Tablighi Jamaat ban: Rector of Islamic seminary blasts Saudi Arabia

A leading Islamic seminary in India has warned Saudi Arabia to stop the smear campaign against the Tablighi Jamaat sect, with over 400 million members worldwide.

Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani, rector of the seminary known as Darul Uloom Deoband, in a statement condemned Saudi Arabia for linking the sect with terrorism.

“The allegations of polytheism, innovation and terrorism against the Tablighi Jamaat are absolutely baseless”, the seminary said in a report by ummid.com.

“Darul Uloom Deoband strongly condemns the Saudi stand and demand from the Kingdom to withdraw these allegations and stop its campaign against the Tablighi Jamaat”, the Darul Uloom said.

Darul Uloom further said that Maulana Muhammad Ilyas, a student of renowned cleric and Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan, had founded the Tablighi Jamaat under which the sincere struggle of senior leaders has been fruitful.

“Despite some partial differences, Tablighi Jamaat since its foundation has been successfully working on its mission spread all across the world”, it said.

Darul Uloom Deoband’s condemnation follows the decision by Saudi Arabia to ban Tablighi Jamaat in the Kingdom.

Sharing the decision on social media site, Twitter, Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif Al Alsheikh on December 06, 2021 directed the preachers of the mosques to warn during the Friday sermon about the Tablighi Jamaat and its activities.

Listing the topics to be covered, Dr. Abdullatif Al Alsheikh directed that the Friday sermon should include:

1. Declaration of the misguidance, deviation and danger of Tablighi Jamaat, and that it is one of the gates of terrorism, even if they claim otherwise.
2. Mention their most prominent mistakes.
3. Mention their danger to society.
4. Statement that affiliation with partisan groups, including (the Tablighi and Da’wah Group) is prohibited in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Following the directives by Dr. Abdullatif Al Alsheikh, the Imams of the mosques in the Kingdom – barring Masjid Haram in Makkah and Masjid An Nabawi in Madinah, included in the Friday sermon delivered on December 10, 2021 the warnings about the Tablighi Jamaat.

The Tablighi Jamaat leadership in Nigeria has not offered any reaction to the Saudi ban.