Jamaat al-Muslimeen
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Jamaat al-Muslimeen (Arabic: جماعة المسلمين), literally translated as "Group of Muslims", "The Muslim Group", "The Muslim Assembly", "The Muslim Society", or "The Muslim Community", is a Muslim group found in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan, it was founded by Masood Ahmad in the 1960s. The present leader of this group is Muhammad Ishtiaq. This group is different from the "Jamaat al Muslimeen" of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
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[edit] Jamaat al-Muslimeen - Disambiguation
Several movements have been found by the name of Jamaat al-Muslimeen, but this article focuses on a Muslim group which is found in the Indo-Pak subcontinent and headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. This group does not associate themselves with any other Muslim group, like Takfir wal-Hijra or other terrorist groups like "Jamaat al Muslimeen" of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, England based Abu Isa's Group, etc.[1]
[edit] Origin
Jamaat al-Muslimeen is an orthodox movement in Islam revived by the Imam Syed Masood Ahmad in the 1960s.[2] Now the present leader of this group is Muhammad Ishtiaq[3]. The group's reformers were previously part of Salafism and all the followers were previously part of different Sunni and Shi'ite Denominations. After the exodus they reformed the Jamaat (community) based purly upon Islamic Principals and Laws namely Holy Quran and the Tradition (ar. Sunnah) of Muhammad.
[edit] Distinctive Beliefs
Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen preaches a purified Islamic monotheism that strictly prohibits polytheism. They believe that widespread Muslim practices such as venerating the graves of Islamic prophets and saints are shirk. Photographs of any living being that possesses a soul are forbidden. Celebration of Muhammad's birthday is also considered as innovation. This Jamaat in general are opposed to every self-defined doctrines that has been widespread in the Islamic world, which they regard as deviations from ture path of the Prophet. They also prefer the term 'Muslim' as an attempt to portray themselves as true Muslims and not a sect. They insist that their beliefs are pure Islamic as practiced during the time of Muhammad, and they idealize an allegedly uncorrupted bygone religious community which they try to emulate in almost every aspect. So, they place great emphasis on ritual not only in prayer but in every activity in life -- so as to say they follow every example of Muhammad and his companions and make religion part of every activity in life. [4]
[edit] Adapting The Name "Muslim" Vs. Self-Defined Names
They believe that Every Believer of Islam must call himself or herself Muslim only and any other names like Sunni, Shi'a, Hanafi, Shafi`i, Maliki, Hanbali or Wahhabi, Ahle Hadith or Salafi etc., are not proven in Islam and are not acceptable. They quote a Quranic verse, "...He (Allah, The Almighty) named you Muslims before (this Quran) and then now-to-onwards..." [[Surah]Hajj-[verse-78]]
[edit] On the names of Muslim groups
They also say that the various self-defined names of Muslim groups, such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, Nation of Islam, Tablighi Jamaat, Tanzeem-e-Islami Jamiat al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun etc., are not acceptable. They believe that since creating different names of different groups is the major cause of disunity among Muslims, Muslims must avoid using those names. According to them, the only acceptable name is Jamaat-ul-Musilmeen which is also mentioned in the tradition of Muhammad: "...stick to the main body of Muslims ('Jama'at al Muslimeen' in Arabic) and their Imam (leader)...". They quote this hadith and conclude that the phrase 'Jama'at al Muslimeen' is proven from the sunnah of the Prophet, and therefore, other names and phrases are not acceptable. Since they have used this phrase, they conclude that they are the ones mentioned in the hadith, and it is mandatory for every human to be a part of their group, as the hadith commands Muslims to stick to this group.
[edit] On Adherence to Islamic Laws
According to them, every muslim must strictly adhere to Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet, and shun to any new ideas like believing blindly in Qiyas, Fatwa and Ijtihad of early & present Scholars, they consider these new ideas as Bid'ah (innovation) in religion and openly Shirk (i.e. making association in Allah's Decreed Divine Laws). This can be supported with a statement from their website: Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen does not consider the verdict, Fiqh, jurisprudence or conjecture of anyone as a part of Islam.
[edit] Salvation according to this group
They believe that in order to achieve salvation, one must stick to Holy Qur'an and Tradition (Sunnah) of Muhammad, Muslims must live as a one united body [which is referred to in the tradition of Muhammad as Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen] while giving baiy'ah (pledge of allegiance) to one leader (Imam) and avoiding adherence to different bodies and leaders in order to have unity among Muslims. It is understood that this one united body is their own organization, and this Imam is their leader, Muhammad Ishtiaq; hence Muslims who are not a member of their organization would not go to paradise.
[edit] Views of Sunnites regarding Jamaat al-Muslimeen
Sunnites accuse them of misinterpreting Qur'anic texts and hadiths. They say that Masood Ahmad expressed his personal opinions on Qur'anic texts and hadiths, and did not follow the interpretations of the Prophet Muhammad and the Sahabah.
[edit] The issue of takfir
They also accuse them of takfir i.e. considering every other muslim to be a Kafir or unbeliever, and considering themselves to be the only Muslims in the world. An accusation which can be supported by many statements from Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen's website such as: "To leave Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen is to leave Islam".
[edit] On the term 'Jamaat al-Muslimeen
Mainstream Muslims reject the assumption that the term is a name, and say that just calling yourself 'Jamaat al-Muslimeen' does not necessarily imply guidance. It is a term that was used to refer to the Khilafah. From the grammatical point of view, it is not a proper noun at all. They argue that just naming yourself with a term found in the hadith does not make one right. An example would be the term "Hizbullah". This term is found in the Quran, and it is used in reference to the successful group. The Quran says:
"Allah will be well pleased with them, and they with Him. They are the Party of Allah (in Arabic - Hizbullah). Truly it is the Party of Allah (in Arabic - Hizbullah) that will achieve Success."
They argue that the terms "Hizbullah" and "Jamaat al-Muslimeen" have the same grammatical structure. This does not mean that if you name yourselves "Hizbullah", you will be the ones to achieve success. It is the spirit and not the words that actually matter.
[edit] On the pledge of allegiance
The Jamaat al-Muslimeen require every member to pledge his/her allegiance (baiy'ah in Arabic) to their current leader, Muhammad Ishtiaq. This according to the mainstream Muslims is an innovation in religion. They argue that such a pledge was taken only by a caliph in all of Islam's history. They further argue and say that the Prophet Muhammad said:
"If two caliphs were given the pledge of allegiance, then kill the second of them." [Sahih Muslim]
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, a Sunni Imam, was asked about the above hadith. He said:
"Do you know who is the Imam? It is the one upon whom all the Muslims agree; of whom every one of the Muslims says, 'This is the Imam.'"
They also quote Umar Ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam. He said:
"Whoever gives the pledge of allegiance to anybody among you without consulting the other Muslims, neither that person, nor the person to whom the pledge of allegiance was given, are to be supported, lest they both should be killed." [Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.817 Narrated by Ibn Abbas]
