The Force of Moral Conviction - the Islamic Missionary Movement of the Tablīghī Jamā`at -

Field Research in Pakistan 2002

		The entrance to the Lahore Markaz may be inconspicuous but points to a major local centre for the Jama`at in Pakistan.
This store keeps radio cassettes of major speeches by Tablighi elders. It has become fashionable among followers to collect them like auspicious items. After the ijtimah there is a rush for the new editions. The cassettes are also proper entertainment while driving the car or at home.			The colourful street scene in Raiwind displays the bustling life of a qasba town.
	Scents are also popular with Tablihgis and other Islamic groups in the tradition of the Prophet showing a devotion that resembles Sufi influences. Leather stockings to be used in mosques and madaris are a famous trademark of religious cities like Raiwind, or its Indian counterpart, Deoband, and a major export item to other Muslim countries.
Countless tents span the congregation ground in Raiwind for the ijtimah where the cotton cloth comes from a pious businessman who cleans and resells it afterwards reportedly at no loss at all.			At the ijtimah the faithful are listening patiently for hours on end, praying, eating and sleeping on the spot.
	The national Tablighi Centre at Raiwind in Pakistan and the annual congregation (ijtimah) are the subject of a brief photo review on this page. The project is to complete with a research monograph on the subject. The photographs were taken during field research in November-December 2002. Research articles and lectures on the subject are listed with publications. Questions and remarks may be sent directly to the researcher: dreetz@rz.hu-berlin.de . © Copyright 2002 for the pictures: Dietrich Reetz - permission to use them cannot be granted at this stage of the project. Updated: February 23, 2004.