Travellers in Faith

Book excerpt: The Tablīghī Jamā‘at is a twentieth century faith renewal movement, which is presently operating in more than eighty countries. With millions of participants, its annual conference has become the second largest Muslim congregation after the Hajj. In the absence of official writings and its abstinence from media publicity, the Jamā‘at can best be studied by participant observation, as illustrated by the studies of its activities in India, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Morocco and South Africa, which are presented in this volume. Studying the historical and social growth of this movement in India, its transnational transformation, the development of its ideology, particularly on the questions of conversion, gender, religious diversity, organization, communication, adjustment with the local environment and personal transformation, this volume offers fascinating information about contemporary da‘wa phenomenon in Islam.