Comparative Analysis of the Tablighi Jamaat and the Jamaat-e Islami Emerging from South Asia

The Tablighi Jamaat and the Jamaat-e-Islami have emerged in the twentieth century from South Asia and now considered as popular movements among the Islamic movements. Tablighi Jamaat was formed in 1927 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi and Jamaat-e-Islami was formed in 1941 by Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi. Over time, Tablighi Jamaat has spread all over the world. On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami spread in the countries of South Asia, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Although these two movements are founded for preaching Islam to Muslims, the main difference between these two movements is the ‘political view’. The main objectives of Tablighi Jamaat are to keep hearts clean abiding by the basic principles of Islam such as intention, prayer and fasting and change the society. However, Jamaat-e-Islami aims to establish an Islamic state through a political and democratic way with a group of people who live according to the Qur’an and the Hadith, as well as the basic principles of Islam. Due to its political view, Jamaat-e-Islami is under pressure in the states in South Asia particularly in Bangladesh, while the Tablighi Jamaat has been giving great support. The purpose of this study is to investigate the fundamental differences between Tablighi Jamaat and Jamaat-e-Islami. In this qualitative study, the establishment of two movements, their aims, their way of working and the reactions of the society are discussed. The reasons for the double standard stance of Bangladesh government against the two movements are also revealed