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Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JIP)[a] is aPakistani political party with aright-wing political position and anIslamist andsocial conservative ideology. It is the Pakistani successor toJamaat-e-Islami, which was founded in theBritish Raj in 1941.[9] JIP is a "vanguard party", whose members are intended to be leaders spreading party beliefs and influence. JIP members are sometimes called Rafīq (meaningcomrade in Arabic). Supporters not thought qualified to be members may become "affiliates", and beneath them are "sympathisers". The party leader is called an "Ameer".[10]: 70 Although it does not have a large popular following, the party is quite influential and considered one of the major Islamic movements in Pakistan, along withDeobandi andBarelvi (represented byJamiat Ulema-e Islam political party andJamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan party respectively).[11][12]
Jamaat-e-Islami was founded inIslamia Park,Lahore,British India in 1941 by the Muslim theologian and socio-political philosopher,Abul A'la Maududi, who was widely influenced by theSharia based reign of the Mughal EmperorAurangzeb.[13] At the time of theIndian independence movement, Maududi and the Jamaat-e-Islami actively worked tooppose the partition of India.[14][9][15] In 1947, following thepartition of India, the Jamaat split into two organisations, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan andJamaat-e-Islami Hind (the Indian wing).[16][17] Other wings of Jamaat includeJamaat-e-Islami Kashmir, founded in 1953,Jamaat-e-Islami Azad Kashmir founded in 1974, andBangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, founded in 1979.[18]
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan came under severe government repression in 1948, 1953, and 1963.[19] During the early years of the regime of GeneralMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Jamaat-e-Islami's position improved and it became seen as the "regime's ideological and political arm", with party members at times holding cabinet portfolios of information and broadcasting, production, and water, power and natural resources.[20][21]
In 1971, during theBangladesh Liberation War, JIP opposed the independence of Bangladesh.[22] However, in 1979, it established Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami with Abbas Ali Khan as the first ameer.[18] Since the early 1980s, it has also developed close links with Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir and acted as the vanguard of thearmed insurgency in that province.[23][24]
| Year | Members (Arkan) | Sympathisers and workers (Hum-Khayal) |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | 75 | (unknown) |
| 1951 | 659 | 2,913 |
| 1989 | 5,723 | 305,792 |
| 2003 | 16,033 | 4.5 million |
| 2017 | 37,000 | (unknown) |
| SOURCE:Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World (2004)[25] | ||
Jamaat-e-Islami's founder and leader until 1972 wasAbul A'la Maududi, a widely read Islamist philosopher and political commentator, who wrote about the role of Islam in South Asia.[26] His thought was influenced by many factors including theKhilafat Movement;Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's ascension at the end of theOttoman Caliphate; and the impact ofIndian Nationalism, theIndian National Congress andHinduism onMuslims in India. He supported what he called "Islamisation from above", through an Islamic state in which sovereignty would be exercised in the name of Allah and Islamic law (sharia) would be implemented. Maududi believed politics was "an integral, inseparable part of the Islamic faith, and that the Islamic state that Muslim political action seeks to build" would not only be an act of piety but would also solve the many (seemingly non-religious) social and economic problems that Muslims faced.[26][27]
Maududi opposed British rule but also opposed the Muslim nationalist movement (nationalism being un-Islamic) and their plan for a circumscribed "Muslim state". Maududi agitating instead for an "Islamic state" covering the whole of India[26] – this despite the fact, Muslims made up only about one quarter of India's population.
Jamaat-e-Islami thus activelyopposed the partition of India, with its leader Maulana Abul A'la Maududi arguing that concept violated the Islamic doctrine of theummah.[14][9][15] The Jamaat-e-Islami saw the partition as creating a temporal border that would divide Muslims from one another.[14][9]
Jamaat-e-Islami was founded incolonial India on August 26, 1941 atIslamia Park in the city ofLahore, before thePartition of India.[28] JIP began as anIslamist social and political movement. Seventy-five people attended the first meeting and became the first members of the movement. MaulanaAmin Ahsan Islahi, MaulanaNaeem Siddiqui, Maulana Muhammad Manzoor Naumanai and MaulanaAbul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi (although he left after a few years)[29] were among the founders of Jamaat-e-Islami along with Syed Abul Ala Maududi.[30]
Maududi saw his group as a vanguard of Islamic revolution following the footsteps of early Muslims who gathered in Medina to found an Islamic state.[26][27] JIP was and is strictly and hierarchically organised in a pyramid-like structure, working toward the common goal of establishing an ideological Islamic society, particularly though educational and social work, under the leadership of its emirs (commanders or leaders).[25] As a vanguard party, its fully-fledged members (arkan) are intended to be leaders and devoted to the party, but there is also a category of much more numerous sympathisers and workers (karkun).
The emir is obliged by the party constitution to consult an assembly called theshura. The JIP also developed sub-organisations, such as those for women and students.[25] JIP began by volunteering in refugee camps; performing social work; opening hospitals and medical clinics and by gathering the skins of animals sacrificed forEid-ul-Azha.
JIP had a number of unique features. All members, including its founder Mawdudi, uttered the shahadah – the traditional act of converts to Islam – when they joined. This was a symbolic gesture of conversion to a new Islamic perspective, but to some implied that "the Jamaat stood before Muslim society as Islam beforejahiliyah", (pre-Islamic ignorance).[31] After Pakistan was formed, it forbade Pakistanis to take an oath of allegiance to the state until it became Islamic, arguing that a Muslim could in clear conscience render allegiance only to God.[32][33]
Following the Partition of India, Maududi and JIP migrated from East Punjab toLahore in Pakistan. There they volunteered to help the thousands of refugees pouring into the country from India[34] – performing social work; opening hospitals and medical clinics; and by gathering the skins of animals sacrificed forEid-ul-Azha.
During the prime-ministership ofHuseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (September 1956 – October 1957), JIP argued for a separate voting system for different religious communities. Suhrawardy convened a session of theNational Assembly atDhaka and through an alliance with Republicans, his party passed a bill for a mixed voting system.
In 1951, it ran candidates for office, but did not do well. JIP found it was more successful in promoting its cause in the streets.[35] The election also occasioned a split in the party with the JIP shura passing a resolution in support of the party withdrawing from politics but Maududi arguing for continued involvement. Maududi prevailed and several senior JIP leaders resigned in protest. All this strengthened Maududi's position still further and "a cult of personality began to grow up around him."[35]
In 1953, JIP led "direct action" against theAhmadiyya, who the JIP believed should be declared non-Muslims. In March 1953,riots in Lahore started leading to looting, arson and the killing of at least 200 Ahmadis and the declaration of selectivemartial law. The military leader,Azam Khan had Maududi arrested andRahimuddin Khan sentenced him to death forsedition (writing anti-Ahmadiyya pamphlets). Many JIP supporters were imprisoned during this time.
The1956 Constitution was adopted afteraccommodating many of the demands of the JIP. Maududi endorsed the constitution and claimed it a victory for Islam.[36] In 1958, JIP formed an alliance withAbdul Qayyum Khan (Muslim League) andChaudhry Muhammad Ali (Nizam-e-Islam Party). The alliance destabilised the presidency ofIskander Mirza (1956–1958), and Pakistan returned to martial law. The military ruler, the presidentMuhammad Ayub Khan (1958–1964), had a modernising agenda and opposed the encroachment of religion into politics. He banned political parties and warned Maududi against continued religio-political activism. JIP offices were closed down, funds were confiscated and Maududi was imprisoned in 1964 and 1967.[36]
JIP supported the opposition party, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). In the 1964–1965 presidential elections, JIP supported the opposition leader,Fatima Jinnah, despite its opposition to women in politics.[36]
In 1965, during theIndo-Pakistani war, JIP supported the government's call forjihad, presenting patriotic speeches onRadio Pakistan and seeking support from Arab and Central Asian countries. The group resistedZulfikar Ali Bhutto andMaulana Bhashani's socialist program of the time.
By the end of 1969, the Jamaat-e-Islami was spearheading a major "campaign for the protection of ideology of Pakistan," which it believed was under threat from atheistic socialists and secularists.[37]
JIP participated in the1970 general election. Its political platform advocated political freedom of the provinces and Islamic law based on the Quran and Sunnah. There would be separation of the powers (judiciary and legislature); basic rights for minorities (such as equal employment opportunities and theBonus Share Scheme allowing factory workers to own shares in their employers' companies); and a policy of strong relationships with theMuslim world.[citation needed] Just prior to the election,Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan left the alliance leaving JIP to run against thePakistan Peoples Party and theAwami League.[citation needed] The party had a disappointing showing when it won only four seats in the National Assembly and four in the provincial assemblies after fielding 151 candidates.[38]
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto won the 1970 election campaign and was strongly opposed by JIP who believed he and his socialist ideology were a threat to Islam.[39]
JIP opposed theAwami League East Pakistani separatist movement.[40]Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba organised theAl-Badar to fight theMukti Bahini (Bengali liberation forces). In 1971, during theBangladesh liberation war, JIP members may have collaborated with the Pakistani army.[41][42][43][self-published source?]
In 1968, Maulana Maududi took leave from Emarat of the Jamaat and MaulanaNaeem Siddiqui became the Ameer of Jamat e Islami for one year. In 1969, Maulana took Charge of the Jamaat again. In 1972, Maududi resigned citing poor health, and MaulanaNaeem Siddiqui refused to become the Ameer of the Jamaat due to his research activities. Thus, in October 1972, theMajlis-e-Shoura (council) electedMian Tufail Mohammad (1914–2009) as the new leader of JIP. Naeeem Siddiqui was chosen as the general secretary.[citation needed]
AfterZulfikar Ali Bhutto (1973–1977) was elected, the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami (Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba) burned effigies of him in Lahore and declared his election a "black day". In early 1973, the amir, of the JIP even appealed to the army to overthrow Bhutto's government because of "its inherent moral corruption."[44]
JIP "spearheaded" the anti-Bhutto political movement under the religious banner ofNizam-i-Mustafa (Order of the Prophet). Bhutto attempted to suppress JIP through the imprisonment of JIP and Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba members. There were electoral irregularities at the 1975 elections with JIP members being arrested in order to prevent them from lodging their nomination papers.[45] However, by 1976, JIP had 2 million registrants.
In the1977 election, JIP won nine of the 36 seats won by the oppositionPakistan National Alliance. The opposition considered the election rigged (Bhutto's PPP won 155 out of 200 seats) and Maududi, who had been arrested, called on Islamist parties to commence a campaign ofcivil disobedience. TheSunni-led government ofSaudi Arabia intervened to secure Maududi's release from prison warning of revolution in Pakistan. JIP assisted thePakistan National Alliance (PNA) to oust Bhutto and met with Zia-ul-Haq for ninety minutes on the night before Bhutto was hanged.[46]
Initially, JIP supportedGeneral Zia-ul-Haq (1977–1987).[47] In turn, Zia's use of Islamist rhetoric gave JIP importance in public life beyond the size of its membership.[48] According to journalistOwen Bennett-Jones, JIP was the "only political party" to offer Zia "consistent support" and was rewarded with jobs for "tens of thousands of Jamaat activists and sympathisers", giving Zia's Islamic agenda power "long after he died."[49]
However, Zia failed to deliver timely elections and distanced himself from the JIP. When Zia bannedstudent unions,Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and pro-JIP labour unions protested. However, JIP did not participate in thePakistan Peoples Party'sMovement for the Restoration of Democracy. JIP also supported Zia'sJihad against theSoviet–Afghan War and its sister partyJamiat-e Islami led byBurhanuddin Rabbani became part of thePeshawar Seven that received aid from Saudi Arabia, United States and other jihad supporters.[50] Such conundrums caused tension in JIP based on conflict between ideology and politics.[48][51]
In 1987, Mian Tufail declined further service as head of JIP for health reasons andQazi Hussain Ahmad was elected.
In 1987, when Zia died, thePakistan Muslim League formed theright-wing alliance,Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI).[52] In 1990 whenNawaz Sharif came to power, JIP boycotted the cabinet on the basis that the Pakistan Peoples' Party and the Pakistan Muslim League were problematic to equal degrees.
In theelection of 1993, JIP won three seats. In this year, JIP was a member of the newly formed All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) which promotes the independence of Jammu and Kashmir from India.[53] Prior to this, JIP had allegedly set up theHizb-ul-Mujahideen, a Kashmir liberation militia to oppose theKashmir Liberation Front which fights for the complete independence of the Kashmir region.[54]
Ahmad left his position in theSenate in protest against corruption.
On 20 July 1996, Qazi Hussain Ahmed announced to start protests against government alleging corruption. Qazi Hussain resigned from the Senate on 27 September and announced the start of a long march againstBenazir Bhutto's government. The protest started on 27 October 1996 by Jamaat-e-Islami and opposition parties. On 4 November 1996, Bhutto's government was dismissed byPresident Leghari primarily because of corruption.[10] JIP then boycotted the1997 election, and therefore, lost representation inParliament. However, the party remained politically active, for example, protesting the arrival of the Indian Prime Minister,Atal Bihari Vajpayee,in Lahore.
In 1999,Pervez Musharraf took power in amilitary coup. JIP, at first, welcomed the general but then objected when Musharraf began to make secular reforms and then again in 2001, when Pakistan joined thewar on terror, alleging Musharraf had betrayed theTaliban. JIP condemned theevents of 11 September 2001, but equally condemned the US when Afghanistanwas invaded.[10]: 69 Some members ofAl-Qaeda, for example,Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, were arrested in Pakistan.[55][56]
In the2002 election, JIP made an alliance of religious parties calledMuttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) (lit. 'United Council of Action') and won 53 seats, including most of those representing theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province.[57] JIP continued its opposition to the war on terrorism, particularly the presence of American troops and agencies in Pakistan. JIP also called for restoration of judiciary.
In 2006, JIP opposed theWomen's Protection Bill saying it did not need to be scrapped but instead, be applied in a fairer way and be more clearly understood by judges. Ahmed said,
Samia Raheel Qazi, MP and daughter of Ahmed stated,
At least during the time of Ahmad, the position of JIP on revolutionary action was that it was not ready to turn to extra-legal action but that its objectives are definite (qat'i) but its methods are "open to interpretation and adaptation (ijtihadi)" based on the "exigencies of the moment".[59]
On 23 July 2007,Qazi Hussain Ahmad tendered his resignation from the National Assembly to protest against theArmy operation atLal Masjid.[60]
In 2008, JIP andPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf again boycotted theelections. Ahmad declined to stand for re-election due to health issues, andSyed Munawar Hassan was elected as the ameer.[61]
On 30 March 2014,Siraj-ul-Haq, serving as senior minister in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the party's deputy chief, was elected as the new ameer. He replaced the incumbent Munawer Hasan and the party's general secretary,Liaqat Baloch.[62] 25,533 office bearers of the party out of a total of 31,311 voted in these elections. It was the first time that the party had voted out an ameer after just one term. He, therefore, resigned from his role as senior minister. This coincided with a drone attack on amadrassa inBajaur Agency.
In 2016, Siraj-ul-Haq led funeral prayers forMumtaz Qadri, who had been executed for assassinating Punjab GovernorSalmaan Taseer while serving as his bodyguard. Siraj-ul-Haq called for nationwide protests against the execution of Qadri.[63]
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman was elected as the Ameer of Jamaat e Islami on 4 April 2024, with his term lasting until April 2029.[64][65]
JIP provides unions for doctors, teachers, lawyers, farmers, workers and women, for example,Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT), Jamiat Talaba Arabia and Islami Jamaat-e-Talibaat (its female branch)[66] aStudents' union andJI Youth Pakistan, a youth group.
The party has a number of publications from affiliated agencies such as Idara Marif-e-Islami, Lahore, the Islamic Research Academy, Karachi, Idara Taleemi Tehqeeq, Lahore, the Mehran Academy, and theInstitute of Regional Studies. Its print media publications number 22, including the dailyJasarat, weeklyFriday Special, weeklyAsia, monthlyTarjumanul Quran and fortnightlyJihad-e-Kashmir,[67] withJasarat in particular having a circulation of 50,000.[68]
The Islami Nizamat-e-Taleem, led byAbdul Ghafoor Ahmed, is an educational body that includes 63 Baithak schools.Rabita-ul-Madaris Al-Islamia supports 164 JIPmadrasas. JIP also operates theHira Schools (Pakistan) Project and Al Ghazali Trust. The foundation administers schools, women's vocational centres, adult literacy programs, hospitals and mobile chemists and other welfare programs. In this respect, JIP interacts with the general market.[69]
In total, there are around 1000 registered madrasas affiliated with the JeI in Pakistan, the province ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa having most of them, with some 245 or nearly a quarter of the total.[70]
An independent wing of Jamaat-e-Islami inAzad Kashmir was started in 1974. According to journalist Arif Jamal, it was done to slow the spread of secular ideas in Azad Kashmir. It had its ownamir, Maulana Abdul Bari, who had previously participated in theFirst Kashmir War (1947) as well as theOperation Gibraltar (1965).[71][72]
The main activity of the Azad Kashmir wing is noted as the sponsorship ofjihad inIndian-administered Kashmir. Bari said that he was called for a meeting with PresidentZia ul-Haq in 1980, and asked to make preparations. He travelled to the Kashmir Valley and eventually persuaded the leaders ofJamaat-e-Islami Kashmir. However, despite having several groups of Islamist youth trained in militancy, the Kashmiri Jamaat was hesitant to take the plunge. Pakistan'sISI then used the pro-independenceJammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) to initiate operations in July 1988.[73][74][75]A year later, Jamaat-e-Islami Azad Kashmir sent operatives to Indian-administered Kashmir to bring all the Islamist groups under an umbrella group calledHizbul Mujahideen as a counter to the JKLF. Jointly with Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, it also persuaded the Kashmiri Jamaat to take charge of Hizbul Mujahideen by June 1990, and a Jamaat leader calledSyed Salahuddin was appointed as its chief.[76]
Jamaat-e-Islami Azad Kashmir also has a student wing called Islami Jamiat-i-Tulaba (IJT). It gained popularity after the founding of Hizbul Mujahideen.[72] Many of its members are said to join the ranks of Hizbul Mujahideen in due course.[77]
Due to its popularity as an only non sectarian organisation, Jamaat e Islami has been linked to various conpiracies including links with terrorist organisations. Jama'at was said to have close links to many banned outfits of Pakistan. The most notable of them was where a former sympathiser of Jamaat e Islami formedTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi. This militant organisation was introduced by Sufi* as an offshoot of Jamaat e Islami and was founded bySufi Muhammad in 1992 after he left Jamaat-e-Islami.[78][79][80]When the founder was imprisoned on 15 January 2002,Maulana Fazlullah, his son-in-law, assumed leadership of the group. In the aftermath of the 2007siege of Lal Masjid, Fazlullah's forces andBaitullah Mehsud'sTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) formed an alliance. Fazlullah and his army reportedly received orders from Mehsud.[81]After the death ofHakimullah Mehsud in a drone attack, Fazlullah was appointed as the new "Amir" (Chief) of theTehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on 7 November 2013.[82][83][84] In a May 2010 interview, U.S. Gen.David Petraeus described the TTP's relationship with other militant groups as difficult to decipher: "There is clearly a symbiotic relationship between all of these different organisations: al-Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban, the Afghan Taliban, TNSM [Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi]. And it's very difficult to parse and to try to distinguish between them. They support each other, they coordinate with each other, sometimes they compete with each other, [and] sometimes they even fight each other. But at the end of the day, there is quite a relationship between them."[83][85]
According to another source, TNSM and Jamaat-e-Islami (JIP) seem to have been locked in a turf war in theMalakand District of Pakistan, and the Jamaat-Ulema-e-Islam, JIP, and TNSM are in conflict with each other in the tribal areas for power and influence.[86]
| No. | Name[87] | Term |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abul A'la Maududi | 1941–1972 |
| 2 | Mian Tufail Mohammad | 1972–1987 |
| 3 | Qazi Hussain Ahmad | 1987–2009 |
| 4 | Syed Munawar Hassan | 2009–2014 |
| 5 | Siraj-ul-Haq | 2014–2024 |
| 6 | Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman | 2024–present |
Ideologically these are the parties of the far-right who have always collaborated with the exploiting classes.
The Jama'at -i-Islami was founded in 1941. Maulana Maududi being its founder strongly opposed the idea of creating Pakistan, a separate Muslim country, by dividing India, but surprisingly after the creation of Pakistan he migrated to Lahore. Again in the beginning he was opposed to and denounced the struggle for Kashmir as un-Islamic, for which he was imprisoned in 1950, but later on in 1965, he changed his views and endorsed the Kashmir war as Jihad. Maulana Maududi took an active part in demanding discriminative legislation and executive action against the Ahmadi sect leading to widespread rioting and violence in Pakistan. He was persecuted arrested and imprisoned for advocating his political ideas through his writings and speeches. During the- military regime from 1958 the Jama'at-iIslami was banned and was revived only in 1962, Maududi was briefly imprisoned. He refused to apologize for his actions or to request clemency from the government. He demanded his freedom to speak and accepted the punishment of death as the will of God. His fierce commitment to his ideals caused his supporters worldwide to rally for his release and the government acceded commuting his death sentence to a term of life imprisonment. Eventually the military government pardoned Maulana Maududi completely.
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)Islam in Pakistan is divided into three tendencies: the Jamaat, which is the Islamist party and which, although it does not have extensive popular roots, is politically influential; the 'deobandi', administered by fundamentalists and reformist ulamas; and the Barelvi, which recruits from popular and Sufi Islamic circles.
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 universalumma. 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.
... Zia rewarded the only political party to offer him consistent support, Jamaat-e-Islami. Tens of thousands of Jamaat activists and sympathisers were given jobs in the judiciary, the civil service and other state institutions. These appointments meant Zia's Islamic agenda lived on long after he died.
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