Tablighi Jamaat and the Quest for the London Mega Mosque: Continuity and Change PDF
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Tablighi Jamaat and the Quest for the London Mega Mosque THE MODERN MUSLIM WORLD Series Editor: Dietrich Jung of the Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark The modern Muslim world is an integral part of global society. In transcending the confines of area studies, this series encompasses scholarly work on political, economic, and cultural issues in modern Muslim history, taking a global perspective. Focusing on the period from the early nineteenth century to the present, it combines stud- ies of Muslim majority regions, such as the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia, with the analysis of Muslim minority communities in Europe and the Americas. Emphasizing the global connectedness of Muslims, the series seeks to promote and encourage the understand- ing of contemporary Muslim life in a comparative perspective and as an inseparable part of modern globality. Migration, Security, and Citizenship in the Middle East: New Perspectives Edited by Peter Seeberg and Zaid Eyadat Politics of Modern Muslim Subjectivities: Islam, Youth, and Social Activism in the Middle East Dietrich Jung, Marie Juul Petersen and Sara Cathrine Lei Sparre Transnational Islam in Interwar Europe: Muslim Activists and Thinkers Edited by Götz Nordbruch and Umar Ryad The International Politics of the Arab Spring: Popular Unrest and Foreign Policy Edited by Robert Mason Regional Powers in the Middle East: New Constellations after the Arab Revolts Edited by Henner Fürtig Tablighi Jamaat and the Quest for the London Mega Mosque: Continuity and Change Zacharias P. Pieri Tablighi Jamaat and the Quest for the London Mega Mosque Continuity and Change Zacharias P. Pieri TABLIGHI JAMAAT AND THE QUEST FOR THE LONDON MEGA MOSQUE Copyright © Zacharias P. Pieri, 2015. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-46438-5 All rights reserved. First published in 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-49927-4 ISBN 978-1-137-46439-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137464392 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pieri, Zacharias, author. Tablighi Jamaat and the quest for the London mega mosque : continuity and change / Zacharias P. Pieri. pages cm.—(The modern Muslim world) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Tablighi Jama’at—History. 2. Islam—Missions—England—London. 3. Islam—Missions—Great Britain. 4. Muslims—England—London. 5. Mosques—England—London. I. Title. BP10.T323P54 2015 297.6(cid:25)50941—dc23 2014036647 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: March 2015 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To my parents, Peter and Katerina TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk Contents Acknowledgments ix List of Abbreviations xi 1 Introduction 1 Part I Theoretical and Analytical Framework: Understanding the Context 2 Framing the Context 13 Part II Conceptualizing Tablighi Jamaat 3 Conceiving Tablighi Jamaat 31 4 Tablighi Jamaat: Organization, Structure, and Methods 49 Part III The Quest for the London Mega Mosque 5 Tablighis in Britain: Adapting to Shifting Contexts 67 6 Tablighi Jamaat in Transition: 2005–2010 85 7 Tablighi Jamaat and the Politics of Adaptation 109 Part IV The Worldly Unworldliness of Tablighi Jamaat 8 Tablighi Jamaat From Within 133 9 Conclusions 157 Notes 163 Glossary 171 Bibliography 173 Index 189 TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk Acknowledgments This book presents five years of ethnographic field research on Tablighi Jamaat in London and builds upon my doctoral thesis, which was completed in the summer of 2012 at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. I am indebted to the supervision afforded by Prof. Jonathan Githens-Mazer. From our first meeting, Jonathan encouraged me in my research, critiqued my ideas, provided me with new opportunities and avenues to succeed, and nourished my academic development. Our meetings were innovative and discus- sion was stimulating. I am grateful to comments received from Prof. David Jacobson on the theoretical elements of the book, and for the time he allowed me to work on the manuscript during my time as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Global Initiative on Civil Society and Conflict at the University of South Florida, Tampa. The publication of this book owes much to the support, encouragement, and feedback of Prof. Dietrich Jung, Series Editor of The Modern Muslim World at Palgrave. To that end, I am also very appreciative of the comments from the anonymous reviewers, and to Farideh Koohi- Kamali and Sara Doskow at Palgrave Macmillan in New York. Their support has been integral to the book’s publication. In addition, I am personally indebted to Heather Fortson who donated a consider- able amount of time and energy in the reading, proofing, and copy- editing of the manuscript. Tablighi Jamaat has not always been open to social science research, and as such I am exceptionally obliged to those Tablighis who agreed to facilitate and take part in this study. This book would not have been possible without their time, trust, and frankness. Additionally I am thankful to Alan Craig who gave generous amount of time to ques- tions and interviews and for sharing his experiences of leading oppo- sition to TJ’s mosque. I am appreciative of the time given by Peter Minoletti, and Sunil Sahadevan and others at Newham Council and the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation. Moreover, I thankful to Jenny Taylor of Lapido Media who shared her experi- ences of Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin and who has been support- ive of my research on Tablighi Jamaat in Britain.
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