Inside The Tablighi Jamaat

Not much is known about what is arguably the world's | and certainly India's | largest Islamic organization -- the Tablighi Jamaat. From poverty-stricken peasants of Bihar to dairy farmers of Mewat | its members attend three-day retreats in local mosques | and at times | the Markaz in Delhi. They come of their own free will | at their own expense. The Tabligh tells its members to look within | that life is about internal cleansing with regular prayer that paves the path to spiritual uplift. Unlike other Islamic organizations that balance the here and the hereafter | the Tabligh is concerned only about 'matters beyond the sky and under the earth'. Its steadfast refusal to take a political stand has stood it in good stead. It is the 'ideal Muslim organization' for some -- focused solely on introspection in isolation. Now | for the first time | author Ziya Us Salam provides an inside view of the organization that unwittingly became a 'hotspot' during the novel coronavirus pandemic in 2020.