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جماعتِ اسلامی | |
![]() Jamaat-e-Islami in Arabic calligraphy | |
Successor | JI Hind JI Pakistan JI Bangladesh JI Kashmir JI Afghanistan |
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Founded | 1941 |
Founder | Syed Abul Ala Maududi |
Founded at | Islamia Park, Lahore, Punjab, British India |
Type | Islamic Organization |
Purpose | Pan-Islamism Religious conservatism Islamic revivalism Islamic fundamentalism Shi'a–Sunni unity Anti-communism Anti-zionism Anti-Imperialism[1][2] Anti-capitalism[2] Anti-western[2] |
Affiliations | Muslim Brotherhood[2] |
Part of a series on Islamism |
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Jamaat-e-Islami (Urdu: جماعتِ اسلامی, lit. 'Society of Islam') is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author, theorist, and socio-political philosopher, Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood.[3] It is considered one of the most influential Islamist organisations,[4] and was the first to develop an ideology based on the modern revolutionary conception of Islam.[5] Its founding branch in Pakistan is the nation's largest fundamentalist party.[6]
Jamaat-e-Islami was founded to spread Islamic values across the Indian subcontinent and advocate for an Islamic political system. It was formed on 26 August 1941 in Lahore under the leadership of Maududi, who believed that contemporary political ideologies resulted from Western imperialism, and that it was necessary to implement Sharia law to preserve Muslim culture.[7] Maududi believed politics was "an integral, inseparable part of the Islamic faith," and that Islamic ideology and non-Islamic ideologies (such as capitalism and socialism, liberalism or secularism) were mutually exclusive. He saw the creation of an Islamic state as both act of piety, and a cure for social and economic problems faced by Muslims, which he attributed to Western influence.[8][9]
Jamaat-e-Islami opposed the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan and actively worked to prevent it.[10] After the partition of India, the organisation spearheaded the movement to transform Pakistan from a Muslim homeland into an Islamic state. Madudi's efforts focused on transforming to a "theo-democracy" based on the Sharia which would enforce things like abolition of interest-bearing banks, sexual separation, veiling of women, hadud penalties for theft, adultery, and other crimes.[11] Jamaat seeks to spur an Islamic revival, implementing Islam as a universal religion.[12][13]
Jamaat-e-Islami is banned in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India[14] and has historically faced bans in Bangladesh, most recently in 2024.[15] Since 2003, the organization is designated as terrorist by Russia.[16]
As is well known, Jamaat-e-Islami was formed in undivided India in 1941 by Syed Abul Ala Maududi (1903–1979) to establish Hukumat-e-Ilahiya, God's governance.
In the debate over whether Muslims should establish their own state, separate from a Hindu India, Maududi initially argued against such a creation and asserted that the establishment of a political Muslim state defined by borders violated the idea of the universal umma. Citizenship and national borders, which would characterize the new Muslim state, contradicted the notion that Muslims should not be separated by one another by these temporal boundaries. In this milieu, Maududi founded the organization Jama'at-i Islamic. The Jama'at for its first few years worked actively to prevent the partition, but once partition became inevitable, it established offices in both Pakistan and India.
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