[size=18]Inside the Islamic group accused by MI5 and FBI [/size]
Thousands of young Muslim men are attending meetings in east London every week run by a fundamentalist Islamic movement believed by western intelligence agencies to be used as a fertile recruiting ground by extremists.
Tablighi Jamaat, whose activities are being monitored by the security services, holds the tightly guarded meetings on an industrial estate close to the area where some of the suspects in last week's terror raids were arrested.
This week it emerged that at least seven of the 23 suspects under arrest on suspicion of involvement in the plot to blow up transatlantic airliners may have participated in Tablighi events.
[b]The organisation - influenced by a branch of Saudi Arabian Islam known as Wahhabism - has already been linked to two of the July 7 suicide bombers who attended a Tablighi mosque at the organisation's headquarters in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. [/b]The jailed shoe bomber Richard Reid is also known to have attended Tablighi meetings.
Until now, the leaders of Tablighi Jamaat - which means "group of preachers" - [b]have refused to open their doors to outsiders, shrouding the organisation in mystery[/b].
Tablighi enthusiasts say that the organisation, founded by a scholar in India in the 1920s, has no involvement with terrorism and simply encourages Muslims to follow the example of the prophet and proselytise the teachings of the Qur'an. [b]As one sympathetic imam put it, they were the "Jehovah's Witnesses of Islam".[/b]
On Thursday evening, the Guardian witnessed around 3,000 men from as far afield as Great Yarmouth and the Isle of Wight stream through the backstreets of Stratford to the meeting. There, at the gates of a seemingly derelict industrial site, men in fluorescent jackets waved those who are known to the Tablighi Jamaat hierarchy under a security barrier, and into one of three fields that surround a cluster of prefabricated buildings which form a temporary mosque.
As the Guardian entered the complex one person spoke admiringly about the "main man" for the south-east division of Tablighi Jamaat. [b]"We can't call him a prophet," he said. "No one can be a prophet. But when you meet him you'll realise. He's helped a lot of people in Walthamstow to follow the right path, the path of the prophet. He'll talk to you openly this evening and everything will make sense."[/b]
Seconds later, the main man stood next to his red van in Islamic dress and a smart blue waistcoat as hundreds of men, many carrying suitcases and sleeping bags, filed past him into a network of six rooms cobbled together with planks of wood and corrugated plastic windows. He later said he was from Walthamstow.
The largest room was reserved for the main speaker, an elder from Preston who spoke in Urdu. His sermon was relayed through a microphone to five other rooms in which interpreters provided simultaneous translation into English, Arabic, Sinhala, Turkish and Somali.
The English-speaking room heaved as a sea of faces, white, black and Asian, spilled into the hallway. Most were teenagers and men in their 20s and 30s dressed in Islamic dress, caps and beards. [b]Some came in suits and ties, others in jeans and hoodies.[/b] There were old men too, who weaved slowly through to the front of the room, and a few young boys.
The Walthamstow man took a seat in the middle of the room to interpret proceedings. The murmur of hundreds of whispering voices stopped as he put on his headphones. "We come to submit our will to Allah," he began. "We have to live the life that Allah has prescribed for us. We have been invited into Allah's house."
He continued to translate the preacher's message. "If a person is drowning, the man who saves him needs to take him out of the water. If he has swallowed too much water, that water must come out. At the moment we are in a worldly ocean and we are all drowning. For us to become successful, we must come out of this world for a short period of time."
[b]Although not a scholar, the interpreter is deeply respected. Quietly, some in the congregation whisper that he has seen miracles - the sign of a truly committed Tablighi.[/b]
After an hour the preacher concluded with a call for followers to join the effort and commit to a trip away. [b]"We must leave our houses, our businesses, our families, for a short period of time, and follow the path of Allah and practise the ways of the prophet, going from mosque to mosque,"[/b] said the interpreter. "Then [the behaviour] will become second nature to us.[b] We shall go to India and Pakistan for four months to follow these ways."[/b]
What Tablighi followers call "the effort" - travelling around the country for three days or 10 days, depending on their level of commitment - is key to the organisation. Once they have completed the first stage, they may undertake a 40-day trip, which is likely to entail travel around Europe.
Finally, a Tablighi member will be given the opportunity to take a four-month journey to Pakistan or India. During their "efforts" members are encouraged to emulate the life of the prophet and show others "the path".
On domestic trips, members are sent to communities where they will have most leverage. In September, for example, students will be sent to universities throughout the country.
Later in the evening, the rooms are transformed into dining halls. [b]A small group of men who know several of the Walthamstow suspects [/b]gathered round to share out plastic plates of chickpeas, lamb and naan bread, washed down with cans of peach juice and Coke.
"It will shock you but we all used to be deep into drugs and crime and all that," said one man, in his 20s, who went on a three-day trip to Woking with one of the suspects arrested in last week's raids. "Walthamstow used to be a dodgy area. Tablighi changed all that."
A former body builder showed pictures on his mobile of the "pumped-up gym fanatic" he used to be. After spells in prison, he said, he went on a life-changing four-month trip to Pakistan. "I went to places you wouldn't believe," he said. "There are people in Pakistan and India who know less about the prophet than people in east London."
The Urdu interpreter from Walthamstow acknowledged that [b]Tablighi Jamaat had roused suspicions[/b]. [b]"I know three or four people who come here regularly who are informants," he said. "After September 11 the security services met with our elders at our headquarters and told them that they keep the flight records of every Tablighi member who travels abroad. But we are not worried. They can close us down and it will not matter because the effort will continue. We have no fear[/b]."
[b]He said he was not worried about the Walthamstow suspect he knows best, a young man he recently took on a 40-day trip to Scotland. "Anyone who suffers for Islam will be rewarded," he said.[/b]
Asked about the association between Tablighi Jamaat and terrorist groups, he replied: "Tablighi is like Oxford University. We have intelligent people - doctors, solicitors, businessmen - but one or two will become drug dealers, fraudsters. But you won't blame Oxford University for that. You see, it does not matter if someone speaks in favour or against this effort. Everything happens with the will of God."
Another follower added: "Sometimes the youngsters say that if they saw President Bush they would chop his head off, and things like that. But we're discouraged from talking about politics. If elders say these things it is out of anger. They're not dangerous, they can't actually do anything."
By the early hours, 300 followers had volunteered for a three-day trip. One man who knows six of the suspects arrested last week leaned against the wall, the City of London glowing behind his shoulders, and adjusted his cap. "Do you see now?" he said.
"Tablighi is not the problem. It is the solution.[b] It is another world in here, completely different from the world outside."[/b]
[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1853800,00.html]source[/url]
Mashallah, Interesting
The Lover is ever drunk with love;
He is free, he is mad,
He dances with ecstasy and delight.
Caught by our own thoughts,
We worry about every little thing,
But once we get drunk on that love,
Whatever will be, will be.
ɐɥɐɥ
er . . . exactly how is it secretive when brothers on gasht are kncoking on random peoples doors and inviting them to the masjid?
LoL.
It seems logic is lost on people nowadays.
mashaALLAH a nice fictional piece of work.
Ya ALLAH Madad.
Haq Chaar Yaar
This is rubbish. Don't fall for it.
Half the article, this half:
is based on the [i]assumption[/i] that people arrested recently are actually guilty.i dont find it hard to believe... alot of people with TJ are supporters of Osama who glorifies terorist attacks....
the articles might not be true...but if it was...i wouldnt be surprised.
You dont seem to know what TJ is.
A lot of people with TJ are also drug-addicts.
A lot of people with TJ are also bankers.
A lot of people with TJ are also college students who mess around with girls.
Whats your point?
TJ is open for everyone and is nonsectarian. So yeh they might have people who support Usamah, but they also have people who support the Saudi regime, also people who support the british government, also people who dont know what politics is.
Ya ALLAH Madad.
Haq Chaar Yaar
Makes no difference.
If someone has views of Osama which are not as dismissive or as negative as yours that doesn't mean that they are involved in terrorism.
It wasn't too long ago that the Revival thought it was OK to present Osama as the Jamaal to Saddam's Ali. But that doesn't mean that the Revival was once involved in terrorism.
what is a TJ?
Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
you're missing the point....
im not saying TJ as an organisation has anything to do with terrorism...
majority are cool ppl
some, like Med, in TJ are hardcore supporter sof Osama, anti western etc...and COULD carry out acts of terrorism... they could be influenced or brainwashed by osams doctrine...very unlikely but could. Thats my point. Thats all.
beware of slander.
Im in TJ? since when? considering I've only been once for 3 days Im hardly a hardcore da'ee :roll:
Ya ALLAH Madad.
Haq Chaar Yaar
Sounds like a tactic to suspend TJ funding (Zakat and Sadqaa) for countries like Chechnya and Kashmir.
PAGAD have always been a terrorist organization according to South African Officials
So you think it's possible that someone involved with TJ could be a terrorist. You base this on hearsay. But where's the real evidence for it?
This article certainly doesn't give any evidence. It is just part of the post 'terror plot' propoganda.
This is what the article is saying: some people associated (however loosely) with TJ were arrested on suspicion of plotting an attack - therefore TJ members are likely to be terrorists.
Don't fall for it.
It will just create divisions.
Don't let the media set your agenda.
agree with ed
another one
http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1851086,00.html
the MI5 are watching em
The Lover is ever drunk with love;
He is free, he is mad,
He dances with ecstasy and delight.
Caught by our own thoughts,
We worry about every little thing,
But once we get drunk on that love,
Whatever will be, will be.
ɐɥɐɥ
Anyone from any group could be involved.
And while not having read that article - just skimmed it - To me it seems the Tableeghi Jamaat is NOT involved. Rather some members may be. WHat is new about that?
No need to pick on groups just because you do not belong to them.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
i skimmed the article
how/where does it say they may be linked to terrorism
title is misleading
i was at the Call to Humanity event today and was interviwed by BBC News online...when asked about Tableegi Jamaat... i out rightly defended them saying they are a non political organisation and have nothing to do with terrorism, and the article against them is misleading...and the BBC guy agreed.
Just incase SOME people think im against TJ... i just dont like SOME people involved with them who give them a bad name.... but have nothing against the organisation.
I agree with Admin. I don't see the correlation and it's really stupid to play into the hands of such propaganda. So if it turns out that X person arrested belongs to TJ and Z person belongs to a Salafi group so what? The name dropping is vital for the gov. It's no conspiracy that western govs are seeking to and already have silenced popular prominent scholars coz they draw in lots of muslims, and give them a new zest for practising Islam. We are led to believe "all"these scholars are arrested for terrorist charges, yet they've never been given trials and we the public are never told exactly why they're arrested. I'm not saying all of these scholars are innocent or guilty, the fact is we don't know they've not gone through a fair trial. So why should we believe everything the gov tells us?
The same is now being done with large orgs like TJ that attract lots of young muslims. They want to silence us, that's my view. This is prob why the youth tarbiya conference which used to happen annually in kidderminster and was the largest gathering of muslims in the uk, has recently been cancelled without any reasons given. Either the police advised upon it, or the organisers thght it was wise under the circumstances of 9/11 and july bombing tensions.
i think you should change the name of the title of this topic..
"Tabligh Jamaat involved in terrorism in the UK" - when everyone knows they're not.
[b][i]Round and round the Ka'bah,
Like a good Sahabah,
One step, Two step,
All the way to jannah[/i][/b]
word.
subhannallah.
they are targetting every city every town making every group feel insecure every muslim family feel under threat.
and its just going to get worse.
May Allah grant the ummah stregnth and unity in dealing with the oppressors and May Allah bless us with the ability to follow our Beloved Rasool in following his example when dealing with enemies ameen.
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