How violence emerged in Tablighi Jamaat

Renowned Islamic scholar of the subcontinent Maulana Ilyas Kandhalvi (may Allah be pleased with him), founded the Tablighi Jamaat in 1920 to attract ordinary Muslims to the fundamentals of Islam. From the beginning, the Tablighi Jamaat's leaders had been emphasising prayer and faith in Allah. Along with various regions of the subcontinent, the Tablighi Jamaat spread to Bangladesh also.

Although the dawah work was conducted in a well-organised manner from the beginning, a split has emerged in Tablighi in recent years. Chaos started emerging as the two sides got divided and started conducting their activities separately. This chaos has now taken the form of clashes. Incidents like murder have also occurred.

On Wednesday (December 18), a clash broke out between pro-Maulana Zubayer and pro-Maulana Saad activists of Tabligh over occupying the Bishwa Ijtema ground on the banks of Turag in Tongi. According to media reports, four people have been killed and more than 100 have been injured in the clash.

Those associated with Tablighi Jamaat said the split in Tablighi Jamaat emerged mainly at the Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi. Tablighi Jamaat was founded based on the philosophy of Maulana Ilyas Kandhalvi. He was the founding Ameer of Tabligh. Although there was no question about his leadership in the beginning, differences arose over leadership and policies over time.

After the death of Ilyas Kandhalbi, his son Maulana Mohammad Yusuf became the Ameer. In the succession of leadership by various individuals throughout the lineage, Maulana Saad is currently the Ameer of Tablighi Jamaat. However, Maulana Zubair also claimed the leadership. This is where the conflict began.

This conflict in Tablighi came to light on June 19, 2016. On that day, two sides fought at the organisation's main centre or Markaz in Delhi. In December 2017, clashes also broke out in the UK. As a result, the London Metropolitan Police closed the Markaz for two weeks.

The rift over the leadership of Maulana Saad became public in Bangladesh during the Biswa Ijtema in January 2018. The section of Tablighi Jamaat that took a stand against Saad was joined by the Qawmi Madrasa-based organisation Hefazat-e-Islam. They are mainly pro-Maulana Zubair. Saad could not participate in the Ijtema at that time due to their strong opposition. At that time, Saad and his followers took up residence at the main centre or Markaz of Tablighi in Kakrail. Since then, the heated situation has prevailed.

On April 26, 2018, the Zubayer supporters took control of the Markaz in Kakrail by bringing students from various madrasas in the capital. The next day, when several thousand Sad supporters arrived in Kakrail, clashes broke out between the two sides.

In addition, at different times, the media reported conflicts between Zubayer supporters and Sad supporters in different parts of the country.