SRINAGAR, (PTK): The Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir or Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JIJK) is a religio-political Separatist organisation in Jammu and Kashmir (J & K), distinct from the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (the Indian branch of the Jamaat).
It was banned by Indian govt on 28th February 2019 till 28 February 2024 (five years). Separatist group Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir was banned on 28th February 2019 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for alleged anti-national and subversive activities.
The Centre Government declared the Jamaat-e-Islami group an “unlawful association” for a period of five years. The separatist group is alleged to be involved in anti-national and subversive activities in the country and is in close touch with militant outfit and is expected to “escalate secessionist movement” in the state.
Reformist roots
The JIJK is rooted in Islamic reformist activities in Kashmir which developed in the late nineteenth century when the urban Kashmiri Muslim middle-class rose against Dogra rule. One of the pioneers during this phase was the Mirwaiz of Kashmir, Maulana Rasul Shah, who formed the Anjuman Nusrat ul-Islam (The Society for the Victory of Islam) in 1899.
Which aimed to impart both modern and Islamic education and eradicate un-Islamic ‘innovations’ (bida’at) and superstitions which had slithered into popular Sufi practices in Kashmir. Although the Mirwaiz faced opposition from some of the custodians of Sufi shrines his reformist efforts brought him popularity and earned him the title of the ‘Sir Sayyed of Kashmir’.
The Anjuman, in 1905, established in Srinagar the Islamiya High School which later branched out into several small Kashmiri towns. Maulana Rasul Shah’s brother, Mirwaiz Ahmadullah, expanded upon the Anjuman’s efforts and established the Oriental College in Srinagar. Mirwaiz Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Shah, educated at the reformist Darul Uloom madrasa of Deoband, connected the Anjuman with other Islamic reformist groups throughout India.
Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah setup a local section of the Khilafat Movement to popularise in Kashmir the protection of the Ottoman Caliphate. To combat the ‘un-Islamic’ practices widespread among Kashmiri Muslims Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah created Kashmir’s first press, the Muslim Printing Press, inaugurated two weeklies al-Islam and Rahnuma and published the first translation and commentaries of the Quran in the Kashmiri language so that the common Kashmiri’s dependence on custodians of shrines for religious information could be diminished.
Influenced by Islamic reformism a growing number of educated Kashmiri Muslims began their struggle against the Dogra state and the Pandit elite during which significant recourse to the Islamic identity by Kashmiris took place, with even nationalist Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah realising the significance of religion and trying to use Sufi shrines in his struggle
Origins of the Jamaat-e Islami Kashmir
Jamaat e Islami Kashmir’s origins lay in the Islamic reformist and anti-Dogra movements in Kashmir. Its progenitors came from middle-class families associated with Sufism and were disillusioned with both the secular politics of the National Conference and the Muslim nationalism advocated by the Muslim Conference. They chose to work for Islam as advocated in the writings of Maulana Maududi.
The first amir of JIJK was Sa’aduddin Tarabali, who was from a family associated with the Sufi mystic of Srinagar, Ahmad Sahib Tarabali. Sa’aduddin Tarabali influenced many Kashmiri men in Shopian, then a political hub, and these men included Maulana Ghulam Ahmad Ahrar who was a member of the Islamic reformist group Majlis-i-Ahrar and also came from a family of Sufi connections and later went on to join Tarabali as one of JIJK’s earliest members. Hakim Ghulam Nabi of Pulwama, who came from a family of Pirs, was another of the earliest members of JIJK.
Why Jamaat-e Islami banned
The Centre on Thursday banned the Jamat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir for five years under anti-terror law on grounds that it was “in close touch” with militant outfits and is expected to “escalate secessionist movement” in the state.
A notification, banning the group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after a high-level meeting on security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The notification said the Centre is of the opinion that the Jamaat is “in close touch with militant outfits” and is supporting extremism and militancy in Jammu and Kahsmir and elsewhere.
It said the outfit claims “secession of a part of the Indian territory from the union” and supporting terrorist and separatist groups fighting for this purpose.
The notification, which came barely a few days after the Jammu and Kashmir Police had arrested around 100 cadres of the group in the state, said Jamaat has been indulging in activities intended to disrupt the territorial integrity of India. (PTK)
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