The Congress government of Telangana sanctioned Rs 2,45,93,847 crore for an Islamic congregation to be held from Janury 6-8, 2024 at Nematnagar village in Pargi Mandal of Vikarabad district. Around 3-5 lakh Muslims from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh is likely to attend this Subaee Deeni Ijtema, organised by Tabliqhi Jamat.
Parigi Congress MLA Dr T RamMohan Reddy said after due consultation with CM Revanh Reddy, he could secure the funds quickly, and it is his first success after being elected as MLA just 2 weeks ago.
According to the order GO-RT-123 issued by Syed Umar Jaleel, Secretary of Minority Welfare, the authorities sanctioned funds from various departments to carry out the event. The district collector of Vikarabad proposed allocating Rs 2,45,93,847 to provide various facilities at the congregation venue. The Waqf Board will release the allocated funds to the district collector of Vikarabad. The government designated the CEO of Waqf Board as the nodal officer in charge of ensuring that the proposed works are completed on time.
The allocated funds are distributed to different departments. Mission Bhagiratha, which focuses on water supply and SUMP construction, has been allocated Rs 85 lakh. A total of Rs 68 lakh has been set aside for the construction of pipelines from ponds to the congregation site. With a budget of Rs 40 lakh, the Panchayat Raj Engineering Department will oversee road and parking area construction. Transformers will be installed for uninterrupted power supply and transmission for Rs 48,35,847. Maintenance work will be carried out with a budget of Rs 4.58 lakh.
Previously, on August 23, when the BRS was in governance, the Vikarabad District Collector estimated that approximately 7 crores would be required and sent the proposal to the government for approval.
In a noteworthy turn of events, Syed Umar Jaleel, an IAS officer and former district collector for Vikarabad, faced a seven-month suspension in 2019. This disciplinary action was a consequence of his unauthorised opening of sealed 122 EVMs and VVPATs in the strong rooms, a blatant violation of an Election Commission order. It’s crucial to note that Jaleel undertook this action despite a pending petition regarding the assembly polls in Vikarabad awaiting resolution in the high court.
After serving a seven-month suspension, Jaleel was appointed as the Secretary of the Intermediate Board and the Commissioner of Intermediate Education. Later, he retired in September 2022. In a surprising development in July 2022, the BRS government appointed him to a significant position once again. This time, Jaleel took on the responsibilities of Secretary and Commissioner of the Telangana Minority Welfare Department for a stipulated two-year term.
The preparations for Subaee Deeni Ijtema are in full swing. Hyderabad Youth Courage NGO member Salman Khan, who was arrested in a fake crowd funding case and is under PD ACT, appealed to fellow Muslims to attend this event in large numbers.
The locals informed the media that around 3-5 lakh Muslims are expected to arrive at Parigi, which is 85 kms away from Hyderabad. The members of Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin are expected to be in this three day Islamic congregation. In March 2020, Tablighi Jamaat held a similar congregation in Delhi when the deadly Covid virus was present, and the majority of the attendees were infected with the virus. Furthermore, they dispersed throughout the country, resulting in a massive spread of the virus. Following a police investigation, it was discovered that many foreigners also attended this event and traveled to various parts of the country, posing a security risk.
Several Islamic Countries have banned the Tablighi Jamaat congregation and its activities. In December 2021, Saudi Arabia banned Tablighi Jamaat and calling it as “One of the gates of Terrorism”. In 2013, Kazakhstan banned the Tablighi Jamaat and designated it as an extremist group. The movement is also prohibited in Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Just over a century ago, Mohammed Ilyas Kandhlawi founded the Tablighi movement in India, advocating for a return to “pure” Islam. Essentially, this meant urging converts mostly from Hindus in India to abandon Hindu customs that they had continued to follow even after converting to Islam.
According to SATP, Tablighi Jamaat, the global organisation of Islamic missionaries,has long history of ties with Pakistan-based banned terror outfits like Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). As per intelligence estimates, over 6,000 Tablighis were trained in HuM terror camps in Pakistan. The HuM cadre eventually joined the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit founded by Masood Azhar. As per WikiLeaks documents, some of the 9/11 al Qaeda suspects detained by the US in Guantanamo Bay had stayed in the premises of the Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin West, New Delhi, several years ago. Since millions of Tablighi Jamaat proselytisers travel around the world preaching Islam, much on the lines of the radical Wahhabi-Salafist ideology, the Jamaat developed a large following in Chechnya and Dagestan areas of Russia, Somalia and some other African countries.
In 2016, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet in connection with an Islamic State (IS) related case. In its chargesheet, the NIA speaks about the role played by both the Tablighi Jamaat and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). The NIA chargesheet states much before the IS came into existence, members of the Tablighi would circulate propaganda material. At that time the distribution of such material was not on the internet. They were sermons issued in select mosques and pamphlets and compact discs were distributed. Also for several years now, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) has been warning about the role of the Tablighi Jamaat or JeI.
The South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF), a Brussels-based think tank in its report titled “Tablighi Jamaat and its role in the Global Jihad” stated Tablighi Jamaat functions as a catalyst, gateway, springboard, or antechamber for an extreme and militant interpretation of Islam – indoctrinating Muslims into Jihadists.
