PDF Tablighi Jama'at: Indonesian and Indian Muslims'

Tablighi Jama’at: Indonesian and Indian Muslims’Shared Experience Idin Fasisaka

Introduction

The article sets out to examine the shared memory and experience of Indonesian and Indian Tablighijama’at that form their common identity as Tablighi community. It is because of major role of IndianTablighi Jama’atin disseminating tablighimethod of da’wah (Islamic proselytization) in Indonesia. Numerous scholars propose that Islam came to Indonesia from India (Gujarat) through a long history people-to-people contact. This is, perhaps, the justification why many Islamic traditions in Indonesia were influenced by Indian culture, especially the Tablighi tradition.

Today, the Tablighi Jamaat has become an important religious movement in Indonesia and worldwide. It has expanded its network even in the distant localities. This movement gradually expands from local to national to a transnational movement and now it is operating in 150 countries with significant influence in many majority Muslim countries, such as Indonesia. It seems to be particularly exciting to look at the ideology of the movement, which stimulate its activities.

The article is, thus, outlined the interlinked primary resources as follows: firstly, the origin of the movement and the IndianTablighis’first contact with Indonesian Muslims in brief, the Indonesian and Indian TablighiJama’at: its ideological inheritance, and sharedTablighi experience in Indonesia.

The Origin of the Movement and The Indian Tablighis’ First Contact with Indonesian Muslim

The origins of the Tablighi Jama’at go back to Mewat, North India and the Deobandi tradition that originated from the Dar’ul Uloommadrasah (school) in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh.

Tablighi Jamaat represents a missionary group, an Islamic religious movement whose fundamental intention is to bring about reforms into Muslim individuals. It is apolitical and mainly peaceful model based on the idea of inner transformation. The main objective of this movement is to work at the grassroots levels in order to reach all levels of Muslim societies and then bringing them close to the tenets of Islam (Khan, 2007: 10).

Maulana Ilyas Kandahlawi (1885-1944), whose family was closely linked to the

Deobandi leadership, , the founder of the Tablighi movement, realized the limitations of ordinary educational methods inda’wah(proselytisation, conveying the message of Islam), and instead introduced a method of practical learning, urging every Muslim, even the uneducated, to move from one’s place in order to preach to others.Tabligh (the conveyance of Islamic message), he argued, was incumbent not only on the learned but also on every Muslims. In the mid-thirties, however, the Tablighi movement became popular and is widely accepted in Mewat (Troll, 1994:

120)

Under the direction of Maulana Muhammad Yousuf (1917-1965), the son of Maulana Ilyas, the movement internationally spread to Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North

America.While under the leadership of Maulana In’amul Hasan (1965-1995), its worldwide movements increased intensely, perhaps, because of increasing Indian diaspora in various parts of the world (Metcalf, 2004: 672)

Bustamam (Bustamam, 2006: 352) wrote, the firstTablighi jama’atgroup to come to Indonesia is thought to have originated in India and was led by Miaji Isa. They arrived in Medan in 1952 and called themselvesjama’ahkhuruj, namely a group travels on to practice self- improvement and call others to be loyal to God. This movement only began to demonstrate intensive activities in around 1974 at the Kebon JerukmosqueinJakarta.

Maulana Miaji Isa and his fellow Tablighis found that they were warmly accepted among the Indian Muslims of Medan, Penang, and Singapore. In Medan, Al-Hidayah mosque became their first markaz (base) in Sumatra. From Medan and Penang, messages were relayed back to the Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi, informing the emir (head) of the movement that the time was right to send more delegations to Southeast Asia to spread the movement’s message. Between 1952 to 1954, several more delegations were sent to and from Delhi. Between 1955 to 1957, delegations were sent out to Tangerang, Bogor, Cianjur, Cimahi, Bandung, Tasikmalaya and Cirebon.

Noor (Noor, 2003: 35) described that in February 1955, a group of eight men landed at the Kamayoran International Airport of Jakarta. The men attracted the attention of the

immigration officials and the people at the airport due to their appearance, which was in stark contrast to most of the other passengers at the terminal: they wore long flowing white shirts that reached down to their knees, under which hung baggy trousers that stopped above their ankles.

None of the men spoke Bahasa Indonesia and only their leader spoke a few words of English.

They were of Pathan origin and they had flown to Jakarta all the way from India.

The other factor that greatly inhibited the expansion of the Tablighi network as it spread from Jakarta was the foreignness of the movement and how it was perceived as something alien to Indonesian Islam. The first Tablighis who came from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh spoke no Javanese or Bahasa Indonesia and had no local family links whatsoever. Their mode of dress and daily rituals were seen as exotic and unfamiliar to many Indonesians, who referred to them summarily as ‘Indian Muslims’(Noor, 2003: 38).

Indonesian and Indian Tablighi Jama’at: Ideological Inheritance

This section concerns on the Indonesian and South Asian TablighiMuslims’shared identity, because there were at least two grounds for the emergence of the Tablighi movement in India (Bustaman, 2006: 359). First, from its historical background, it is exciting to notice that the TablighiJama’atwas initially a reaction to local issues in South Asia. However, the Tablighi Jama’atwas also likely influenced by broader social, political and religious developments, that is to say, the decrease of the Islamic chaliphate in the Muslim world in the beginning of the twentieth century. Thus, even though the movement was claimed to be not a political, it was not immune from political influence. According to Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, it is a movement that is aimed to promote the conceptof the return to the Qur’an and Sunnah as the pathway to the establishment of an Islamic community which is called as ummah (Khan, 2007: 46).

As described by Khan, Maulana Mohammad Yousuf, the son of Maulana Ilyas, stated that ummah is not the name of a group belonging to one nation or one place, but is formed rather

of people of various lands and climes joined together into one whole. Those who consider a particular nation or a particular people as their own are guilty of destroying the ummah by breaking it up into separate entities. Muslims are being subjected to oppression throughout the world because they are disunited. Ummah can be formed only when all its groups fully dedicate themselves to the task, ignoring all the differences between them (Khan, 2007: 47)

In this context, the Tablighi movement was aimed to bring the ummah (Islamic

community) together through the education and reform of individuals (Ahmad, 1991:516). It is often claimed that theTablighi jama’atis an apolitical Islamic movement that is not concerned with the establishment of Islamic state. However, this movement has a particular political goal (Khan, 2007:46)

Maulana Mohammad Yousuf’s political ideas on ummah-ness that give the basis for Indian and Indonesian Muslims’ shared identity in theTablighi movement can be traced back to the notion of Maulana Muhammad Ali, former president of All-India Khilafat Congress.

Muhammad Ali was basically a Moslem theologian who had deep faith in the doctrines of Islam.

He intensified religious approach to politics in the Muslim which had traditionally adhered to a theocratic viewpoint. According to Muhammad Ali, the recognition of the communal

individuality of the Moslems was the basis of any constructive solution of India’s problem, although he retained, however, his love for his country and he earnestly believed in the freedom of India. He pointed out that the discontent in India was primarily due to the advance of western education and enlightenment (Varma, 2006: 431). In this process of establishing an Islamic society, Tablighi movement rejects many elements of westernized lifestyle by going back to what the movement considers as fundamental Islamic practices.

The second ground that is to note that the TablighiJama’atwas initially a reaction to local issues in South Asia is the tendency to view the establishment of the TablighiJama’atas the result of the dissemination of Sufism among tariqah (mysticism sects) groups in South Asia.

Maulana Ilyas was himself as an affiliate of the Chistiyyah Sufis in India. Unlike Tablighi jama’at, this Sufi group’s objective was only to give spiritual guidance to the people and ithas nothing to with the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam. This is the reason why Tablighi jama’at deal more with spiritual matters rather than political concern.

From the above perspective, it is clear that there are many factors contributing to the emergence of Tablighi Jama’at.

The socio-political circumstances in India had led Maulana Ilyas to revive his society by returning them the mode of life of the Prophet. The Tablighi movement emphasised the human will to establish an Islamic society on earth, a transformation of the self that involves self- consciousness and reflectiveness, and a rationalisation of Islam that conceived their faith as an entity. These outcomes are relevant to the activities of the TablighiJama’atin Indonesia

Primary Islamic traditions mean to Tablighijama’atfollowing what they consider as a

“pure”form of Islamic doctrines. By reawakening this Tablighi view of a“pure”Islamic

doctrine among Muslims all over the world, the Tablighi followers set a uniform guideline to live a life in the contemporary world. The uniformity of the activity and guidelines of the Tablighi Jama’atfacilitates the construction a global Tablighi community. Subsequently, the Tablighi community contributes in the development of identity formation of the TablighiJama’atby going beyond their local communities.

The fundamental principles of Tablighi ideology that bind Indonesian and Indian Tablighi Muslims altogether in the shared values come out in six points outlined by Maulana Ilyas

himself. These six principles are the following:

1. Kalimah.“Express the Islamicprofessionoffaithcorrectlyin Arabic and believeand understand itsmeaning.The aimwas to assert areturnto theOnenessofGod, discard worshipofallexcept Allah andstrengthen loyalty towardstheProphetMuhammad.

2. Salah.The obligation toknow thecorrectwayto perform obligatory prayersand be devoutinaccordancewith therulesofshart'ah.

3. ‘Ilm and Dzikir.A Muslims maynot refer tohimorherself as a good Muslimexcept after"possessingknowledge" aboutthe basicIslamicbeliefsandpracticingthem.A Muslimmustalso regularly perform dhikr (recitation oftheprofession offaith) in order to implantthehabit ofremembering Allahall thetime.

4. Ikram-i-Muslim. All Muslims are obliged to honour and respect other Muslims. This attitude is not only a religious obligation, but also a basic rule for effective

proselytizing.

5. Ikhlas-i-Niyyat: A Muslim must also always implant sincerity and honesty in every action. Everything must be done because of Allah.

6. Da’wat and Tabligh. The sixth obligation, a differentiating and innovative feature of Tablighi jama’at, is that they proselytise in small groups using khuruj (literally meaning

“to go out”, which means to go out of one's own neighbourhood in order to proselytise), travelling from one place to another, paying for themselves.

In this context, this article is aimed to explore the role of the TablighiJama’atactivities in fostering Islamic identity among Indonesian Tablighi Muslims. Focusing on the activities of the Tablighi Jama’at, the movement contributes to fostering a global Muslim identity by constructing a distinctive Tablighi community through shared and commonda’wahactivities.

Even though,The community's responseto the appearance of TablighiJama’atfollowers and their activitiesof in mosques in some cities in Indonesia is relatively diverse,in the context of identity politics, it is important to note that their merely presence with their Tablighi identity in Indonesian public sphere cannot necessary be considered a threat to Indonesian multicultural life and democracy. Weck agrees with Hefnerthat Islam’s appearance in Indonesia’s public sphere is pluralist, as are politics in all civilizations (Weck, 2011: 20)

Shared Tablighi Experience in Indonesia

Narrative theorists have identified that we are all homo fabulans, storytellers (Webben, 2008: 86). Through narratives, which are the main way by which human experience is made meaningful, the Tablighi followers in Indonesia make sense of the world, produce meaning, articulate intentions, and legitimize actions.

As the Indonesian Tablighi followers identify themselves through their ideology that is basically outlined by Maulana Ilyas, they drawon various markers of identity that have been passed down to them through the stories they were told. In this ongoing process they are

constantly comparing their experiences with those of the rest of the group that they identify with, i.e. South Asian Tablighi Muslims. They discover a shared tradition, a feeling of belonging when their experiences match the standards of identification.

Apparently, the TablighiJama’atfollowers in Indonesia nowadays have constructed new and varied lifestyles of their own. The motivation of their new lifestyle comes from Islamic ideology. For manyof them the identity that is “Muslim” is also notable. They clearly identify themselves as Tablighi Muslim and Indonesian. This implies that their Muslim identity is preferable to their ethnic identity among the TablighiJama’atfollowers in Indonesia.

There are complexities in the TablighiJama’atwith their unofficial membership of a global Tablighi community. The question is revolving around how they foster a global Tablighi community, which subsequently contributes to the formation of a common Tablighi identity.

This section attempts to answer this question by exploring the role and the activities of the TablighiJama’atin fostering a global identity.

Shared memory and experience are the next elements of forming a distinctive identity that also refers to collective action. Shared memories and a sense of continuity between

generations are important factors in creating an imaginary cultural tradition that binds members in a collective identity. Castells (2010) argues that shared experience is also an essential part of identity construction. The concepts of shared experience and memory are significant in

examining the construction of Tablighi identity as they consider to have Sa common historical background rootedin da’wahin general.

Although the initial priority of the TablighiJama’atis the renewal of faith, it has various other social implication on their life in a secular and multicultural society in Indonesia. For Tablighi followers, the Tablighi movement is not just a da’wah movement; rather, it provides them with a direction to live their life in a secular and multicultural society. In a contemporary world, in the wake of globalisation, a western lifestyle is not necessarily confined only in the West. It also has strong influences in the urban spaces of developing countries. In this circumstance, IndonesianTablighi jama’athave shared experience with their community in South Asia.

In some interviews, the followers of the TablighiJama’atconsider that their principles and teachings provide a guideline to help them to defend themselves from being submerged into the western lifestyle and also help them to live an Islamic life even in a different social and cultural atmosphere. As an Islamic revivalist, the Tablighi movement is not seen as anti-modern, rather it is seen as a response to modernity (Ali, 2003: 267). However, the TablighiJama’at’s refusal of various features of modern life make them considered as anti-secular and anti-modern.

The feeling of being Indonesian citizen among Tablighi Muslims in Indonesia is intertwined with their faith to practice their Tablighi ideology. This section will depict the activities of the TablighiJama’atthat construct a Muslim identity in Indonesia. The formation of a Tablighi community is the key element in constructing a distinctive identity. The notion of identity is closely linked with the concept of community. The idea of community provides a space where people want to belong. It creates expectation for them to stay together.

Globalisation brings people closer and at the same time, it transcends the boundary of the nation. It is difficult today to find a community restricted within their cultural and societal practices without any influence of globalisation. The weaknesses and inconsistencies of the

primordial view of culture and identity are challenged by an alternative view, known as

constructivist or social constructionist (Croucher, 2004: 36). In such contexts, the imagination of belonging to a wider society is a key to a new form of community that eventually helps to form an identity. Identity now forms a central focus across a range of discipline in the social science and the humanities. The sense of belonging to a wider and global community involves an imagination of shared identity.

The thought of creating a unique Tablighi lifestyle is not limited to a specific ethnic community but it is equally applicable within the entire Muslim world, including Indonesia.

Followers of the TablighiJama’attranscend national boundaries by carrying out da’wah journeys all over the world. Tablighi followers in every country follow the same guiding books (translated into the relevant language) and literature approved by the headquarters of the Tablighi movement in Nizamuddin, Delhi, showing how effectively the TablighiJama’atuses the print technology in order to create a global Tablighi ideology.

The transnational journey, which is called khuruj, bond Tablighi followers from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds to a global community of the TablighiJama’at. In reality, participants inJamaahTabligh activities invariousareas in Indonesia arecomprisedof various peoplewith different professions such as farmer, labourers, traders,whitecollarworkers and civilservants.In such a context, the TablighiJama’at can be pictured as a community where participants do not know each other, but belong to and have faith in the common Tablighi ideology.

TablighiJama’atfollowers in Indonesia do not set up a Tablighi community based on a particular ethnic background. Rather, the Tablighi community consist of a mixture of various ethnicities with different socio-cultural backgrounds. Across this way of integration, different ethnicities into a shared Tablighi practices, participants of the TablighiJama’atestablish a Tablighi community where each loyal participant upholds the basic principles of the Tablighi movement. The obedience to this distinctive system ofda’wahworldwide gives the Tablighi movement power in construction of a global community.

Additional factor in constructing a meaning of community is thedistinctiveand recognizable fashion of Islamic dress of the Tablighi participants. The suggestion of Tablighi fashion, which is aimed at following the way of the Prophet, is perceived as a sign of following the Sunnah(Prophet’s way of life). Clothing comes to bea noticeable sign of the Tablighi Jama’at, which is also popular in Indonesia, Tablighi male participants wearing Indian kurta pajama with a simple Islamic cap.

Amir, one of theTablighi jama’atin Denpasar, Bali, argued that, ‘When you are wearing a complete Tablighi dress, you cannot do anything that goes against Tablighi ideology. It

becomes difficult to do anything that looks silly inside the Tablighi community, and people can point at to you and say, how can a Tablighiman do this?’ This serves as a motivator for

followers and prevents them from doing anything that goes against Tablighi ideology. It is not just wearing an Islamic dress that makes them distinctive but the many social implications that come with it and help to retain a Tablighi ideology.

Apart from noticeable signs identify the Tablighijama’at in Indonesia as a distinguishing group, their fashion also links the participants to the broader Tablighi community in South Asia and worldwide. Dressing in this way during their collectiveda’wahjourney, the Indonesian Tablighi jama’atoften pray in public space. This is because their adherence to the one of the six

principles outlined by Maulana Ilyas, to pray on time even in hardcircumstanceswhile travelling.

The adherence to collective Tablighi manners and norms sets up shared meanings for followers and it sets up a same image of the TablighiJama’at. Transnationalda’wahjourneys and periodic ijtima’(meeting) worldwide provide a shared experience for TablighiJama’at followers. According to Najmuddin, a senior follower of Tablighijama’at In Bali, where Muslims are minority in this province, monthlyijtima' activitiesis held in markaz (base) inAr- Rahmat Mosque in Kuta. This local markaz has the same meaning forTablighi jama’atin Bali as that in Banglewali Masjid in Nizamuddin, Delhi. During periodicijtima’, theTablighi jama’at participate in taqrir. It isis arepetition oftheimportance ofpiousfaithanddeeds.Atthis

activityalectureis givenaboutthecharacteristicsof theProphet'scompanions thatincludethe six principlesthat arethestandard doctrineofTablighi jama’at.

Followers of the TablighiJama’atin Bali read Tablighi-recommended books during everyda’wah activity in a group. Once they finish reading these books, they start again from the beginning. Followers also do gasht everyday while they are on ada’wah tour. Repeated reading, listening and doing the same activities repeatedly create a common intellectual platform where followers from all over the world connect with each other. Stories from Tablighi books inspire its followers from all over the world to imagine being part of a global Tablighi community. In this way, the TablighiJama’atconstructs a common Tablighi tradition, which unites all Tablighi followers worldwide.

The transnationalda’wah activities of the TablighiJama’atpromote the idea of a world based on the Tablighi notion of an Islamic society. Thus, the idea of territory becomes

insignificant for the TablighiJama’at. Belonging to a Tablighi community also refers to a collective unity of all dedicated TablighiJama’atfollowers that binds the followers to a global Tablighicommunity. In addition, ‘theTablighis share a common language, a common pool of metaphors, a common mode of explanation’ (Metcalf, 1993: 601) that helps to construct this unity.

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