‘Travellers in Faith’ or ‘Stealthy Legions’

CONTENTS

Glossary of Terms ix

Introduction 1

Exploring Tablīghī Jamā‘at 3

The Origin of Tablīghī Jamā‘at in Ethiopia 13
The Gurāgēs 21

Teaching, Structure and Operation of Tablīghī Jamā‘at in
Ethiopia: Tablīghīs on the Move 31

Ethnography of Tablīghīs’ Mobility: ‘The People of Visitation
and Call to Islam (yaziyara-na yada’wa säwočï)’:
The Basis of the Tablīghī Jamā’at Movement 47

Locating the Ethiopian Tablīghī Jamā‘at in the Current Debate
on Faith and Politics, Spirituality, Solidarity and
Secretiveness of the Ethiopian Tablīghīs 59

Conclusion 65

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Worku Hailemariam Mohammed was born in 1962 in Addis Ababa, grew up in an Orthodox Christian family until the end of his high school years and in 1980 converted to Protestant evangelical Christianity. His mother, Jämanäšï, was born in Addis Ababa. Her mother was an Orthodox Christian and her father was a Muslim who later converted to Christianity. On his father’s side, Worku’s grandparents also had a mixed Orthodox‐Muslim marriage and his father, brought up as a Muslim, converted to christianity after marrying Worku’s mother.
Worku trained as a cartography technician and is now a theologian who teaches Islamic courses and Qur’ānic Arabic at theological colleges in Addis Ababa where he lives. He is married with three sons and one granddaughter.

QUESTIONS TO THE AUTHOR:
1. Why did you decide to write your book?
I decided to write this book because of the lack of literature in the study of Islam in general Tablighi Jamaat in particular within Eastern and Horn of Africa, as well as Ethiopia which left us in the dark to understand such types of religious movements.

2. What is distinctive about the content of your book?
One of the distinctiveness of the content of my book: ethnographic research with participant observation, depended not only on secondary sources but mainly with primary sources. As a researcher, I have travelled with the Tablighis for over 40 days with their kind permission. The research done by a researcher who understands the language and the culture very well who understands the movement contextually.

3. Why is this subject important?
Firstly, the subject is very important because the Tablighi Jamaat Movement is one of the fastest growing Islamic renewal movements all over the world including the eastern and horn of Africa which has been given less attention from the researchers in the field. Secondly, there are two views which categorise the movement as stealthy legions connected with terrorism though the minority view and as travellers in faith as the majority view. However, both views agree that context has its own role to play which explains the Ethiopian context with regard to the Tablighi Jamaat movement.

4. What difference would this book make for the ministry?
This book helps to commit for missional movements regardless of religious, ethnic, cultural identities and demonstrates practical etiquette with a simple lifestyle.

5. Feel free to add anything else you find relevant.
For missional endeavours, there is a lot to learn from this religious renewal movement in order to accomplish our vision and mission in a particular context.

The Tablīghī Jamā‘at are an Islamic preaching movement in Ethiopia. This work explains the growth of Islam in Ethiopia in general and the Tablīghī Jamā‘at as an Islamic movement for faith renewal in particular. The majority view considers the movement as ‘Travellers in Faith’, a pietistic faith renewal, and peaceful
movement with an apolitical position, whereas the minority views the Tablīghī Jamā‘at as ‘Stealthy Legions’, connected with terrorism and politics. The research shows that even though it is a transnational movement, Tablīghī Jamā‘at in Ethiopia manifests local identity and also maintains global connections, relevant to the current debate on faith and politics.

Among all of ‘Schools of Muslim Thought and Action’, perhaps the South Asian Deobandi tradition receives a much wider and more populist expression through the Tablighi Jama‘at (TJ). TJ’s
purported focus on reviving Islam among Muslims has remained largely under the radar and in the shadow of Salafism, even though its reach around the world likely exceeds that of the Salafis. Its impact is beginning to come to the surface with a handful of research on how it succeeds in engendering a uniform version of activist Islam. What distinguishes Worku’s research from the other works are, its indigenously shaped ethnography which details how TJ ‘socializes’ Muslims across the ethnic divide; and its simple but effective narrative of TJ's advance in a majority Christian country.
David Emmanuel Singh, PhD Stage Leader & Link Tutor, OCMS Oxford

This is a unique and important book, tracing the origin of Tablīghī Jamā‘at (TJ) from Asian soil, and unpacking how it developed and contextualized its teaching, structure and missionary activities
within Ethiopian context, particularly in the Gurāgēs. This work will be a big addition to the study of TJ movement and its expressions in different regions.
Anwar M. Berhe, Director of Christian‐Muslim Relations Programme Evangelical Theological College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia