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Tablighi Jamaat: Nizamuddin Markaz and its Jammu kashmir connection

Last Updated on April 1, 2020 at 3:05 am

Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz Masjid became a hot spot of activity from March 5 to 20 even when there was a ban on congregation of group of people due to Coronavirus.

The congregation by Tablighi Jamaat- a sect in Islam- was attended by more that 3000 people from across the world that also included a businessman from Kashmir.

While the religious congregation of Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz ended, its repercussions are being borne by entire country as it became a cause of spread of the virus across the country. The sect has come under a heavy attack from all quarters including Muslim clerics for arranging a congregation at a time when the world was dealing with crisis.

However what has come as a shock for Jammu and Kashmir is a fact that a Kashmiri businessman who was part of the congregation died in Srinagar due to Coronavirus setting out a campaign by the government agencies to track and quarantine those people who had come in contact with the deceased.

While the public meetings by political leaders were being cancelled and an order was issued by then that no meeting with more than 50 persons shall be held, Tablighi Jamaat ignored all warnings and went ahead with the congregation that is now being criticized across the nation.

Though the Jamaat representatives claim they had sought permission from the government agencies, timing of the congregation has come under the spotlight.

How Tablighi Jamaat caused panic in J&K

Government of Jammu and Kashmir that was already tackling the situation after outbreak of Coronavirus, came under pressure to deal with the cases who had come in contact with the Kashmiri businessman. He is said to have traveled via air, train and road to Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and back to Jammu and Kashmir and could have come in contact of hundreds of people triggering fears of community transmission of virus.

24 people who attended the congregation have been found positive for the Coronavirus that has worsened the situation. The businessman went to Delhi from Srinagar by air on March 7. Thereafter he went to Uttar Pradesh on March 9 and came back to Jammu by train on March 11. He also went to a mosque in Samba where he addressed a religious congregation.

What is Tablighi Jamaat

Tablighi Jamaat (Society for spreading faith) is a non-political global Sunni Islamic missionary movement that focuses on urging Muslims to return to primary Sunni Islam, and particularly in matters of ritual, dress, and personal behavior, as pet the organization’s website. It has been called “one of the most influential religious movements in 20th century Islam. The movement was started in 1927 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi in India. Its stated primary aim is spiritual reformation of Islam by reaching out to Muslims across social and economic spectra and working at the grassroots level, to bring them in line with the group’s understanding of Islam.

Nizamuddin Markaz

Nizamuddin or Banglewali mosque is a religious shrine located in Nizamuddin west in South Delhi. This mosque is the origin of Tablighi Jamaat movement and congregation of the sect are held in this mosque.