Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs issued the order for Imams to preach about the dangers Tablighi Jamaat poses to society. Any association with the Tablighi Jamaat is prohibited in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has asked all Imams to preach about the dangers the Tablighi Jamaat poses to society. It has explicitly mentioned that any association with the Tablighi Jamaat is prohibited in the Kingdom. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs issued the order on Monday (December 6).
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs said, “His Excellency the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Abdullateef Al-Sheikh, the preachers of mosques in which Friday prayers are held, are instructed to dedicate the next Friday sermon 6/5/1443 A.H. to warn against (the Tablighi and Da’wah group).”
It said, the preachers are directed to talk about four major points about the group:
. Explanation of the misguidance, deviation and danger of this group, and that it is one of the gates of terrorism, even if they claim otherwise.
. Mention their most prominent mistakes.
. Mention their danger to society.
. A statement that affiliation with partisan groups, including (the Tablighi and Dawah Group) is prohibited in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry explicitly mentioned that association with the Tablighi Jamaat opens “the gates of terrorism”. The Tablighi Jamaat is an ultra-conservative Sunni Islamic missionary movement started in Haryana in 1926. It urges Muslims to follow the conservative beliefs of religion, particularly in ritual, dress, and personal behaviour. It has about 400 million followers globally.
The U.S. Government has been closely monitoring the Tablighi Jamaat since September 2001. According to the U.S. officials, the teachings and beliefs of the Tablighi Jamaat have been a starting point for pushing their members to join the radical Muslim organizations. Russian authorities have also warned about the dangers of the Tablighi Jamaat. In February last year, it cracked down on the centres run by the Jamaat.
In March last year, when the Union government announced lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19, hundreds of Tablighi members were detained from a mosque in Nizamuddin. It included many foreign members of the Jamaat. The Tablighi Jamaat is “a conduit and a fertile recruiting ground for jihadi organizations such as Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-i-Taiba”, the Milli Chronicle quoted political analyst Shireen Khan Burki. Islamists in India and abroad defend Tablighi Jamaat, claiming it only asks its followers to stick to Islam's “true teachings”.
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