Maulana Arshad Madani’s Open Support for Taliban Expressed In September seems to be Behind the Ban on Tablighi Jamaat in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Government Declares the Jamaat to Be Deviant and a Danger to Society Main Points: 1. In September, Maulana Arshad Madani had said that Taliban were freedom fighters and not terrorists. 2. He had said that if Taliban were terrorists than Gandhi and Nehru were also terrorists. 3. This is another setback for Jamaat under Maulana Saad. 4. Kazakhstan had already banned Jamaat in 2012. 5. Taliban have close ties with Qatar which has rivalry with Saudi kingdom. ----- New Age Islam Staff Writer 14 December 2021 Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, President Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind during a press conference. Express Photo By Amit Mehra ---- The Muslim world was surprised by the imposition of ban on the Tablighi Jamaat that was launched in Mewat bin 1927 by Maulana Ilyas Kandhalvi for making illiterate and ignorant Muslims of the area aware of true Islamic teachings. The ban which was announced recently by the Saudi government was imposed because according to the Saudi government, it is ‘dangerous to the society’ and that it was ‘one of the gates of terrorism’. Surprisingly, the Saudi government has accused the Jamaat of spreading shirk (polytheism), Qabr Parasti (worship of graves) and Bidat (innovations). The Tablighi Jamaat, to the contrary is against visiting Mazars and shrines and is critical of Sufism. The ban has come as a surprise to many because the Tablighi Jamaat comes close to Wahhabism or Salafism that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia espouses. Though the ban has been imposed officially now, it is said that the Saudi scholars did not see the Tablighi Jamaat in good light. It viewed its activities and beliefs as a deviation from the basic Islamic traits. For example, the former grand mufti Abdul Aziz Ibn Baaz had said in 2012 that the group was a deviant and it was not permissible to out with them. Though the Tablighi Jamaat has not been mentioned in the order issued by the ministry, it is presumed that the Saudi government’s order is against the Tablighi Jamaat. The order says, "His Excellency the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr.#Abdullatif Al_Alsheikh directed the mosques' preachers and the mosques that held Friday prayer temporary to allocate the next Friday sermon 5/6/1443 H to warn against (the Tablighi and Da'wah group) which is called (Al Ahbab)," His Excellency the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr.#Abdullatif Al_Alsheikh directed the mosques' preachers and the mosques that held Friday prayer temporary to allocate the next Friday sermon 5/6/1443 H to warn against (the Tablighi and Da’wah group) which is called (Al Ahbab) — Ministry of Islamic Affairs 🇸🇦 (@Saudi_MoiaEN) December 6, 2021 However, the ban seems to be the reaction of the Saudi Arabia to the statements of Syed Arshad Madani, the President of Jamiat Ulema Hind defending and supporting Afghan Taliban after their ascension to power. It should be noted that Qatar has been supporting the Taliban and has allowed them to open and run their office in their land. Saudi Arabia’s rivalry with Qatar in economic and political matters is known to the world. Since the US has been fighting against the Taliban, it might not have taken Darul Uloom Deoband’s stand in favour of Taliban. The US and the Saudi Arabia seem to have seen Maulana Madani’s statement supporting and defending Taliban as a glorification of the extremist group that has been designated as a terrorist group. Since the Tablighi Jamaat has its roots in Deoband, the Saudi Arabia may fear that some members of the group may be influenced by Maulana Arshad Madani’s statement. The Tablighi Jamaat has created its image as a reformist and non-political group. It does not muddle in politics and concentrates only on piety and adherence to the Islamic practices like Namaz, Roza and other Islamic practices. But for the first time, a religious leader of Deoband expressed his views openly in favour of Taliban. Since, the Afghan Taliban have their ideological roots in Deoband, defending and supporting it by a vocal and important member of Deoband schools construes as recognition of Taliban ideology. In an interview given to Dainik Bhaskar in September 2021, Maulana Arshad Madani had said, ” if fighting against subjugation is terrorism then by this logic Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Hazrat Shekhuddin were also terrorists” Though Maulana Arshad Madani denied any connection of Deoband with Taliban, he reportedly praised Taliban as defenders of freedom and fighters against subjugation. According to the newspaper, he further said, “They (Taliban) have not even started ruling properly. Let them operate with freedom first. Let them start ruling first,” he said. It has alerted Saudi government and therefore it seems that incensed by Maulana Madani’s espousal of Taliban ideology, it has banned the Tablighi and Dawah group which is active in more than 150 countries including Saudi Arabia. The move has come in for strong criticism from prominent clerics of India. Maulana Salman Hasani Nadwi said that “Saudi Arabi has always been a puppet in the hands of the Zionists and has now shown its real face to the world in delusion. It should be noted that Maulana Salman Nadvi has already been a critic of Saudi government because of their good relations with Madani group with whom he has rivalry. So he found a good opportunity in this move to criticize the Saudi government. (Photo: Jammu Links News) ------ The rector of Dar ul Uloom Deoband Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani issued a press statement rejecting the accusations against the Jamaat as baseless and advised the Saudi governmet to review its decision. The ban will prove big push back for the group which had come into existence in reaction to the Hindu revivalist movement during the 1920s that were trying to convert Muslims to Hinduism. The Pew Research Centre published an article on Tablighi Jamaat that says, ” The Tablighi Jama’at was founded in 1926 in Mewat, India, by Maulana Muhammad Ilyas, an Islamic scholar and teacher. The movement began as an effort to counteract the activities of Hindu revivalists in India, who at the time were attempting to convert Muslims to Hinduism. Worried that existing Islamic educational institutions were not capable of fending off the Hindu challenge, Ilyas envisioned a movement that would send missionaries to villages to instil Muslims with core Islamic values.” However, the articles says that though the Tablighi Jamaat follows the Wahhabi style of Islam it is more flexible and accepts the influence of other streams of Islamic ideology. “Although Deobandism originated in South Asia (in the town of Deoband, near Delhi in northern India), it has much in common with the Wahhabi style of Islam that is associated with Saudi Arabia’s religious establishment. However, Deobandi doctrine tends to be more flexible than Wahhabism and is more accepting of other Islamic approaches, such as Sufism.” It should be noted that ever since Maulana Saad Kandhalvi has taken up the control of the Tablighi Jamaat has suffered setbacks and has invited controversy. Last year, it was accused by the Indian government of holding illegal assembly during the lockdown and 36 foreign members of the Jamaat were arrested. However, they were acquitted by a Delhi court later. The headquarters of the Jamaat at Nizamuddin was sealed. Now, the main centre of the Islamic world, Saudi Arabia has imposed a ban on the Jamaat. After the fatwa of the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia Abudl Aziz ibn Baz against the Jamaat in 2012, Kazakhstan had banned the Jamaat in 2013. But the Saudi government has abstained from imposing a ban then due to cordial relations of the Madanis with the Saudi government. But Maulana Madani’s open support and defence of Taliban in September has caused the damage, it seems. 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