligarh movem ent (M oin, 1976, 8). Moin
distinguishes two phases of th e movement. The first, that ended with
the death of Sir Syed , was primarily concerned with the edu cation
of Muslims. The second, from 1898 to 1947, was more political and
culminated in the eme rgence of Pakistan.
As we shall see, several relatives of Tabllghl jama'at's founder
wer e associated with Aligarh, although it was never a source of inspi-
ration for the movement itself. Aligarh was also associated in some
respects with the Nadwatul ' Ulama, at Lucknow, an institution of
religious learning founded in 1894. The Nadwa originally aim ed at
finding a middle way betw een the traditionalism of Deoband and
the modernism of Aligarh, but it eventually came to resemble Deoband
(M etcalf 1982, 316-347). Shibli Nu'rnani, a close associate of Sir
Syed , brought to Nadwa the concerns of Aligarh, such as its inter-
ests in Islamic history, research and publication, modern Islam , and
the modern Arab world. Shibli was nevertheless extre mely critical
of Aligarh's principle of loyalty to the British and to Westernization.
Nadwa's stress on learning modern Arabic led its scholars to have
close contacts with their contemporaries in the Arab world . Many
graduates from Nadwatul 'Ulama, such as Mawlana Abul Hasan 'All
N adwi and their disciples, joined Tablighi' jama'at. The jama'at
benefited from their Arab contacts in building its network in the
Arab world (Nadwi 1983, 278ff., Khan 1984).
The Deoband School

While the Aligarh movement, in the words of Barbara Metcalf, was
"committed to collaboration of the more privileged classes of Indian
Muslim society with the imp erial regim e" (1982, II ), the 'ulamii in
Deoband and elsewhere avoided British institutions. They set out to
preserve and disseminate instruction in authentic religious practice
and belief and to create personalities that embodied Islam . They felt
that the British system of administration and justice had deprived
the class of 'ulamii of the prestigious positions they had enj oyed under
the Mughals. In 1857 they were suspected of instigating the Indian
revolt and persecuted. Consequently, they "fea red for the fate of
their class and culture" (M etcalf 1982, 91), and therefore withdrew
into their old institutions like Farangi Mahal in Lucknow.

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INTRODUCTI O N xlvii
Darul 'Ulum Deoband was founded in 1867 in Deoband, a sma ll

town in northern Indi a for the revival of Islam an d ren ewal of faith
among Mu slims. Although the Deoband schoo l rej ected the teach-
ing of English and Western sciences, it moderni zed the system of
education. It did so with the help of teachers from Delhi Co llege,
which had been founded by the British for the training of officials.
Traditiona lly, an individu al teacher had imp arted the religious edu-
cation using a spec ific set of books. Upo n their completion, the
teacher would award a certificate testifying that the student had stud-
ied them. Deob and, however , offered a new system of religious edu-
cation including classroom s, a fixed cur riculum, and a system of
examinations and certificates along th e lines of Delhi Co llege. It
differed from oth er instituti on s of learning in othe r ways; it had its
own magazines and other publications, and a D arul Ifta (a department
to answer queries on matters of Islamic law and other religious issues).
Deoband also grew as a school of th ought (maslak) that differed
from the moderni sm of Aligarh. While we ca nnot go into details,
the main differences between Deob and's maslak a nd othe r religious
gro ups are imp ort an t to us here becau se, du e to T ablighr J am a' at's
affinity with Deoband, its oppon ents often call it a "Deo ba ndi sect"
and charac terize it as a Dcoban df Da'wa.
Apart from the Shi' a, there are two major Sun ni religious schools
of thought with which the Dcobandis differ: Ahli Hadith and Brelwis.
Ahli H adith follow hadi th instead of Fiqh schools and Sufi orders,
a nd tr ace th eir or igins to the ha dith movem en t in ea rly Islam.
Ad herence to had ith wa s revived in th e pre-mod ern period by
M uha mmad b. 'Abdul Wahhab (d. 178 7) in Hijaz, in the footstep s
of Ibn T aymiyya. In Ind ia, Sha h Isma'il Shahid (d. 1831) called for
return to the Qur' an and hadith in place of their diverse schools of
thought. H e died fighti ng along with Sayyid Ahmad in the Jihiid
movem ent aga inst the Sikhs. In his Taqioiyatul Imiin he expo unded
unity of God, and refuted the doctrines leading to association of
others with God, inn ovations and heresies. Ahli Hadith are gene ra lly
close to the Salafi movem en t of Muhammad b. 'A bd ul Wahhab ,
although they are not a product of that movement.
The Brclwis (Ahlus Sunnat wa 'i J am a' at), nam ed after Ahma d
Rida Kh an of Breilley (d. 1922), stress the centra lity of the Prophet
M uha mma d and love for him . In their definition of his role and
place they attr ibute to him such qualities as knowledge of the un seen,
omnipresence and omniscience .

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xlviii INTRODUCTION
The main points of differenc e among these three religious groups

center around the doctrines of taqlid, tasaiouuf and bid'a. The Deobandis
and Brelwis follow the Hanafi School and the Sufi orders, while the
Ahli Hadith follow none. They differ also on the definition of birfa;
Deobandis and Ahli Hadith regard certain religious practices, like
visiting graves of the ancestors to seek their help , as bida, while the
Brclwls consider them Islamically justified .
Despite its reformist appearance, the Deoband school is conserv-
ative and traditional in its stanc e toward modernity. Modernity has
caused the rise of "unbelief" in the form of materialism, fascination
with worldly matters, and indifference to one's religious duties . This
view is not limited to Muslims; other religious communities have also
reacted strongly against the perceived threat of modernity, and the
religious literature has decri ed the prevailing tr end of neglecting reli-
gion for wordly concerns.
The Doobandis identified Islam with religious observances and
avoidance of birfa practices. It is significant that most of the bide
practices, largely related to life crises situations such as rites related
to birth, marriage and fune rals, wer e believed to be survivals of
Hinduism, or due to its influence. Muslim identity in India was thus
inversely related with Hinduism. Consequently, i#iib (reform) activi-
ties were intended to eliminate such practices.
The Deoband School bitterly opposed Aligarh for its loyalty to
the British. Deoband gradually became politically conscious a nd
active. The Jam'iyyat 'Ulamai Hind, a political association mainly
consisting of the 'ulamii of Deoband persuasion, supported the Indian
National Congress. The influence of Deoband on Indian Muslim
religious and political views incr eased with the establishment of sis-
ter religious institutions that followed the same system of edu cation
and shared their religious ideology . Nev ertheless, a few institutions
stayed away from politics. The Mazahirul 'Ulum was established in
Saharanpiir a few months after the Deoband as its sister institution,
but was not active in politics . It developed close relations with the
Tablighf Jama'at and influenced its ideology more than Deoband
because Mawlana Zakariyya, the Shaykh of Mazahirul 'Uliirn , became
its ideologue. All four of these institutions, Deoband, Aligarh, Nadwa
and Mazahirul 'Ulum provided the Tablighi ]ama'at with needed
manpower.

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INTRODUCTION xlix
Arya Samaj
Pandit Dayanand Sarswati (d. 1883 in Ajmer) founded the Arya Samaj
in Bombay in 1875. Born into an orthodox Brahman family, Dayanand
revolted against traditional Hinduism quite early in life. H e debated
with Mus lims, Christians and orthodox Brahmans. One debate was
held at the well known M ela Khuda Shanasi (Festival for the study
of God) held in Chandpur (District Shahjahanpur, UP) in 1875-1877 .
At this huge gathering representatives of all the religions were asked
to present their religious views. Dayanand represented the Hindus
and Mawlana Muhammad Qasim, th e founder of the Deoband
School, and Sayyid Abul Mansur Dihlawf represented the Muslims .
Samuel Knowels, the Head of the American M ethodist Mission
School participated as a Christian representative, and Munshi Piyar e
Lal, a local government official, and Motl Miyan, a local Muslim
Magistrate, took part as government officials. The festival soon turned
into a po lemical debate, each participant fighting for the superior-
ity of his religion (M etcalf 1982, 221, 234).
Dayanand believed that the British threat was greater than that
experienced during the Mus lim rule. The British technology and lit-
erature was generating a sens e of inferiority and the agg ressive
Christian missionary work was making H indus indifferent to religion ,
even if it did not succeed in converting them. Dayanand taught that
Hindu religion was scientific and that ancient Hindus had contributed
a great deal to science and technology (R ai 1977, 142). He consid -
ered Brahmanism, Christianity, Mus lim tabligli activities, rationalism
and the pragmatic methods of science all to be a serious threat to
the survival of Hindu Society (Rai 1977, 135).
D. Vable (1983, 124), reviewing the role of the Arya Samaj,
describes it as primarily a nonpolitical religious and social reform
mov em ent. Yet , since Dayanand had very strong views on self gov-
ernment, Hindu unity and pure Arya society, the movement soon
became po litically active against both the British and the Muslims .
It supported agitation for Hindu causes, like the protection of cows,
and gained increasing popularity among the H indu ma sses. On the
national level, it supported the Indian National Congress. Howeve r,
because the Congress supported Mus lim ca uses, the Arya Samaj
decided to part with them , and consequently began to lose its pop -
ularity as a political movement. A large number of Arya Samaj mem-
bers left to join more extremist Hindu movements like Hindu
Mahasabha, founded in 1924, and Rash trya Sevak Sangh. The Arya

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INTRODUCTION
Samaj, according to its critics, gradually drifted toward sectarianism

(Vable 1983, 90).
Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj shared several traits . Both
believed in the authority of Vedas and in returning to them . Both
supported monotheism and opposed idol worship. Both wanted to
reform some Hindu customs and practices like the caste system, child
marriages and extravagant celebrations of events like marriages. They
also favoured marriage of widows and the education of women . Like
Brahmo Samaj, the Arya Samaj also spread among government ser-
vants and modern educate d Hindus, but it became more popular
among the masses.
Dayanand realized that both Christianity and Islam were mis-
sionary religion s and ther efore could be countered only by Hindu
missionary activities. He decided in 1860 to target first those Hindus
who had joined Islam or Christianity, and he launched a movement
to call them back to Hinduism. This doctrine came to be known
later as "Shuddhi" (pur ification). The transformation of Arya Samaj
into a missionary movement reflects the peculiar milieu of India at
that time . The question of religious identity among religious com-
munities eventually led the mov em ent into communalism. Dayanand
Sarsawati's book Satydrath. Parkash, supposedly a critique of contem-
porary religions , contained contemptuous and derogatory remarks
about Islam and the Prophet. This and other events, to which we
now turn , sparked a turning point in Hindu-Muslim relations.
77ze Khilaftt Mo vement
After World War I South Asian politicians realized that European

colonialism, whose military power and superior technology had so
impressed them in the nineteenth century, was subsiding. Better
means of communication, the printing pre ss and news media had
brought an end to Indian isolation. It also increased Muslim aware-
ness of Muslim communities elsewhere. These developments con-
tributed to a rebuilding of solidarity.
The Kh ilafat Movement (l 9 1 9 ~ 1924) was a protest movement
against the British policy of partitioning the Ottoman Empire. It
emerged as the first mass politi cal movement in India in which
Hindus joined hands with Muslims. An Arya Samaj leader, Swami
Shardhanand, even addressed Muslims in the Delhi mosque, an act
that was applauded by most Muslims though debated by others.

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INTRODUCTION Ii
Hindu-Muslim cooperation, however, proved to be shortlived-as

soon as the movement failed they went their separate ways, and both
were soon involved in missionary activities against each other. Swami
Shardhanand became active in Arya Samaj missionary activities, and
Dr. Sayfud Din Kitchlew of the Khilafat Committee found ed the
Tablighi mission Tanzim, in Amritsar.
Of these movements, Khilafat had the most far-r eaching effects
on Muslim society, as Khilafat symboliz ed the transnational unity of
the Umma. These events made Muslims critically aware of Muslim
transnationalism. This sharpened their focus on mass politics. The
political involvement of Muslim masses required an emphasis on reli-
gious identity. The Khilafat movement utilized the techniques of mis-
sionaries and shaped the methodology of Da'wa in India along modern
lines. Muslim leaders learned skills of modern organization, public-
ity techniques, mass contact and the use of the printing press from
Khilafat. According to Mumtaz Ahmad (199 1a, 511 ), Mawlana
Muhammad Ilyas, the founder of the Tablighr jama'at, benefited
from this movement greatly.
The Khilafat movement had exposed the thin line dividing polit-
ical and religious views of politics in India, and shifted the focus of
politics toward religious identity. This focus was defined in both ide-
ological and communal terms. On the political level, however, reli-
gious identity was perceived in terms of Hindu-Muslim separation.
Recent studies (e.g., Mathur 1983) show that the identity crises in
India deepened when the British imposed, for political or scientific
reasons, a new system of classification of the population based on
ethnic and religious identities. The censuses of 1901 and 191], sep-
arate electorates, and the idea of self-government successively made
numbers the critical variable in political power, and generated con-
flicts and missionary efforts for conversion; rioting increased from
]925-]928.
The Shuddhi Mooement

The Arya Samaj began to assert the doctrine of Shuddhi forcefully
in ]908. Rajput Shuddhi Sabha, a special group of the Arya Samaj,
was working to reconvert Muslims and Christians, especially Muslim
Rajputs. The Arya Samaj claimed that these tribes had originally
been Hindus. According to 19]] census reports, between ]907 and
1910, ]052 Muslim Rajputs were converted to Hinduism (Rai ]977,

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Iii INTRODUCTION
153). Among them there were a large number of Malkana Rajput

tribes living in Mewat and in areas around Delhi and Agra. Swami
Shardhanand transformed Shuddhi into an aggressive movement in
1922, and that same year Dr. Monje started another movement
called Sanghatan (unity) to support the Shuddhi. Both movements
targeted Muslim Rajputs.
These missionary activities alarmed Muslims across India. In 1924,
riots broke out in Agra and Bhartpur, where the Arya Samaj had
converted a number of Muslims. Several Muslim tabligh organiza-
tions were founded during these years and sent missions to Mewat.
These included Anjuman Rida-i Mustafa (1923) in Bareilley; Ghulam
Bhik Nairang's Tabligh-i Islam in Ambala; Jam'iyyat 'Ulamai Hind's
All India Anjuman Tabllgh Islam ; Dr. Sayfud DIn Kitchlew's Tanzirn
in Amritsar; Markazf Jam'iyyat Tabligh Islam (1926) in Poona; and
Khwaja Hasan Nizami's Tablighr Mission in Nizamud DIn in Delhi
(M athur 1968). The Ahmadiyya Mission also denounced Christianity
and Arya Samaj .
Missionary activities and riots made the situation extremely tense.
Leaders of both communities, including Pandit Madan Mohan
Malwiyah and Mufti Kifayatullah, came together to discuss Hindu-
Muslim unity. The influence of Arya Samaj was, however, too strong
for Hindu leaders to find any fault in its methods. The Hindu lead-
ers demanded that Muslims abandon tabligh and suspend their con-
demnation of the apostates from Islam to death. The Muslim leaders
accepted the proposal with some amendments and signed a resolu-
tion to that effect (Kifayatullah n.d ., 9:331-344). There was a gen-
eral resentment among the Indian Muslims at this reconciliation,
particularly since the Hindu and Christian missions were actively
working among Muslims.
The first political outburst in Mewat took place in 1932 in Alwar.
Various factors had already built tension between Muslims and
Hindus. So long as the Muslim Meos kept to the status quo and the
caste system, the Brahmans treated them as Kashatriya, a caste lower
than Brahmans but higher than others (Shams 1983, 17). Sikand (n.d.)
argues that the status quo suited the economic conditions in Mewat
and guaranteed Meo domination in the system. The situation, however,
began to change in the twentieth century when a series of social
and economic disruptions eroded Meo domination and prosperity.
The 1916 Government of Panjab Report describes the Meos as
follows:

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INTRODUCTION liii
The condition of the Meos is rapidly becomin g hopeless. They live so

literally from hand to mouth , ca relessly co ntrac ting deb t fo r ma r-
riages, fun erals and petty luxuries even in average years that when a
year of dro ught comes they are thrown on the moneylend er who ca n
make them with what terms he likes (quoted in Sikand n.d., 7).
Sikan d adds th at by 191 0 nearl y for ty per cent of M eo lands were

under mortgage to th e Banias, th e Hindu m on eylender s (n.d., 8).
Sikand sugges ts th at this situa tion probably led to M eo disen ch ant-
ment with Hindus. The Hindu revivalism further escalated th e ten sion
between Brahmans and M eos. In this new social situation, th e British
and th e H indus replaced the Mughals as th e threat ening 'othe r.'
From this perspective, M eo identity had th er efor e to be re-d efined .
The frustration amo ng th e M eos increased du e to cha nges intro-
du ced by the British and th e gene ral econom ic depression in the
th ird decade of th e twenti eth century. The agriculture situa tion wors-
ene d, and heavy taxes and m aladministr ation in M ewat ca used M eo
uprisings in 1932 in Alwar. In 1933 th e R aja of Alwar raised th e
tax four tim es, and th e who le of M ewat rose up . T he M eo histori -
ans call this reb ellion Alwa r T ahrrk ('Abd ul H ayy 1966, 298). The
Muslim organiza tions supported the M cos. Other H indu sta tes, like
Kapurthala, had sim ilar conditions, and th e Alwar m ovem en t sp read
to the m . The M ajlis Ahrarul Islam, a religiou s political orga nizat ion,
sent a delegati on to suppo rt th e Alwar refugees. T he R aja of Alwar,
a Hindu na tion alist, and a suppo rter of th e Indian National Congress,
and M awlana Sha ukat Ali of th e Khilafat m ovem ent, also an ally
of th e Congress, persuad ed G hulam Bhik Nairang to withd raw his
suppo rt to Ahrar.
The M ewatl Muslims were at a loss because neither th e Muslim
political parties nor th e Muslim officials in th e state would help th em .
The Jam'iyyat 'Ul am a-i Hind, becau se of its alliance with the Congress,
preferred to support th e R aja. According to J anbaz Mi rza , th e Ahrar
leader of th e Muslim m ovem ent against th e R aja, th e M ajlis Ahrar
reacted by de ciding to help the Muslims in Alwar state. J anbaz Mirza
(M irza n .d. , 1:280) describes how th e M ah araja banned all type s
of religiou s activities in th e sta te on 30 June 1932. The religious
organiza tions were obliged to maintain registers. H e made a special
point of forbidding the J am 'iyyat M arkaziyya T ablighul Islam, Ambala
to hir e residents in the state to be preach er s. On 2 July 1932, a
Hindu was murdered and th e sta te sentence d a number of Muslims
to death for th e crime.

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liv INTRODUCTION
The M ajlis Ahrar declared 22 july as Alwar Day to launch a pub-

lic protest again st th e rep ression of Muslims in th e sta te . They
a n no unce d th at Muslim s wo uld leave the state en mass if th eir
dem ands were not met. In the end th e M ah araj a agreed (M irza n.d.,
283), but th e British quikly too k the opportunity to deth rone th e
Raja and appoint a political age nt of th eir own (All 1970, 29).
This was th e co ntex t within which M awlan a Ilyas decid ed to
launch Tablrghi j ama'at in M cwat. W e shall discuss the eme rge nce
of the mov em ent in cha pter one, but here it is important to not e
th at th e Tablighf j ama'at was not the only or th e first Da'wa mov e-
ment in Mewat->Tabligh activities wer e already in progress. The
j am a'at, how ever , succeeded where others failed becau se it improved
up on th e method and stra tegy of Da'wa.
Maiouuui Ashraf 'Alf Tluinaioi

M awlana Ashraf 'All Than awi (d. 1941) was a renowned scholar from
Deob and who came to M ewat in 1922 and preach ed in R cwarl,
arna wl and Isma'ilpur in Alwar. H e planned to go to NiiJ:1 and
Fcrozpur jhirka but was unab le to (Hasan 1985, 3:238, 239). Mawlana
Than awi also wrote severa l sho rt tre atises on th e subject of tabligh,
including Al-insidiid li-fitnatil utidad (Eradication of the evil of apostasy),
Husn Islam kf ek ]halak (A view of the beauty of Islam ), Nama; ta
'aqlf khiibiydn (R ational explana tion of th e merits of prayer) and a
treatise justifying th e sacrifice of cows, from the Vedas. He also wrote
three othe r sermo ns entitled al-Datoat ila Allah, Mahiisinul Islam and
Adiilnu tabtzgh (H asan 1985, 3:239) on the merits of missionary activities.
When Mawlan a Thanawl came to know of th e Arya Samaj mis-
sionary wor k in G ajn er in the district of K anpur, U P, he paid a visit.
This story is quite instru ctive about the stat e of Islam in this area
and 'ulamii's method of Do'ioa. Mawlana gat hered th e nobles of the
Gajn er village , among th em two men nam ed Nathhii Singh and
Adh ar Singh. H e found that in government records their names were
Nathhu K ha n and Adhar Khan, indicating th eir Muslim origin .
Mawlana offered th em drinks but they refused saying that th ey did
not accept an y food from Muslims. They said th at they were nei-
ther Muslims nor Hindus, but "Naw-M uslirn" (nco-M uslims, con-
verts). Mawlana also came to know that th ese people practiced some
Hindu customs like "plzer-e" (ritually making seven rounds around a
fire) at wedding ceremo nies and th ey wore ehOtf (a lock of hair left

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INTRODUCTION Iv
on top of the head while the rest is shaven) like Hindus. Only those
who could afford it practiced circumcision. Adhar Singh further
explained that they were not Hindus since they built tacziya (models
of the tombs of Imam Hasan and Husayn carried in the muharram
procession). The Mawlana instructed them to continue the practice
of tacziya. When his companions objected to this Shia practice,
Mawlana remarked that it saved them from committing Kzifr and
apostasy. The Mawlana announced that a Muslim kithii (story-telling)
would be held in the village, and a lvl flad (Prop het's birthday) cer-
emony was arranged. The Mflad consisted of the recital of stories
from the life of Prophet Muhammad and songs in his praise, and
sweets were distributed at the end. The Afflad, a Brclwl practice,
was condemned by the Dcobandis as bid a. The people in the village
promised that they would not commit apostasy, but they said they
would continue to be Naw-Muslim, not Muslims (Hasan 1985, 3:233).
There are several points to be not ed from this story. First, the
use of Singh in the names and the peoples' adherence to some appar-
ently Hindu social practices resemble practices from Mewat that we
have discussed. It demonstrates further that the phenomenon of nom-
inal Islam was not confined to Mcwat. Second, Muslims and Hindus
treated converts to Islam as a separate caste which retained certain
Hindu customs and practices. Third, it appears from the mention
of tacziya that Shl'a Do'ioa was active in the area, and, probably due
to this fact, the locals were distinguished from oth er M uslims. Fourth,
Mawlana Thanawi used Shl'a (tacziya), Brelwi (mflad) and even
Hindu (kitha) practices as entrance points for his Da'ioa. 'We have
seen that the ~ufi Daroa also used this strategy, but Mawlana Thanawi
employed these measures only temporarily.
In 1924, Mawlana Thanawi prepared a program iDastiaul CAmal )
of Do'ioa called "Tafhlrn al-Muslimfn", consisting of twelve points,
including kalima, namiiz; zakat, Ramadan, ~ajj, ta'lim, itufaq Muslimfn
(M uslim unity ), tanrim (orga nization) and tabligl: against moral evils.
The program also recommended reading material, mostly Mawlana
Thanawi's books . In 1931, he developed a special method of tablfgh
which he presented in his booklet Atluir Rahmat. He established an
organization of tablfgh in Saharanpur (H asan, 1985, 3:244) called
Majlis Siyanatul Muslimin (Association for the protection of Muslims),
aimed at the reform of Muslims in general. He wrote rfla~f Nisiib
(C ourse for reform) for this particular purpose. In its latest edition
it includes the following books : Haydtul Muslimin, Aghlatul 'aioamm,

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lvi INTRODUCTION
Huqiiqul Islam, ]aza'ul A'miil, Huqiiqul iodlidayn, Furu'ul imdn, Adiibul

muiisharat, Talimud Din, and T'ashil qasdis sabil. Apparently , this course
was prepared for the 'ulamii, because the introduction to the book
was writt en in Ar abic and the U rdu language was heavily Arabized.
The style of writing and focus on legal and theological topi cs also
indicate that the book was not addressed to common Muslim men ,
who were mostly illiterate. Mawlana Ilyas admired Mawlana Thanawi's
efforts, and the Tahlighf Jama'at even adopted certain of his ideas
like devising a course for the Tablighfs and developing the rules of
Tabligh in the form of a set number of points. The T ablighf J ama'at,
how ever , differs with Mawlana Thanawi's method of Da'wa in two
significant respects. First, it dismisses the idea that Tabllgh is the
function of the 'ulamd alon e- it addresses the common man and
assigns to him also the duty of Da'wa. Second, J ama'at stresses col-
lective phy sical mov em ent in groups.
Conclusion
South Asia's intellectual encounter with the West began earlier than
in the Arab world. It sensitized South Asian Muslims, more than
others, to the threats to faith , not only from Hinduism but also from
mod ernity. Da'wa, therefore, came to be defined not only as a mis-
sionary activity of calling non-Muslims to Islam, but mor e significantly,
as a call to Muslims to become good Muslims. Faced with the chal-
lenges of mod ernity, materialism and secularism, the definition of a
good Muslim became contestable among moderni sts, revivalists and
reformists. Dissatisfied with the prevailing conception, several new
definitions of a good Muslim were claimed. The Tablighl Jama'at's
stress on faith renewal and Muslim tran snationali sm reflects specifically
South Asian Muslim concern s. The studi es in this volume explore
various dim ensions of th ese topi cs as they are developing within
different political and cultura l settings.

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INTRO D UCTION lvii
Appendix
Some Modern Da'wa Mooements"

I . Ahmadiyya M ission (Atv I), India
Mirza Chulam Ahm ad (1830- 1908) lau nched the Ahmadiyya movem ent
in 1889 in Q adiyan , Indi a. Initially, his mission was to defend Islam against
C hristian and Hindu missionaries, includin g the Arya Samaj. Subsequently
he also called for reform s within Islam itself. He claimed to be the M ahdi
who , it was believed, would end war in the world . He therefore declar ed
that J ihad had come to an end and that hen ceforth the faith should be
sp read by preachin g and persuasion . H e established Ahmadiyya Mission ,
which began to operate transnationall y, especially in the African continent.
The Mi rza offered a liberal interp retation of Islam in certain areas but
overall he remained conservative. The point where he came into conflict
with the 'ulamii, and on account of which his mision was later declared
non-Muslim in Pakistan in 1974, was his claim to pr oph esy. He believed
that prophecy was continuous and that he was a prophet within Islam. H e
claimed to be inspired by the $lifi' traditi on , especially by the twelfth cen-
tury Spani sh $lifi' Ibn 'Arabi, The Ahm adi yya mission was probably the
first tran snational movem ent working in multiple countries outside of Indi a
to establish mosques and convert non-Muslims to Islam . It is essentially a
missiona ry organization, similar to C hristian missiona ry societies. It has
a n extensive publication p rogramme that includ es periodicals in several
lan guages.
2. Darul Arqam (DAM) , Malaysia

T his movement was founded in 1968 by Sheikh Imam Asha ari Muhammad
al-T amimi in Ku ala Lumpur in M alaysia. Its objective is defined as the
revival of religious belief and values in practice, and it teaches the Qur' an
and basic Islam ic du ties a nd doctri nes. The overall goa l is self-correction.
It is a Da'wa organization that is very media conscious, a nd it orga nizes
cultural shows and concerts to stress mult i-ethn icity in Islam . The move-
ment has bran ches in several othe r countries. It establishes self-reliant vil-
lage communities with agricultura l complexes, business firms an d factori es
to produce foodstuffs, cosmetics and other item s of daily use. The organi-
zationa l stru cture is patt ern ed after a state government , with ministers and
departm ent s dealing with education, information, economy and propaga-
tion. T here is a deep association with Sufism. It is not a registered organ-
ization , and it was acc used of political designs and outlawed in 1994.
3. Hirbud Da'watil lsliimiyy a (HDI ), Iraq

Found ed by Muhammad Baqirus Sadr in Najaf, Iraq, in 1957, this is a
political party with a Shl' a religious orientation. The Hizb called upon the
8 M ain source s of inform ation for this appe ndix a re the relevant art icles in the
Oxford Encyclopedia if the Modem Islamic World (Esposito 1995).

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lviii INTROD UCTIO N
people of Iraq to revive Islam. It worked amo ng both literate and poo r
ur ban communities, teachin g about the Qur' an and Islamic tenets. It also
spread to other countries. Soon it came into conflict with the ruling Ba'th
party in Iraq. After th e govern me nt executed its leader, the Hizb went
underground and becam e militant. It organ ized mass anti-Ba' th demo n-
strations, and it fought on the side of Iran duri ng the Iraq-Ira n War. Its
organizational struc ture is pyramidal with a General Leadership Committee
assisted by a council. T he top leadership positions have been given differe nt
names from time to time, but at the lower levels the ba sic units have been
"the family" and "the ring." It has a publication pro gramme that takes an
ecume nical ap proach to religious issues.
4 . ]amii'at Islami (JA), In dia, Pakistan

M awlana Mawdudi founded j ama'at Islamf in August 1941. Its five-point
program included the following: reconstru ction of hum an thought in the
ligh t of Divin e guida nce; p urification of indi vidu als; tra ining of these indi-
viduals for Da'wa; recon stru ction of society an d its institutions accordi ng to
the teachings of Islam; and revolution in th e political leadership of the
Mu slim society to establish a n Islamic state.
j ama'at Islami was originally a n inte llectual movem ent , but shifted its
focus to pow er po litics. It has been critical of all the othe r Mu slim political
parti es and associations. As a political par ty it takes part in electoral poli-
tics at every level, and in 1958 the j am a' at won the local municipal elec-
tions in Karachi. Generally, however, its electoral success has been negligible.
Disillusioned with electoral politics, the j ama'at Islami reorganiz ed its
stude nt wing Islami j am 'iyyatut T alaba as a militia, trainin g th em to resist
police and security forces. It also decided to penetrate various organ iza-
tions, associations, labor a nd trad e unions, bureau cracies, the army and
educationa l institutions. In 1977 it j oined the Nizam M ustafa movem en t to
overthrow the govern me nt. General Ziaul H aq launched a pro gram me of
Islamization fully supported by the j ama'at Islam i,
T he organizational struc ture of the j am a'at is complex. T he amir, or
head of the j am a' at is elected by a council called Shu ra, T here are th ree
cadres of movem ent members, Rukn, K arkun and M utt afiq. Rukn ar e reg-
ular memb ers but ar e selected only after scrut iny. M em bers in the other
two a re not regular mem bers and have no voting p rivileges. The amir is
selected for five years. T he structure is repeated at the p rovincial, division,
district , and city or town levels. The orga niza tional stru cture is highly
bureau cratic, and the office holders receive salaries and other privileges.
Study circles and readin g rooms ar e organized where j ama' at literature is
placed, a nd the j am a'at has an extensive network of publishing institut ions
both in Pakistan a nd abroad.
5. ] am'iyyatul Ikhwiinil Mu slimiin [Mu slim Broth erh ood (M B)], Egypt
T hi s m ovem en t was founded in 1928 in Egypt by H a san al- Banna
(1906- 1949), and soon established its br anc hes in othe r Arab countries. It
began as a p urely religious educa tional and cha rity association conce rne d

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INTROD UCTION lix
with Islami c morals, educatio n and social work. Rising against the imp end-
ing threats of Western culture, secularism and loss of political power, espe-
cially after the abolition of calipha te, the Bro therhood becam e involved in
political activities in 1938. Its orga nizational structure was pyr amidal, stress-
ing obedien ce to the lead er, Amir, who had a council to guide him . The
most basic unit was the usra (family). Various committees and techn ical sec-
tions supported the organization. Na tional political conditions in the 1940s
brought the Brotherhood into active politics, and it bega n militant activi-
ties against the British and Zionist threats to the country.
In 1940 the movem ent developed a secret military apparatus, with ran ger
scouts called J awwala . The Ikhwan also became finan cially self-sufficient ,
esta blishing its own bu sinesses, factori es, scho ols a nd ho spit als. It also
infiltrated the trad e union s and the armed forces. T he broth erhood came
into dir ect conflict with the Egypti an Government that executed H asan al-
Banna in 1949. In 1952 all political parties were dissolved , but since the
Brotherhood was a j am'iyy at (society), not a jamd'at (pa rty), it survived . A
shift in th e mov em ent 's thought came under the lead ership of Sayyid Qutb,
who main tained a rad ical political orientation . H e strongly opp osed the pre-
valent ideologies in the Arab world , including mod ernism and Westernization.
T he continuous conflict with the govern me nt cost the lives of many of the
mo vem ent 's members, including Sayyid Qutb,
Int ellectu ally, th e Brotherhood was an urban , literate group, initially
inspired by Sufism and its ideals. It was strongly influenced by Salafi thought,
especially that of Ibn Taymiyya. It was no t, th erefore, in agr eem ent with
the ortho dox Islam . Its Da'wa, however, remain ed mo re conce rne d with
political ma tters. It was not a missionary movem ent in the sense of work-
ing for the conversion of non-Muslims. Rather, its Da'wa targeted Muslims
in order to cha nge their thinking.
6. ] am'iyy atud Da'watil Isliimiyy a [Islam ic Call Society (ICA)], Libya

Q addhafi established this mov em ent in Libya in 1972 to prop agate his ide-
ology of Islam. T he Society defines its five objectives as the spread of Arabic
language; purification of Islamic laws; organization of studies for prep arin g
devout Musl ims; preparation of pr eachers; and reforms in Mu slim coun-
tries. It has three broad er goals: Islam ic revolut ion , the reorgani zation of
religious institutions including education, and Islami c missionization . To
establish an Islam ic mission it initiated an educat ional programme to train
da'fs (preachers). The Society is a good example of state Da'wa. It is orga n-
ized on a bureaucratic model tha t is highly structured and centralized. Largely
fund ed by the state, it is a missiona ry as well as a political Da'wa orga ni-
zation. It calls for J ihad, but mean s by th at Da'wa and relief work. It is
transnational, but on a very limited scale. It also opera tes among non-
Mu slims and has an extensive publ ication pro gramme.
7. Al-Mqjlisul A'la Lish Shu'iinil Islamiyya [H ighe r Council of Islam ic Affairs

(MA)] , Egypt
This depa rtm ent, established by J am al 'Abdu n Nasir in 1960 in Cairo, is

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Ix INTRODUCTION
another example of state controlled Da'wa. The Council is a part of the

government machinery and works as an organization for public ation and
propagation. It has also worked for the promotion of Arabic language and
culture.
8. Pertubuhan Kebcgikan Islam Semalaysia [Perkim (PM)] , Malaysia

Tunku 'Abdur Rahman founded Perkim in 1960 as a religious and social
welfare organization. It was supported mainly by the World Muslim League.
Its principal objective was to promote Islam as a national religion. This
was a particularly complex problem in multiethnic Malaysian society, where
Malays wer e in the majority. Perkim supported the conversion of non-
Muslims but the Malays did not recogniz e the new converts as equals.
During ethnic conflicts in the 1970s Perkim 's policy of supporting Muslims
irrespective of their ethnicity became problematic. Its conversion programme
could not succeed because the converts faced so many ethnic problems.
Perkim today operates as a missionary movement that provides services for
converts such as religious instruction, hostels, and help and training toward
getting government jobs.
9. Rabuatul 'Alamil Isldmi [Muslim World League (MW L)), Saudi Arabia
The League was founded in Saudi Arabia in 1962 during a political crisis
in Egyptian-Saudi politics. During this period, communism had mad e inroads
in the Muslim world and Jamal 'Abdun Nasir in Egypt was supporting
socialism and suppressing the Islamists. The League was therefore a purely
political organization, but it operated as a transnational missionary organ-
ization. It defined itself as a cultural organization that spoke for the whole
of Muslim Umma. It is the clearest example of state Da'wa, completely
state-funded, organized on a bureaucratic model, and strictly centralized.
The objectives of the League ar e defined as promoting the message of
Islam , fighting conspiracies against Islam, and discussing problems relevant
to Islam . The character of the League changed in 1968 after the estab-
lishment of the Organization of Islamic Countries (O IC). In that same year
it established branches in other parts of the world . It has two Da'wa coun-
cils: Continental Councils (established in 1974), and the World Council of
Mosques (1975). In 1979 it formed the Islamic Fiqh Academy and the
International Islamic Relief Fund, and established a centre for training da'fs
(preachers).

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INTRODUCTION

Tablighi JamaCat, from its rise in a rural setting in Mewat in India

1. Terms and Concepts

Tablighl JamaCat as a transnational movement has sometimes been

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

J am es Piscatori (1992) has analyzed recent theoretical studies of

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

tran snational politi cs to be ignored . H e particularly refer s to Muslim

Muslim transnationalism differs significantly from its Western con-

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

in th e routinization of the idea of nation-state by defining 'transna-

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

at others' doors, one is expec ted to arrive at one's own doorsteps.

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

religious values which secularism and scientism claim to have replaced.

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

The revivalism of th e ilzyii movem ents is not , however, a return

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Mawlan a Ilyas, the founder of the T ablighf Jama'at, elaborates th is

It appears from th e Qur'an th at Da'wa combines two acts sim ulta-

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

The Qur'an prescrib es Da'wa as both an individu al and a collec-

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

sionary religion. T. W . Arno ld had to argu e at length that the concept

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

ta'lim (teaching), tasnif wa talif (writing books), irshad (guidance) and

Modem Da'wa Movements

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Brotherhood and JamaCat Islami) are private. Most of these move-

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Ser ial Na me AL'V1 ICS MB PM HOI DAM MWL JI MA TJ

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The th ird area of Da'wa relates to politics, either state sponsored

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Having analyzed the concepts of transnationalism and Daioa, we now

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Naq shbandiya" and M ad ari ya .' M ewatf (1979, 182-440) mentions

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

ca lled Baba Kapur, ca me to M ewat from K alpi . A water carrier by

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

It is quite com mon to describe M ewatls as Muslims in name only.

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

It is questionable if Muslims were obliged Islamically to have only

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

acterizes th e J.\tfewiHf peasants as lethargic, ignorant, cunning and

TIe Cult if ssu. Mas'ild Glzaz!

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Ibrahim of Imam Musa Rada. The martyrs of the army of Imam

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

disciples (mufid) and was believed to intercede before Go d for them.

We find it hard to accept Anwarul H aq 's conclusion. T abllghi J ama'at

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Tabligh Activities in Msou

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036

Hindus also revered Shah Ramadan, and in several Hindu villages

III. the Challenge if Modernity and South Asian Responses

Muhammad Khalid Masud - 9789004453036