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Bulbul Siddiqi

Becoming
‘Good
Muslim’
The Tablighi Jamaat in the UK and
Bangladesh
Becoming ‘Good Muslim’
Bulbul Siddiqi

Becoming ‘Good Muslim’

The Tablighi Jamaat in the UK
and Bangladesh

123
Bulbul Siddiqi
Department of Political Science
and Sociology
North South University
Dhaka
Bangladesh

ISBN 978-981-10-7235-2 ISBN 978-981-10-7236-9 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7236-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017958839

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018

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To

My love birds; Polloby, Alorika

and Avradeep
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Prof. Geoffrey Samuel and Dr. Santi Rozario for guiding me
to complete this research and finally converting it to a book. It would not have been
possible to complete this book without their invaluable support, continuous advice
and critical comments. I am thankful to Prof. SM Nurul Alam of Jahangirnagar
University, Bangladesh, who always encouraged me to complete this book on time.
I would like to thank my friends in Cardiff, London, Nottingham and Bangladesh,
who supported me in many ways to carry out field research. I made many new
friends during my research in both Bangladesh and the UK, who helped me to finish
it on time. I express my sincere appreciation to Shafiqul Fahim, the person I met
during a 40-day dawah journey in Bangladesh. He made my journey remembered
with his unconditional support and assistance. I have learned many aspects of the
Tablighi Jamaat discussing and debating with Fahim for many long sessions. My
friend Matiur Rahman helped a lot to get into the study in Bangladesh.
I would like to commemorate respondents from Bangladesh and the UK who
helped me a lot to get into the Tablighi Jamaat movement. Many of them spent
hours discussing various aspects of the Tablighi Jamaat that have enriched my
understanding of the movement. Spending time with them was a major experience
in my life for which my gratitude for them is not enough.
I would like to express my gratitude to Cardiff University, Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC) and Charles Wallace Bangladesh Trust for their generous
support to complete the research.
I would like to thank my wife Mahjaben Nur for her support, encouragement and
patience. She has always critically commented on my book. Furthermore, she
always kept faith in me, and that encouraged me to complete the book. I am
thankful to my children who also accepted the hard time during my writing up the
book. My parents, mother-in-law and sisters have always given moral support when
I needed it, for which my expression of thanks does not suffice. Finally, I would like
to express my appreciation to my father who always encouraged me to complete
this study.

vii
Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Background to the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 The Tablighi Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Why Research on the Tablighi Jamaat? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1 Previous Studies: General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.2 Previous Studies: Bangladesh and the UK . . . . . . . . . . 7
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 Accessing the Tablighi Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Why Ethnographic Research? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3 Multi Sited Ethnography: Field, Site, and Location . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.1 What Is Multi Sited Ethnography? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4 Introduction to the Field: Bangladesh and the UK . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.5 The Challenges of Accessing the Tablighi Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Part I Bangladesh
3 Islamic Reforms in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2 Islamisation in Bengal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.3 Bengal Muslim Under Reform Movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.4 Bangladesh and Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.5 The Tablighi Jamaat and Dawah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.6 The Six Points of the Tablighi Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

ix
x Contents

4 Undertaking a Chilla: Becoming a Tablighi Follower . . . . . . . . . . . 49

4.1 Getting into Dawah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.2 Finding a Chilla Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.3 Chilla in Nageswary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.4 A Day at the Roy Ganj Mosque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.5 Learning by Doing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.5.1 Tashkili Gasht: The Case of Hasan Ali and Shukur
Ali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 55
4.5.2 Ta’leem and Mujakkera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 56
4.5.3 The Umumi Gasht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 58
4.5.4 Religious Talk After Magrib Prayer (Magrib Bad
Boyan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 59
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 60
5 Spiritual Journey Within the Tablighi Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2 Social Implication of Dawah: Participation in Chilla . . . . . . . . . 62
5.2.1 Status, Authority, and Religious Empowerment . . . . . . 62
5.2.2 Mosque Based Activities and Social Entrepreneurs . . . . 65
5.2.3 Transformation, Communitas and Chilla . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
6 Bishwa Ijtema as a New Form of Islamic Pilgrimage . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6.2 The Ijtema of the Tablighi Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
6.3 The Bishwa Ijtema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
6.4 The Ijtema and the Hajj: Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.5 The Ijtema and Visiting Shrines: Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
6.6 Ijtema: A New Pilgrimage for the Muslim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
6.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
7 Reconfiguring Gender Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
7.2 Marriage in the Tablighi Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
7.3 The Tablighi Jamaat and the Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
7.4 Gender and the Tablighi Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
7.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Contents xi

Part II UK
8 Tablighi Jamaat in the UK . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.2 Muslims in the UK . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
8.2.1 Bangladeshi in the UK . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8.3 Tablighi Jamaat Followers in the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
8.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
9 Weekly Gasht: The Backbone of Tablighi Dawah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
9.1 Getting Involved in Dawah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
9.2 The Gasht at the Uthman Mosque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
9.3 Religious Speech After the Magrib Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
10 The Implications of the Tablighi Jamaat in the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
10.2 A Mosque Oriented Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
10.3 Educating Children by Tablighi Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
10.4 The Tablighi Jamaat as a Guideline for Islamic Life in Western
Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
10.4.1 Two Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
10.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
11 Searching for a Global Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
11.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
11.2 Identity Formation of the Tablighi Jamaat in the UK . . . . . . . . 150
11.2.1 Why Identity Is Important . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
11.2.2 Community, Identity, and the Tablighi Jamaat . . . . . . . 153
11.2.3 Shared Tablighi Experience and Memory . . . . . . . . . . . 157
11.2.4 Transformation and Tablighi Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
11.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
12 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Maps

xiii
xiv Maps

Map 1 Bangladesh map showing the field locations

Maps xv

Map 2 UK map showing the field locations

Chapter 1
Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

1.1.1 The Tablighi Jamaat

This book is the outcome of a long ethnographic research on the Tablighi Jamaat, a
transnational Islamic reform movement that originated in India in the 1920s and is
now operative in many countries around the world. This study is based on field
research in two countries where the Tablighi Jamaat operates: Bangladesh and the
UK. The word Tabligh means transmission or communication of a message or
revelation; fulfilment of a mission. In contemporary usage, it is interchangeable
with dawah (propagation of the faith). Jamaat signifies a group of people. Thus,
going by the literal meaning of the words, the Tablighi Jamaat is a preaching group,
which invites and communicates with people to improve their faith. This is how
followers of the Tablighi Jamaat explain what they are practising and it is the reason
why Masud (2000) refers to the Tablighi Jamaat as a ‘faith renewal movement’.
Tablighi Jamaat does not preach to people outside the Muslim population.
Followers of the Tablighi Jamaat are explicitly directed not to preach among other
religions. According to the Tablighi Jamaat, at the time when the Tablighi Jamaat
began preaching among the Muslim community, Muslims had deviated from the
original teachings of Islam. The founder of the Tablighi Jamaat, Moulana
Muhammad Ilyas (1885–1944), initiated the Tablighi movement in the 1920s in
India with a desire to make the Muslims of that time into “true Muslims”, and the
movement is often described as purporting to making Muslims into true Muslims
(Sikand 2002, 2006).
According to the Tablighi Jamaat, the principal aim of the movement is indi-
vidual spiritual purification. For Talib (1997), the main target of the Tablighi Jamaat
is to encourage its followers to establish a spiritual relationship with Allah (God).
They aim to achieve this spiritual purification and spiritual closeness with Allah by
engaging with dawah, a central concept for the Tablighi Jamaat as for Islamic

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 1

B. Siddiqi, Becoming ‘Good Muslim’,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7236-9_1
2 1 Introduction

reform movements in general. This term literally means ‘call’ or ‘invitation’, with
the specific meaning of calling people back to what is perceived as proper Islamic
observance. For the Tablighi Jamaat, dawah is regarded as Allah’s way of bringing
believers to faith. In the case of the Tablighi Jamaat, dawah includes both activities
with other people in one’s own locality and missionary journeys to other places.
These journeys provide opportunities to interact with people and to disseminate the
message of the Tablighi Jamaat.
Through dawah, Tablighi Jamaat followers fulfil their obligation akin to fol-
lowers of Prophet Muhammad of disseminating his message to other Muslims. The
entire process of dawah relates to the moral reform of the individual. During dawah
journeys, Tablighi Jamaat followers leave their residence to travel to another area to
concentrate on dawah for a certain period. They stay in a different place, in isolation
from their family and their regular lifestyle, and dedicate their entire time for
dawah. During their dawah journeys, male Tablighi Jamaat followers stay in local
mosques in the areas they visit for the number of days committed to the journey
(three days, forty days, or four months). Moulana Ilyas provided a series of rec-
ommendations for how long one should spend on dawah journeys. For example,
Tablighi Jamaat followers are instructed to go on a journey of three days once each
month, on a chilla1 (a journey of forty days) once a year and on three successive
chillas once in a lifetime. The chilla is considered as a fundamental training period
for the beginner. Male Tablighi Jamaat followers are strongly encouraged to go on
these forty-day journeys with the Jamaat, during which they focus exclusively on
the self-purification programme of Tabligh and dawah (Alam 1993: 902).
Self-purification eventually relates to the idea of becoming good Muslim in the
contemporary world.
A second type of dawah journey, the masturaat jamaat, was formulated for
married couples. It is a relatively short dawah journey, often for three days, in
which a number of married couples travel together. However, married couples can
go for a chilla as well. If a woman is not married, she can travel with her father or
brother but she cannot travel alone with a jamaat of men unrelated to her. During
the masturaat jamaat, men stay at the mosque in the community that is being
visited, while the women stay in a house of a dedicated Tablighi Jamaat follower in
the community who maintains strict purdah and segregation.
Apart from these various types of dawah journeys, Tablighi Jamaat followers
have to maintain a number of other observances. These are known as the ‘Five
Tasks’ (Paach Kaj). They are:

1
Chilla originates from chahal, a Persian word meaning ‘forty,’ and traditionally referred to a
forty-day period of ascetic observance within Islam, generally in a Sufi context. In the Tablighi
Jamaat context, it refers to a forty days long dawah journey.
1.1 Background to the Study 3

1. Undertaking two gashts (preaching visits) every week;

2. Undertaking two ta’leems (study sessions)2 every day;
3. Spending at least three days in dawah journey every month;
4. Attending a daily meeting (mashoara) in the mosque;
5. Spending two and a half hours each day in encouraging people to pray and join
the Tablighi Jamaat.
All Tablighi followers are expected to maintain the observance of these ‘Five
Tasks’ on a regular basis. The purpose of the ‘Five Tasks’ is to maintain the
practice of dawah. Moulana Ilyas developed these rules of dawah and Tabligh. His
followers are expected to strictly maintain these in all parts of the world. Although
Moulana Ilyas mainly focused his attention in the Indian subcontinent, and was not
particularly concerned with expanding it elsewhere, his successors took initiatives
to spread the Tablighi Jamaat movement outside the Indian subcontinent. This
global expansion of the Tablighi Jamaat began in the 1940s just after the Second
World War. Today, the movement is active in some 165 countries around the world.
The global headquarters (markaz3) of the Tablighi Jamaat is located in the area
of Nizamuddin4 in Delhi. Tablighi Jamaat remains strongly active in India,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, it has followers throughout the country.
Their annual gathering at Tongi near Dhaka, which is known as Bishwa Ijtema
(World congregation), is attended by several millions of people. It is claimed to be
the second largest Muslim gathering after the hajj. In 2011, the leaders of the
Tablighi Jamaat in Bangladesh decided to organise ijtema twice a year, because of
the increasing popularity of the Bishwa Ijtema in Bangladesh. People from all over
the world attend this annual ijtema in Bangladesh. With its large number of fol-
lowers, Bangladesh has become one of the most influential centres of the Tablighi
Jamaat after India; the movement is also very active in Pakistan. After South Asia,
the UK has become one of the most influential centres of the Tablighi Jamaat in the
West. The markaz at Dewsbury in the UK acts as the European headquarters of the
Tablighi Jamaat.
This book examines the Tablighi Jamaat in two very different national contexts,
Bangladesh and the UK. Bangladesh is a Muslim majority country, within which
the Tablighi Jamaat is a very large movement with many followers. The population
as a whole is sympathetic to Islam and a significant proportion of the population

2
The word Ta’leem is related to ilm or Islamic knowledge, and refers to the process by which ilm is
acquired (Alam 1993). In the Tablighi Jamaat, it refers to a session where members read from the
Qur’an and hadiths in a group. The purpose of the Ta’leem is to acquire knowledge on hadith and
to learn to read properly the verses of the Qur’an that people need to recite in the daily prayer.
3
The word markaz refers to the mosque where the Tablighi Jamaat organises groups to be departed
and organises weekly session of religious speech known as boyan. The term markaz also refers to
headquarter for overseeing all Tablgihi task.
4
Nizamuddin is situated in New Delhi. It is named after the famous Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya,
whose dargah (shrine) is situated in this area. The Markazi mosque in Nizamuddin also known as
Banglewali Masjeed, is the international headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat.
4 1 Introduction

grace the ideology of the Tablighi Jamaat. Several million people attend the annual
congregation (Bishwa Ijtema) of the Tablighi Jamaat in Bangladesh every year, and
the image of this annual ijtema contributes in popularising the movement across the
country. In Bangladesh, this study deals with rural and urban contexts of the
Tablighi Jamaat where it has become a popular and dominant Islamic movement.
The UK is a multicultural and multi-religious society where the majority of the
populations are not Muslims, so the Tablighi Jamaat has a much smaller following
than in Bangladesh. At the same time, according to the senior followers of the
Dewsbury markaz, the number of participants in the annual ijtema at Dewsbury is
increasing every year. According to the organisers of the ijtema in Dewsbury, the
ijtema in Dewsbury attracts more than ten thousand followers every year. This
number is increasing every year, which is a sign of the Tablighi Jamaat’s growing
acceptance and popularity among Muslims in the UK. According to the London
Markaz of the Tablighi Jamaat, there are about 50,000 active Tablighi Jamaat
followers in the UK. They also claimed that about 1/10th of the Muslim population
in the UK, although not classed as dedicated followers, have spent time in dawah
activities. The Tablighi Jamaat has been able to establish itself as one of the leading
Islamic revival movements among the UK Muslims, especially in the South Asian
diaspora, who constitute the majority of the Muslim population in the UK. In the
UK, this research deals with mainly the urban contexts where most British South
Asian Muslims reside.
This book argues that the Tablighi Jamaat remains a successful movement
around the world because of the ability to keep its followers (new and long-term) in
a Tablighi-guided life. I argue that the positive image of the Tablighi Jamaat and its
preaching activities, along with family and peer pressure and a variety of personal
reasons explain why people join the movement. Once they have joined, the prac-
tical advantages of belonging to the Tablighi Jamaat for living a life developing and
nurturing an image of ‘good Muslim’ in the contemporary world encourage fol-
lowers to remain dedicated to the Tablighi life.

1.2 Why Research on the Tablighi Jamaat?

The Tablighi Jamaat as an influential piety based Islamic movement has received
significant attention by many researchers, authors and academics across the world.
However, very few on the context of Bangladesh and the UK, specially, there
remains a gap on serious anthropological research on the Tablighi Jamaat in
Bangladesh and the UK. I will discuss some of the previous works on the Tablighi
Jamaat outside the UK and Bangladesh in this section and some studies on
Bangladesh and the UK in the next section of the chapter, which also justifies my
study on the Tablighi Jamaat.
1.2 Why Research on the Tablighi Jamaat? 5

1.2.1 Previous Studies: General

There have been a number of previous studies on the Tablighi Jamaat, including
books by Haq (Faith Movement of Mawlānā Ilyās, 1972), Mayaram (Resisting
Regimes: Myth, Memory and the Shaping of a Muslim Identity, 1997), Sikand (The
Origins and Development of the Tablighi Jama’at, 2002) and several articles by
Yoginder Sikand, an edited book by Masud (Travellers in Faith, 2000), articles by
Metcalf (see 1993, 1996a, b, 2000, 2002, 2003), Dickson (2009), and Janson (2008,
2014) and others. Dickson (2009) and Janson (2008, 2014) carried out ethnographic
research respectively in Canada and Gambia. Although there have been short
accounts of the Tablighi Jamaat in Bangladesh and the UK (see the next section)
there has been no detailed ethnographic study of the movement in either country, a
gap which the present research is intended to fill.
Tablighi Jamaat has attracted the attention of American scholar Barbara Metcalf,
who has published several articles since 1990. Metcalf (1993) describes Tablighi
Jamaat followers as living the hadith, because one of the priorities of the Tablighi
Jamaat followers is to implement the lessons of the hadith in their everyday life. In
this process of implementing lessons from the hadith, they internalise numerous
hadiths. Therefore, they can quote from hadiths without going back to the text. In
this article, Metcalf (1993) discusses key Tablighi texts that they follow as the
principal guide in every aspect of dawah.
Metcalf has also commented on the gender relations of the Tablighi Jamaat.
Metcalf (1996b) points out that the Tablighi Jamaat provides a set of responsibil-
ities to be shared by men and women. Metcalf argues that Tablighi families are less
hierarchical in comparison to other Muslim families. Metcalf (2000), states that the
Tablighi Jamaat provides women with an opportunity to congregate with other
women. This means they have greater access to Islam compared to other Muslim
women in South Asia. Metcalf also states that Tablighi men are relatively calm and
quiet, traits that are perceived as feminine rather than masculine. Therefore, many
non-Tablighi men criticize them as lacking in masculinity. Similar criticisms have
been reported from Gambia. Janson in her ethnographic research, encountered
derogatory comments about Tablighi men; one woman commented that they are
“just half big’,” meaning that they were not ‘real’ men (Janson 2008, 2014). My
current research aims to explore some of these issues in the context of Bangladesh.
The Indian scholar Sikand (1999) has also commented on gender aspects of
Tablighi Jamaat, arguing that the organisation prioritises women’s participation in
order to establish an Islamic tradition within the family. Sikand states that the
mother is treated as the first madrasa5 for children among the Tablighi Jamaat

5
The classical Islamic education system (seminaries) is based in institutions known as madrasa.
Madrasas have their own curriculum that emphasise on the importance of studying various aspect
of Islam. There are two types of madrasas in Bangladesh, qawmi and aliya madrasa. The former
are independent of the government and determine their own curriculum, while the aliya madrasa
receive State support and teach qualifications recognised by the State education system.
6 1 Introduction

followers. Sikand argues that although Tablighi Jamaat reinforces the traditional
gender relations, it also provides women with an opportunity to spread Islam, which
was almost forbidden in South Asia. For Metcalf (1996b), by actively engaging in
organizing and presiding over the dawah meetings in their locality, women receive
religious authority and empowerment. White (2010) also argues that women in
Bangladesh enjoy religious empowerment through becoming involved with
Tablighi Jamaat activities. Féo’s study in Southeast Asia (2009) comes up with
similar argument that the gender roles of the Tablighi Jamaat have positive
advantages for women. I aim to explore through this study how Tablighi men see
gender relations. In addition, how does a Tablighi approach to gender relations
interact with the traditional patriarchal norms and values in Bangladesh?
Sikand also contests the claim that the Tablighi Jamaat is apolitical (2006). He
states that many Tablighi Jamaat followers have had considerable political roles in
various contexts. Sikand (2006) argues that the grass root work of the Tablighi
Jamaat provides a fertile ground for Islamist movements in Bangladesh. Sikand
points out that in 1971, when the Islamic political parties were banned in
Bangladesh, many followers of Islamist political parties used the Tablighi Jamaat as
a cover under which to hide.
A number of writers have discussed the role of the Tablighi Jamaat in relation to
Islamic identity. Certainly, the creation of an Islamic community transcending
national and ethnic barriers was always one of the aims of the Tablighi Jamaat. This
is reflected in their dawah approach. The Tablighi Jamaat followers carry out
dawah in the same way all over the world regardless of ethnicity and nationalities in
order to create a universal image of the Tablighi Jamaat. In the last speech of
Moulana Muhammad Yusuf (d.1965), the second ameer or head of the Tablighi
Jamaat, he discussed the importance of the creation of the ummah (Muslim
Community). He began his speech by discussing the importance of the ummah,
giving examples of the sacrifices made by the Prophet to establish a Muslim
community, and stating that:
Ummah is not the name of a group belonging to one nation or one place, but is formed
rather of people of various lands and climes joined together into one whole. Those who
consider a particular nation or a people as their own are guilty of destroying the Ummah by
breaking it up into separate entities (Khan 2009: 46).

For Moulana Muhammad Yusuf, creation of a global Tablighi community was

also a key area regardless of national and ethnic boundaries. This community would
be based on Islamic identity rather than Tablighi membership.
The influence of the Tablighi Jamaat on the process of Muslim identity for-
mation has in recent times attracted scholars across the globe. For example, Talib
(1997), Kepel (2000), and Dickson (2009) discuss the formation of Islamic identity
and the role of the Tablighi Jamaat. Talib (1997) focuses on India and the South
Asian context overall, Dickson (2009) focuses on Canada, and Kepel (2000) dis-
cusses the case of France. All three scholars argue that the Tablighi Jamaat con-
tributes on the formation of a Muslim identity in various parts of the world.
1.2 Why Research on the Tablighi Jamaat? 7

Kepel (2000) observes that building an Islamic cultural foundation is an essential

element of the formation of Muslim identity and that Tablighis were the first group
in France who were effective in doing this. He further states that these practices help
to create a communal life. In this context, my study focusing on the issues of
identity among Tablighi followers in the UK will help to understand the implica-
tions of the movement in a multicultural context.
Dickson (2009), looking at Canada, provides a detailed account of the con-
struction of identity in urban spaces, based on ethnographic research. He argues that
visible symbols, for example clothing, become crucial vehicles of the construction
of identity. The ‘mosque centred spirituality’ of the Tablighi Jamaat helps to create
a universal image of the Tablighi Jamaat. By engaging with the Tablighi Jamaat,
followers create new and long-term social connections. As Dickson (2009) states,
these can be local, regional, and transnational. The development of social networks
and connectivity among Tablighi followers are doubtlessly common in various
parts of the world.
Both Kepel (2000) and Dickson (2009) discuss Tablighi Jamaat identity in the
Western context. In contrast, Talib (1997) provides a regional example of the
Tablighi Jamaat and the formation of identity discussing three case studies from
India. For Talib (1997), establishing a relation to Allah is the main agenda for
Tablighis. In order to build the relationship with Allah, they transform their life into
a dedicated Tablighi follower. Talib (1997) argues that it is a transformation from
one identity to a Tablighi identity.

1.2.2 Previous Studies: Bangladesh and the UK

Here I discuss the small number of previous studies of the Tablighi Jamaat in
Bangladesh and the UK. Among them, Sikand (2002) studies Tablighi Jamaat in
India, Bangladesh, and the UK with a historical development of the Tablighi Jamaat
in these countries. For the case of the UK, Sikand shows that the Tablighi Jamaat is
mainly organised by the South Asian Muslims in the UK and it is not much popular
among British born Muslims.
Metcalf (1996a) provides a brief background to the Tablighi Jamaat in America
and Europe. She focuses on how Tablighi Jamaat has become an influential
transnational Islamic revival movement. Finally, Metcalf points out that the
Tablighi Jamaat movement contributed on the process of building mosques in
various parts of the world including the UK. Since the Tablighi Jamaat is a mosque
centred movement, they prioritised the establishment of many mosques as they can
in order to carry out dawah. In this process, they transformed many existing
mosques into Tablighi mosques.
8 1 Introduction

Faust (2000) focuses on Britain and Germany. Faust shows that the Tablighi
Jamaat contributed to the creation of an environment in which Muslims in Europe
could practice their religion and express their identity.
Pieri (2012, 2015) focuses on Tablighi effort of building a mega mosque in
London. He shows that although the Tablighi Jamaat emphasises the unity in their
methods and ideology that help to remain outside of worldly activities, the mega
mosque debate forced them to engage in a debate with the wider community. Pieri
shows that The Tablighi Jamaat functions in a different way when the environment
is not the same that shows the adaptability of the movement in the Western context.
In relation to Bangladesh, Islamic Foundation Bangladesh published a book by
Alam (1993) on the Tablighi Jamaat in Bangladesh. The book, which is entitled The
Message of Tableeg and Da’wah, provides an empathetic account of his experience
as a Tablighi follower. Muhammad Yeahia Akhter who is a political scientist at
Chittagong University in Bangladesh has written another book on the Tablighi
Jamaat. Akhter (2006) claims to provide a sociological analysis of the Tablighi
Jamaat in Bangladesh based on a survey among Tablighi Jamaat followers. White
(2010) deals with the gender politics of Islam in Bangladesh. White shows that
women enjoy religious empowerment through becoming involved with Tablighi
Jamaat activities based on case studies of two women, only one of whom is a
Tablighi Jamaat follower. Samuel (2011) writes on gender relations among
Bangladeshis with a focus on Tablighi Jamaat followers in Bangladesh and the UK,
and on the Hijaz Community (a Sufi organisation) in the UK. Samuel shows that
there is a desire among both Tablighi women and men for a Muslim masculinity
imitating the life of the Prophet that help them to be calm and avoid aggression with
a new gender relations. Some young women positively evaluate this new type of
gender relation within the Tablighi Jamaat.
So far, however, there have been no substantial ethnographic studies on the
Tablighi Jamaat either in Bangladesh or in the UK. This is perhaps surprising,
because the annual Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Bangladesh has become well
known among the global Tablighi Jamaat followers, while the UK has become an
influential centre in the West and has been acting as the European headquarters of
the Tablighi Jamaat since 1980s when the organisation moved to its permanent
location in Dewsbury from the Markazi Mosque6 in London. I hope that this book
will help to fill the gap providing a detailed ethnographic representation of various
elements of the Tablighi Jamaat in the UK and Bangladesh with the follower’s
perception of becoming ‘good Muslim’ in the globalised world.

6
Markazi Mosque is the mosque that oversees the activities of the Tablighi Jamaat in London area.
References 9

References

Akhter, Muhammad Yeahia. 2006. Tabligh Jamaat: Imani Andolaner Shomajtattiq Bishleshon,
[Tablighi Jamaat: Sociological Analysis of the Piety Movement] Dhaka: Adorn Publication.
Alam, A.Z.M.Shamsul. 1993. The Message of Tableeg and Da’wah. Dhaka: Islamic Foundation
Bangladesh.
Dickson, Rory. 2009. The Tablighi Jama at in South-western Ontario: Making Muslim Identities
and Networks in Canadian Urban Spaces. Contemporary Islam 3: 99–112.
Faust, E. 2000. Close Ties and New Boundaries: Tablighi Jamaat in Britain and Germany. In
Travellers in Faith: Studies of the Tablighi Jama’at as a Transnational Islamic Movement for
Faith Renewal, ed. Muhammad Khalid Masud, 139–160. Leiden: Brill.
Féo, Agnès de. 2009. Behind the veil, in the ranks of the Tablighi Jamaat. World Religion Watch.
http://www.world-religion-watch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=284:
veil-tabligh-jamaat&catid=41:Research%20Publications%20and%20Working%20Papers&Itemid
=99, downloaded August 20, 2011.
Haq, Anwarul. 1972. The Faith Movement of Mawlānā Ilyās. London: George Allen & Unwin.
Janson, Marloes. 2008. Renegotiating Gender: Changing Moral Practice in the Tablighi Jamaat in
the Gambia. Journal for Islamic Studies 28: 9–36.
Janson, Marloes. 2014. Islam, Youth and Modernity in the Gambia: The Tablighi Jamaat.
Cambridge: CUP.
Kepel, G. 2000. Foi et Pratique: Tablīghī Jamā‘at in France (Translation: Muhammad Khalid
Masud). In Travellers in Faith: Studies of the Tablighi Jama’at as a Transnational Islamic
Movement for Faith Renewal, ed. Muhammad Khalid Masud, 188–205. Leiden: Brill.
Khan, Wahiduddin M. 2009. Tabligh Movement. New Delhi: The Islamic Centre, Translated by
Farida Khanam.
Masud, Muhammad Khalid. 2000. Travellers in Faith: Studies of the Tablīghī Jamā’at as a
Transnational Islamic Movement for Faith Renewal. Leiden: Brill.
Mayaram, Shail. 1997. Resisting Regimes: Myth, Memory and the Shaping of a Muslim Identity.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Metcalf, Barbara D. 1993. Living Hadith in the Tablighi Jama’at. The Journal of Asian Studies 52
(3): 584–608.
Metcalf, Barbara D. 2002. ‘Traditionalist’ Islamic Activism: Deoband, Tablighis, and Talibs.
Leiden: Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM).
Metcalf, Barbara D. 1996a. New Medinas: The Tablighi Jama`at in America and Europe. In
Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe, ed. Barbara Daly Metcalf, 110–127.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Metcalf, Barbara D. 1996b. Islam and Women: The Case of the Tablīghī Jamā’at. Stanford
Electronic Humanities Review 5(1) [No pagination.] (Special Issue, Contested Polities:
Religious Disciplines and Structures of Modernity, edited by Nancy Reynolds and Saba
Mahmood.).
Metcalf, Barbara D. 2000. Tablīghī Jamā‘at and Women, In Travellers in Faith: Studies of the
Tablīghī Jamā‘at as a Transnational Islamic Movement for Faith Renewal, ed. Muhammad
Khalid Masud, 44–58. Leiden: Brill.
Metcalf, Barbara D. 2003. Travelers’ Tales in the Tablighi Jamaat. Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, 588, Islam: Enduring Myths and Changing Realities,
136–148.
Pieri, Zacharias. 2012. Tablighi Jamaat. London: Lapido Medio.
Pieri, Zacharias. 2015. Tablighi Jamaat and the Quest for the London Mega Mosque: Continuity
and Change. NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Samuel, Geoffrey. 2011. Islamic Piety and Masculinity. Contemporary Islam 5: 309–322.
Sikand, Yoginder. 1999. The Tablighi Jama’at in Bangladesh. South Asia 22 (1): 101–123.
10 1 Introduction

Sikand, Yoginder. 2002. The Origins and Development of the Tablighi-Jama’at (1920-2000):
A Cross Country Comparative Study. Hyderabad: Orient Longman.
Sikand, Yoginder. 2006. The Tablighi Jama’at and Politics: A Critical Re-Appraisal. The Muslim
World 96: 175–195.
Talib, Mohammad. 1997. The Tablighis in the Making of Muslim Identity, Comparative Studies of
South Asia. Africa and the Middle East (formerly South Asia Bulletin) 17 (1): 32–51.
White, Sarah C. 2010. Domains of Contestation: Women’s Empowerment and Islam in
Bangladesh. Women’s Studies International Forum 33: 334–344.
Chapter 2
Accessing the Tablighi Jamaat

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, I discuss the methodology that I applied in the research. The chapter
provides an overview of the situation I went through in the field. My fieldwork
involved participation in multiple sites. The chapter also provides a detailed account
of the idea of multi-sited ethnography and its implication in my research. Since the
Tablighi Jamaat is a transnational religious movement, a multi-sited ethnographic
method was essential in order to get a comprehensive understanding of the Tablighi
Jamaat movement both in various parts in Bangladesh and in the UK. The tools
used were participant observation, informal discussion, in-depth interviews, and
focus group discussions (FGD).
In my research, I employed participant observation to observe the day-to-day
activities of the Tablighi Jamaat during ijtema, gasht and chilla. I participated in a
chilla with a Tablighi Jamaat team for a consecutive forty days in the northern part
of Bangladesh. I spent the entire time with them participating in every activity of
their dawah. During the chilla, I had the opportunity to engage myself in informal
discussions with participating team members. This provided me with the
socio-economic background and individual perspective of Tablighi Jamaat fol-
lowers. My participation in this Tablighi Jamaat team helped me to identify fol-
lowers with whom I could carry out in-depth interviews to get more detailed and
individual perspectives of the Tablighi Jamaat.
This chapter provides an overview of how I went through and negotiated situ-
ations in the field in order to get a detailed understanding of everyday activities of
Tablighi Jamaat followers. The chapter begins with the discussion of justification of
employing ethnographic methods to understand the Tablighi Jamaat. It also pro-
vides a detailed account of multi-sited ethnography and its implications in the
current research. It might be expected that as a native researcher (in the context of
Bangladesh), I would have relatively easy access to the people with whom I con-
ducted fieldwork. In reality, the situation was not straightforward. In the beginning,

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 11

B. Siddiqi, Becoming ‘Good Muslim’,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7236-9_2
12 2 Accessing the Tablighi Jamaat

I was regarded as an outsider by most of the followers of the group, although my

Muslim identity made it easy to participate with the group. At the initial stage, I had
to meet many Tablighi Jamaat followers to build rapport. Attaining trust and
building rapport was the beginning of my fieldwork, and afforded me a good entry
into the group. I now turn to discuss how I selected the ethnographic methods used
in conducting my fieldwork.

2.2 Why Ethnographic Research?

Bronislaw Malinowski1 set the standard of fieldwork by his ethnography on the

Trobriand Islanders. It has been treated as the classic example of ethnography that is
read and followed as a model of doing ethnography. By spending a lengthy period
in the field, a researcher can acquire substantial knowledge about a community. For
Geertz, ‘ethnography is like trying to read (in the sense of “construct a reading of”)
a manuscript—foreign, faded, full of ellipses, incoherencies, suspicious emenda-
tions, and tendentious commentaries, but written not in conventionalized graphs of
sound but in transient examples of shaped behaviour’ (1973: 10). For him,
ethnography is not just an approach, techniques and procedures. This is a process of
bringing out the hidden meaning that he calls, ‘thick description’. Thus, the purpose
of ethnography is not merely describing something but to analyse and construct the
realities that are not visible. This statement of Geertz shows the significance of
ethnography, at the same time it also points out the challenges of conducting
ethnography, which is not just describing.
The significance of ethnographic research is the ability to interpret and represent
‘another culture’. As Marcus and Fischer (1999: 18) state:
Ethnography is a research process in which the anthropologist closely observes, records,
and engages in the daily life of another culture - an experience labelled as the fieldwork
method – and then writes accounts of this culture, emphasizing descriptive detail.

In comparison with other methodologies, the strength of the ethnographic

approach is its ability to uncover reality. In this context, participant observation has
the greater benefit of exploring dawah in both the locality and chilla. Continuous
observation was helpful to understand the internal dynamics of the Tablighi Jamaat.
Without participating with the Tablighi Jamaat, especially in the chilla, it would not
have been possible to get a holistic view of their dawah activities. Senior Tablighi
Jamaat followers instructed me several times to go out for a chilla in order to know
about the Tablighi Jamaat. When I met one of the senior Tablighi leaders in
Dewsbury in the UK, he sat on the floor holding my hands and told me:

1
‘Argonauts of the Western Pacific’ was published in 1922, which is considered as one of the
influential ethnographies.
2.2 Why Ethnographic Research? 13

I am not going to tell you much about Tabligh. You are an intelligent boy; you will be able
to understand. Look, I had studied Nuclear Physics during the Pakistan period and got a
scholarship to study in the UK. I worked for the nuclear energy plant in Pakistan. I had
studied aeronautical engineering in the UK. What I am doing now? This is what Allah
wants us to do. If you study about swimming, you could know everything about swimming.
You could have become an expert on swimming. If you jump in the water, what would
happen? Can you swim? In a similar way, it would not be possible for you to understand the
Tablighi Jamaat from the outside; you have to get inside it. I am suggesting to you to go for
a chilla, and you will be able to know everything about the Tablighi Jamaat.

His comment in a way provided the logic of selecting participant observation. He

might not have been aware of participant observation as a research method, but he
pointed out that without participating in Tablighi dawah I would not be able to learn
about the Tablighi Jamaat. At the same time, the nature of the study defines the
method. Later on, I decided to go for a chilla in Bangladesh. It provided a holistic
understanding about the Tablighi Jamaat. I told them in the beginning of the chilla
that I was participating in the chilla as part of my research study in a UK university.
They treated me as an ordinary Tablighi follower during the chilla. Senior followers
of the chilla wanted me to learn everything about the Tablighi Jamaat, so that I
could internalise the principles of the Tablighi Jamaat to practice it in my life. They
expected me to be converted to a dedicated Tablighi Jamaat follower. Maybe this is
the reason why they provided me with easy access to their group.
After two weeks, the team decided to assign new followers to take the lead in
preaching in the community in the afternoon (gasht). In a meeting, they divided
followers into six small groups. Each group had two new followers and one
experienced member. The experienced member was our mentor and guided us in
learning the process of dawah. It involved updating religious knowledge and skill
to talk and motivate non-tablighi members. Moulana Abdul Khalek was my mentor
and one day in the morning just after fazr prayer, he told me to lead the gasht. In the
gasht, we had to spread out in the nearest area of the mosque and had to find
Muslims who do not go to the mosque to pray or do not pray at home. Our task was
to speak to them about the importance of praying and following Islam. In the
process, we invited them to meet with us in the mosque, to spend time with our
activities. The following example clarifies how I participated with Tablighi activ-
ities during the chilla.
Moulana Abdul Khalek Assalamualaikum, How are you vaijaan [brother]?
Emdadul Haque Good.
Moulana Abdul Khalek This vaijaan2 [pointing to me] has come from London
to meet you. Please listen to him, all right? Is this your
son?
Emdadul Haque Yes.
Moulana Abdul Khalek Stay with us son, your father will talk to us for a
minute.

2
In Bangladesh, the general trend to call someone with honour as vai or vaijaan. Vaijaan is
relatively formal and represent the humbleness.
14 2 Accessing the Tablighi Jamaat

Bulbul We have come to your mosque from Dhaka with a

jamaat. Who is he? [There was another older person
with him].
Emdadul Haque Dadu [granddad].
Bulbul Mashallah [whatever Allah wills], You just have
completed fazr prayer, haven’t you dadu?
Dadu Yes.
Bulbul What do you do for your living vai [brother]?
Emdadul Haque I am a motorcycle mechanic.
Bulbul So you have the flexibility in your job, haven’t you?
Emdadul Haque Yes.
Bulbul So you are not busy all the time with your work, are
you?
Emdadul Haque No.
Bulbul Vai, if we follow the rule of Allah and lead our life as
our Prophet advised, it would bring happiness, peace,
and success in our life. We all want happiness, peace
and success (sukh, santi ebong safolota), don’t we?
Emdadul Haque Yes.
Bulbul We do many things for this-worldly affairs, but we
have limited time in our life. We have limited hayat
[life]. How many years will we survive? 60, 70, or 80,
90 years maybe. For this short life, we give all our
efforts to make our life nice and better. We have so
many dreams, plans to implement these dreams,
haven’t we?
Emdadul Haque Yes.
Bulbul Everything we do, we do it for our family, wife and
children. Sometimes we forget about ourselves. We
love our family so much that we ignore our own
interest. Every activity becomes a benefit for the
family. We dedicate our life to fulfil the need of the
short life of the world. But we have another life, life
after death, that everlasting life, akhiraat [Day of
Judgment]. Don’t we want happiness, peace, and
success in akhiraat?
Emdadul Haque Yes, certainly we want that.
Bulbul Assalamualaikum, please come. [Another person
named Fazlul joins in our discussion on the street]
So how much time do we need to spend to get success
in that everlasting life? Allah will give us everything in
that everlasting life, whatever we want. Allah will fulfil
every demand. So, vai, don’t we think that we need to
work hard to achieve this happiness?
2.2 Why Ethnographic Research? 15

Emdadul Haque Definitely, we have to.

Bulbul To make this effort successful we have to pray
regularly in the mosque and have to engage with
dawah. We have come from Dhaka just to invite you to
come to the mosque for your prayer. Have you spent
any time with dawah and Tabligh?
Emdadul Haque Yes, I have spent three days in dawah.
Bulbul Sometimes we see that we could not pray regularly.
That is why we need to spend a longer period in
dawah, for example three chillas or chilla to learn
dawah and get it into our heart. That helps to pray
regularly, it will become your habit to pray.
Emdadul Haque Yes, I will try. [He was smiling and hesitating to agree
to go for the dawah]
The Rahbar3 Please make a dua [ask a favour of Allah] to Allah to
complete three chillas soon. Mashallah, mashallah
[whatever Allah wills].
Bulbul If you do not go to chilla, it does not mean that you do
not have to pray. A single neki [good deed] will
become so precious in the time of judgement. No one
will remember and help you, even your family
members. Everyone will become selfish that day.
Then we will realise, what have we done? I have done
everything for my family, and now they do not know
me. I am alone. Therefore, vai, it is for ourselves, for
our own good, we have to pray regularly. We have to
spend time in the name of Allah. It has been two days
now in your area, please come to join us in the
mosque. When do you join us vai?
Emdadul Haque In esha time.
Bulbul and Abdul Khalek Can you come to pray in the magrib time.
Abdul Khalek We will leave tomorrow vai.
Bulbul We have come to your area as your guest, we request
you to join us in magrib please.
Emdadul Haque I work in a workshop; he is a builder [pointing to
another person]. We will try to attend the magrib
prayer.
Bulbul We will have a beneficial boyan [religious speech]
after magrib prayer. Try to attend it vai. Come to see
us in the magrib time and try to attend fazr prayer
tomorrow to say goodbye to us, okay brothers.

3
Rahbar is a Tablighi term. Generally, the person from the local Tablighi Jamaat group who guides
the team for gasht is called rahbar.
16 2 Accessing the Tablighi Jamaat

Emdadul Haque Sure, we will try.

Bulbul You promised vai. It is for Allah, not for us. See you
soon vai. Assalamualaikum.
I had this opportunity to lead a session because of my active participation with
Tablighi Jamaat group. Without participation with them, it would not have been
possible for me to get this role. It also helped me to understand the Tablighi process
of talking to non-Tablighi people to motivate them. Tablighi Jamaat has a dis-
tinctive way of talking to non-Tablighi that is shown in the above conversation.
Tablighi Jamaat follower always begins with a positive approach and start with the
discussion of the greatness of Allah. They leave an open question to the person they
speak. It forces a non-Tablighi person to think about the Tablighi Jamaat. Without
active participation, it might have been difficult for me to understand much of the
unseen realities of the Tablighi Jamaat, which participant observation made pos-
sible for me. In the process of participation, I did not have any privilege with my
researcher identity in the team. I had to go through with all the decisions made in
the team meeting. I had to follow everything as any other follower did, for example,
dawah, gasht, cooking, cleaning plates, and doing grocery shopping, etc.
After the end of the dawah journey, the team leader appreciated me a lot because
of my quick learning. Shamsur Rahman and I did the boyan, organised the gasht
and led respective teams in the last ten days of the chilla. We achieved the basic
competencies during the chilla and acquiredd confidence in speaking about Islam
with non-Tablighis. A Tablighi follower has to be competent about the content of
the conversation. Close guidance, instruction, and regular practices in mosques
helped me to be competent and confident. Without an ethnographic approach and
participant observation, it would not have been possible to have access to such
practical involvement. In this process, the experienced members of the team have to
be convinced by the expertise gained by new members through their everyday
learning. Once they are convinced that a new Tablighi Jamaat follower can lead
dawah or gasht they employ the new person to lead. Without active participation,
no one would get this access. However, in the beginning of the chilla, I was nervous
and concerned about how they would treat me in the group. In the end, it worked
out well for me.

2.3 Multi Sited Ethnography: Field, Site, and Location

In anthropology, fieldwork is the primary means to generate knowledge. Fieldwork

based knowledge made anthropology a distinctive discipline. At the same time, it
also maintains the boundary with other disciplines in the social sciences. As Gupta
and Ferguson (1997: 2) states, ‘fieldwork thus helps define anthropology as a
discipline in both senses of the world, constructing a space of possibilities while at
the same time drawing the lines that confine that space’. The primary orientation of
the field was to concentrate on the single, isolated, native or primitive community
2.3 Multi Sited Ethnography: Field, Site, and Location 17

predominantly not touched or influenced by the characteristics of ‘civilisation’ that

remains as a natural site or ‘laboratory’ of gathering data.
During the post Second World War era when the global political economy began
to change and many of the colonial states had become independent, the debate on
the classical idea of ‘fieldwork’ began. ‘Field’ in anthropology stands for the most
important element, in the changing and interconnected world, it was necessary to
reformulate the anthropological fieldwork tradition that would decentre and defe-
tishize the concept of ‘the field’ (Gupta and Ferguson 1997: 5). Gupta and Ferguson
propose the need to redefine the field; for them, in an interconnected world we are
never really ‘out of the field’ (1997: 35), the field as a form of motivated and
stylized dislocation (1997: 37). They view a research area less as a ‘field’ for the
collection data than as a site for strategic intervention (1997: 39). In this sense, the
idea of ‘field’ moves from its single site location to be more flexible, virtual, wide
and interconnected, not only with various locations but also with the global
socio-political context.
The notion of ‘fieldwork’ has transformed in many ways with the transformation
of global culture and change in the world system. With the changes in the global
political system, everything has become connected, and the classic example of the
‘field’ has become scarce in the new world order. The kinds of ‘native’ or ‘prim-
itive’ society, which were treated as the ‘natural laboratory’ in the past no longer
exist or are hard to find. The wave of globalisation has connected the ‘local’
everywhere with the ‘global’. Global and local or centre and periphery are no longer
isolated from each other as they were in the past. In such a context, Appadurai
(1991) suggests that ethnography must confront this changing world. Appadurai
states:
Central among these facts is the changing social, territorial, and cultural reproduction of
group identity. As groups migrate, regroup in new locations, reconstruct their histories, and
reconfigure their ethnic ‘projects,’ the ethno in ethnography takes on a slippery,
non-localized quality, to which the descriptive practices of anthropology will have to
respond (1991: 191).

With globalisation, when the mobility of people becomes a common phe-

nomenon, the idea of territorial identity starts to disintegrate. Various levels of
communication with different parts appear as a new social reality that people
maintain. The field of study thus becomes interconnected with different parts. This
new social reality initiated a method to conduct ethnography in changing social
context where sites of study are no longer single and isolated. The idea of
multi-sited ethnography evolved in a context where sites are connected with each
other. Especially in the migration and diasporic situation, this idea of a ‘multi-site’
has become an effective way to conduct ethnography.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the methodological debates of Clifford and Marcus
(1986) and Marcus (1995) opened up a new discussion in anthropology about the
direction of new ethnography. Marcus (1995) used the term ‘multi-sited ethnog-
raphy’ systematically as an alternative solution of the ongoing methodological
debate. This new concept of ‘field’ has started to break down the hierarchy and
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 Plate VIII
The fringe of the robe from the Tomb of Charlemagne. To face p. 291.
Plate VII shows one medallion of a piece of silk found on the body
of Charlemagne when the grave was opened in the time of the
present German Emperor. It is certainly not of Charlemagne’s time.
But it seems a fairly safe guess to suppose that his well-known
regard for his favourite beast Abulabaz, who died only four years
before him, caused his son to have the body wrapped in one of the
robes decorated with elephants which we know that he possessed;
and that either in the year 1000, when Otho III opened the tomb, or
in 1166, under Barbarossa, when Charlemagne was canonized, this
piece of silk replaced the decayed robe originally buried there. We
know of the two elephant-robes referred to from Anastasius[270], who
gives an enormous list of the art works in gold and silver and silk and
cloth of gold which were wrought for Leo III, Charlemagne’s
contemporary. One item is “two robes of Syrian purple, with borders
of cloth of gold wrought with elephants”. These robes Leo gave to
Charlemagne.
We can all but give the exact date of this remarkable Byzantine
beast. The inscription breaks off exactly where the date came. The
Greek inscription worked in the stuff (Plate VIII) sets forth that it was
made “under Michael the great chamberlain and controller of the
privy purse of the emperor, when Peter was the manager of
Zeuxippos”, i. e. the Byzantine court factory in Negropont. Then
comes the tantalizing Indictionos (? B), and the date is lost.
Dreger, in his Europäische Weberei und Stickerei,[271] gives some
early examples of elephants in art. His Figure 37b shows an archaic
silver relief of an elephant with a castle containing armed men. His
Figure 37a shows a silk stuff of the seventh or eighth century, of
Asiatic manufacture, with circular medallions containing elephants,
griffins and winged horses, hippogryffs; and he remarks that “the
elephant is one of the most holy beasts of Buddhism”. This silk stuff
is shown in our Plate IX from a photograph of the original. A
comparison of these elephants with the elephant shown in Plate VIII
makes it fairly clear that the Charlemagne stuff is later than the other,
while in all of the details of the beast itself, ears, three toes, eye,
trunk, they are exactly the same. Each has a tree behind the
elephant; but while the Charlemagne tree is a piece of stiff
conventional work, the other is a natural tree with leaves and fruit,
much resembling the vegetable ornamentation of some early
Egyptian stuffs. Another feature pointing in the same direction is the
thirty-two conventional patterns on the circular enclosing border.
These in the earlier piece are twenty-eight plain disks.
There is an example of sculptured elephants something like this
one, but much more like the real beast, especially about the feet.
The elephants are the legs of the ivory chair[272] of Urso, at
Canossa; he was Bishop of Bari and Canossa 1078-89.
Something should be said about the language spoken by the
people of France and Germany in the times with which we are
dealing, the reference to a rustic tongue being not infrequent.
In the Council convened by Charlemagne at Tours in the year 813,
equally representing Eastern France and Western France, Austrasia
and Neustria, Germany and the Galliae, the bishops in the
Transalpine Empire were enjoined to be diligent in preaching, and to
take care that their discourses should be rendered either into
Romana Rustica or into Theotisc or Deutsch, that all might
understand. It may be of interest to give the earliest specimens we
have of these native languages. Philologically, these examples are of
the very highest importance.

Plate IX
Silk stuff of the seventh or eighth century. To face p. 292.
 In 841, after the dreadful battle of Fontenai near Vézelay in
Burgundy, where Charles-le-Chauve and Louis-le-Germanique
combined against their brother Lothar and their nephew Pepin and
defeated them, they held a Congress at Strassburg to confirm their
alliance.
Louis and Charles each made announcement in Latin of the
purpose of their agreement, and of their intention to take in public an
oath each to other. That done, Louis, as the elder, first took the oath.
Being the ruler of the German portion of the empire, he took the oath
in the language of the Franks, the Romance tongue, Rustica
Romana, in order that the adherents of Charles might hear and
understand his undertaking. These were the words of his oath,
probably read by a chancellor, for the Latin account[273] says haec
se servaturum testatus est:—
“Pro Deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament,
dist di[274] in avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat[275], si
salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo, et in aiudha et in cadhuna[276]
cosa, si cum om[277] per dreit[278] son fradra salvar dist, in o quid il
mi altresi fazet[279]; et ab Ludher nul plaid numquam prindrai, qui
meon vol[280] cist meon fradre Karle in damno sit.”
Then Charles said the same in the language of the Germans, the
Teudisc or Deutsch tongue. The Latin account uses a different
phrase here, haec eadem verba testatus est.
“In Godes minna ind in thes christianes folches ind unser bedhero
gehaltnissi, fon thesemo dage frammordes, so fram so mir Got
geuuizci indi mahd furgibit, so haldi thesan minan bruodher, soso
man mit rehtu sinan bruodher scal, in thiu, thaz er mig so sama duo;
indi mit Ludheren in nohheiniu thing ne gegango, the minan uuillon
imo ce scadhen uuerdhen.”
The peoples then swore an oath, each in their own, not the
other’s, tongue. The Frank people swore in the Romance language:
—
 “Si Lodhuvigs sagrament, que son fradre Karlo iurat, conservat, et
Karlus meos sendra de suo part non los tanit, si io returnar non l’int
pois: ne io ne neuls, cui eo returnar int pois, in nulla aiudha contra
Lodhuuuig nun li iv er.”
The others then swore in the Teudisc language:—
“Oba Karl then eid, then er sinemo bruodher Ludhuuuige gesuor,
geleistit, indi Ludhuuuige min herro then er imo gesuor forbrihchit, ob
ih inan es iruuenden ne mag: noh ih no thero nohhein, then ih es
iruuenden mag, uuidhar Karle imo ce follusti ne uuirdhit.”

Plate X
The abrenuntiatio diaboli of Archbishop Boniface. To face p. 295.
An example of language nearly a hundred years earlier than this is
found in the renunciation of the devil and the declaration of belief in
God which our own Boniface required of his converts from
paganism. The form is found attached to the decrees of a
Council[281] held by Boniface, probably in the year 743. It exists in a
Vatican manuscript (Vat. Palat, nro. 577, fol. 6, 7), which Pertz and
other scholars believe to be of contemporary date. The form is of
such extreme interest that I have had that part of it which is at the
foot of folio 6 photographed, by the kind help of a friend in the
Vatican Library; see figure 10, the four lowest lines.
This is the form:—
“Forsachistu diobolae? Ec forsacho diabolae.
End allum diobolgelde? End ec forsacho allum diobolgeldae.
End allum dioboles uuercum? End ec forsacho allum dioboles
uuercum and uuordum thunaer ende uuoden ende saxnote ende
allum them unholdum the hira genotas sint.
Gelobistu in Got alamehtigen fadaer? Ec gelobo in Got
alamechtigen fadaer.
Gelobistu in Crist Godes suno? Ec gelobo in Crist Godes suno.
Gelobistu in halogen Gast? Ec gelobo in halogen Gast.”
An isolated piece of early “Saxon” is found in one of the letters
contained in vol. iii of the Epistolae of the Monumenta Germaniae
Historica, the volume containing Epistolae Meròwingici et Karolini
Aevi (Berlin, 1892). The letter is No. 146 of the “letters of Boniface
and Lull”. It is written by a poor and humble monk to a personage
described as reverentissimus atque sanctissimus, who would appear
to have had the reputation of not carrying out his purposes. The
proverb looks like the eighth century; Brandl thinks that it is pre-
Christian. The dialect is probably Northumbrian, varied by a West-
Saxon or a German scribe.
“I hear of thee that thou proposest to make a journey: I exhort thee
not to fail. Do what thou hast begun. Remember the Saxon saying

Oft daedlata dôme foreldit

Sigisitha gahuem suuyltit thi âna”.

That is, Often the tardy man (deed-late) loses glory, some victory;
thus he dies solitary.
 The suggested date of the letter is a.d. 757-786.
Mention was made on page 57 of the inscriptions which exist on
the great shaft of a cross in the churchyard of Bewcastle in
Cumberland. These inscriptions are the earliest extant pieces of
English prose. They give the names of the King of Mercia, Wulfhere,
his queen and her sister, with the date “first year of Ecgfrith King of
this realm”, that is, a.d. 670. We have another inscription dated in
Ecgfrith’s reign, that, namely, on the dedication stone of the basilica
of St. Paul at Jarrow, “in the 15th year of King Ecgfrith and the fourth
year of Abbat Ceolfrid”, so that the manner of dating the Bewcastle
cross was that usual at the time; the Jarrow inscription is in
Latin[282]. Plate XI shows a facsimile of all except the two top lines
(which were beyond my reach) of the main inscription on the
Bewcastle cross, a copy of which is given in a note on page 57. The
runes on Plate XI begin with the gar of Wothgar, the second of the
three persons who “set up this slender token of victory in memory of
Alchfrith once King and son of Oswy”, the half-brother of King
Ecgfrith; mention has been made of him on page 9.
 Plate XI
Runes incised on the Bewcastle Cross. To face p. 296.
 Plate XII
Runes incised on the Ruthwell Cross.
To face p. 297.
The earliest pieces of English verse in existence in their original
form are found on the Cross at Ruthwell in Dumfriesshire, a
monument of equal magnificence with the Bewcastle Cross, and
probably about fourteen years later. King Ecgfrith was slain by the
Picts in 685, and the Angles were never dominant in the south-west
of Scotland after his death. Plate XII shows a portion of the many
runes on this great monument, which is described at pages 235-254
of my little book on Theodore and Wilfrith. Reading across the top
and down the right side the runes are as follows:—
Krist wæs on rodi hwethræ ther fusæ fearran kwomu æththilæ til
anum ic thæt al bih[eald]. Christ was on the cross, and there
hastening from far came they to the noble prince. I that all beh[eld].
Beginning at the top again and reading down the left side, we
have:—
Mith strelum giwundad alegdun hiæ hinæ limwoerignæ gistoddun
him (æt his licæs heafdum). With missiles wounded, they laid Him
down limb-weary, they stood at His body’s head.
 CHAPTER XVIII
Alcuin’s latest days.—His letters mention his ill health.—His appeals for the
prayers of friends, and of strangers.—An affectionate letter to Charlemagne.—The
death scene.

Alcuin’s health began to break in the later part of Ep. 147. June 26,
the year 800, or early in 801. In June, 800, he 800.
wrote a letter to Arno of Salzburg which shows that
he had in the first days of the month travelled with Karl from Tours to
Aix by way of Orleans and Paris, and after a debate with Felix the
Adoptionist had returned to Tours. We do not find in this long letter
any mention of failing health. Indeed, he overflows with
affectionateness, a feeling always displayed in his letters to Arno. “I
am sending to your dearness three little gifts; a tent to protect your
venerated head from the rain[283], a bed-cover to keep warm your
sacred breast, and a glass in which your bread may be dipped at
table, that whenever they are used they may bring to your sanctity a
recollection of my name.”
In this letter he describes his debate with Felix.
“I have had a great dispute with the heretic Felix in presence of the
lord king and holy fathers. He was obdurate; would recognize the
authority of no one who took an opposite view; held himself to be
wiser than all in this, that he was more foolish than all. But the divine
clemency touched his heart; he confessed that he had of late been
carried away by a false opinion; he professed that he held firmly the
Catholic faith. We could not see into his mind, and we left the cause
to the Judge of secret things. We handed him over to Laidrad [the
Bishop of Lyon (798-814)] our dearest son, who is to keep him and
see whether it is true that he believes, and whether he will write
letters condemning the heresy which he has preached. The king had
intended to send him to Archbishop Riculf [of Maintz] to be kept and
chastised; and his presbyter, who is worse than his master, was to
be sent to you and your providence. But now that they say they are
converted to the Catholic faith, they have been handed over to
Laidrad, who is to test their sincerity.”
On May 24, 801, Alcuin received a letter from Ep. 189. May,
Arno, Archbishop of Salzburg, at nine o’clock in the 802.
morning, and the messenger told him he must
leave again at three in the afternoon. In the course of the six hours
he dictated fourteen paragraphs in reply. One of these concerned his
health. “My Candidus has been able to tell you all about my
weakness. It is therefore superfluous to write on the subject, except
to say that all bodily fitness has left me, and pleasures of the world
have fled far away.”
The interesting remark in this letter that the messenger from
Salzburg to Tours, a distance of some six hundred miles, must go
back in six hours is not the only interesting detail. We learn, also,
that many letters were lost in the difficulties of the journey. The eyes
of the Sassenach of to-day, who rides some forty miles in a Scottish
mail-cart in Sutherland, and sees the letters shied out into kailyards
and steadings, are opened to the possibilities of loss in primitive
methods of letter-carrying. The admirable arrangements of the early
Roman empire, for conveyance of men and things, had been thrown
into chaos long before Alcuin’s time, and special messengers, or
“runners”, were used by important people for the transmission of
letters.
“To Arno. My devotedness is greatly grieved by Ep. 189. May,
the unfaithfulness of those whom I have trusted 802.
with letters to you. Last year I sent to you on your
return from Italy two letters, and I also sent to you other two to meet
you on your arrival at the palace [Aachen]. I do not know that any of
them reached your presence.”
Alcuin wrote to the Emperor Charles in 802, or Ep. 193.
possibly in 803, begging that he might be allowed
to stay quietly at St. Martin’s, Tours. “I am so very weak in body that I
am unequal to any more travelling or labour. To speak truth, all the
fitness and strength of my body has left me; it has gone, and day by
day will be further away; I fear it will never come back to me in this
world.”
Again, writing to Arno in 802 or 803, he tells him Ep. 194.
how he longs to see him at St. Martin’s, “not for the
sake of your black hair, but for your most sweet eyes and lovable
talk.” Though bidden to the palace, where he would have met him,
his poor little body was too weak for the journey: he could not go.
In another letter to Arno he writes: “I have been Ep. 196. a.d. 802-
summoned to my lord David [Charlemagne], but 3.
my bodily weakness prevented my going: the will of Ep. 198. a.d. 802-
God detained me.” We have his letter of excuse to 3.
the emperor. He begins with the simile of the aged
soldier, unable not only to bear the weight of armour, but even to
support his own body. Then he proceeds: “To speak simply, let not
the mind of my lord be inflamed against me for my delay; I am not
strong enough to come. A more favourable opportunity may occur.”
He became more than ever pressing in his Ep. 230.
entreaties that his friends would pray for him. In
seeking for the prayers of others we find him turning to a part of
England of which we do not appear to have any other mention in his
letters, namely, Norfolk and Suffolk, called then the dioceses of
Elmham and Dunwich (see page 159). In like manner, and for a like
purpose, he wrote to the brethren of Candida Casa, i. e. Whithorn in
Galloway, the following letter:—
“I pray the unanimity of your piety to have my Ep. 271. a.d. 804.
name in memory. Deign to intercede for my
littleness in the church of your most holy father Nynia the bishop.
“He shone bright with many virtues, as has recently been related
to me by a skilful poem which our faithful disciples the scholars of
the church of York have sent. In that poem I have discerned in that
which I have read there both the skill of the writer and the holiness of
him who wrought the miracles. Wherefore, I pray you, by your holy
intercessions to commend me to his prayers, that by the most holy
prayers of the same your father, and by the assiduous intercessions
of your love, I may receive pardon for my sins, by the mercy of the
God Christ, and may come to the communion of saints who have
bravely conquered the labours of the world, and have received the
crown of perpetual praise.
“I send to the body of our holy father Nyniga (sic) a robe of whole
silk, that my name may be remembered, and that I may merit to have
always the pious intercession both of him and of you.
“May Christ’s right hand protect and rule you, brothers.”
Here is a very touching letter, which sets clearly before our eyes
the dear affectionate old man—old as men then counted age—
beaten at last by bodily weakness, while his heart was as loving as
ever. It is addressed to “the most longed for lord David, most worthy
of all honour.”
“Day by day, with hungry intentness of heart, my Ep. 170. a.d. 801,
ears hanging on the words of messengers, I early autumn.
wondered anxiously what they could tell me of my
most sweet lord David: when he would come home; when he would
return to his own land. At last, though late, the wished-for voice
sounded in the ears of my desire: ‘He will soon come. He has
already crossed the Alps, he whose presence thou hast desired, O
Albinus, with such fervour of mind.’ And then I cried over and over
again with tearful voice: ‘O Lord Jesu, why dost thou not give me the
wings of an eagle? Why dost thou not grant me the translation of the
prophet Abacuc[284] for one day, or even one hour, that I might
embrace and kiss the steps of him my dearest one, and—above all
that can be loved in this world—see the most clear eyes of my
sweetest one, and hear his most joyous words. And why dost thou,
mine enemy of fever, oppress me at this inopportune time, and not
permit me to have my wonted alacrity of body, so that, though tardily,
that might be accomplished which promptly it cannot do.’”
The dates and the story of his final illness and his death are found,
as we have seen (Ch. II), in the life written about twenty years later
by a pupil of Alcuin’s favourite priest Sigulf, and more concisely in
the Annals of Pettau, a monastery not far from Salzburg, and
therefore likely to be well-informed. Some of the touching facts
should be repeated here.
 Early in 804 he was evidently failing. He prayed earnestly that he
might die on the day on which the Holy Spirit came upon the
Apostles in tongues of fire. All through Lent he was able to move
about, night after night, to the several basilicas of saints which were
included in the monastery of St. Martin, cleansing himself from his
sins with much groaning. He kept the solemnity of the Lord’s
Resurrection; but on the night of the Ascension he fell upon his
couch, oppressed by languor even unto death, and unable to speak.
The Annals of Pettau tell us that this was a paralytic stroke, and that
it fell on Thursday, May 8, in the evening, after sunset. On the third
day before his death he recovered the power of speech, and with a
voice of exultation sang through his favourite antiphon, O clavis
David, based upon Isaiah xxii. 22: “The key of the house of David I
will lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open and none shall shut, he
shall shut and none shall open.” Then he repeated a number of
verses from several psalms: “Like as the hart desireth the
waterbrooks.” “O how amiable are Thy dwellings, Thou Lord of
hosts; blessed are they that dwell in Thy house.” “Unto Thee do I lift
up mine eyes.” “One thing I have desired of the Lord.” “Unto Thee, O
Lord, will I lift up my soul.” And others of like kind. On the day of
Pentecost, matins having been said, at full dawn, just at the hour at
which he was wont to enter the church for Mass, the holy soul of
Alcuin was released from the flesh. He had prayed months before
that he might die on Whit Sunday; on Whit Sunday he died.
 APPENDIX A
(Page 26)

It would appear that when Alcuin was not allowed by Charlemagne

to retire to Fulda, as he had wished to do, an impulse of affectionate
responsibility brought him to pour himself out in advice and help to
those with whom he had hoped to spend his last days. This is his
letter to the monks of Fulda.
“To the most holy, and by us with all love to be Ep. 186. a.d. 801-
cherished, the brethren of the holy Boniface[285], 2.
our father and protector, the humble levite Alchuin
wishes eternal beatitude in Christ.
“I am mindful of your most sweet love, with which you most
benignantly received me long ago with all joy. Greatly as I then was
glad in your presence, so greatly is my mind now tortured in your
absence, desiring to see you whom it loves, to have present you
whom it esteems. Since this is denied to the eyes of the flesh, let
love be made perpetual by spiritual presence; love which can come
to an end has never been true love.
“Let us therefore aim at that which is never to have an end, where
is blessed eternity and eternal blessedness. That ye may deserve to
attain to this, let no labour affright you, no blandishments of this life
keep you back. Let there always burn in your hearts the love of Him
that appeared as their companion on the way to the two apostles,
who, when He was removed from their carnal eyes, said ‘Did not our
hearts burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while
He opened to us the Scriptures?’ In the writings of the holy fathers
let us seek Him whom they, not yet learned in the Scriptures,
understood. Now all is open; now He has opened the meaning of
Whom it was said ‘Then opened He their understanding, that they
might understand the Scriptures.’ Now the gospel truth shines forth
in all the world; now the enigmas of the prophets are clearer than the
sun in the churches of Christ. This light of truth follow ye with your
whole soul and understand Christ; in it love Christ, follow Christ; that
cleaving to His most sacred footsteps ye may merit to have in His
most holy presence life eternal.
“Be mindful of the apostolic mandate,[286] ‘My brethren, be ye
stedfast, unmovable; always in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as
ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.’ Be stedfast in
your own place and in the devotion of your purpose. Leave not your
most holy father. Stand about his sepulchre, that he may offer your
prayers to Almighty God. Desire not the vanities of the world, but
love celestial blessings. ‘And,’ as the teacher of the Gentiles says,
[287] ‘be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind.’ It is a base thing for a monk to lose the
spiritual warfare and to immerse himself in the affairs of the world.
“Let there be no murmurings among you, no hatreds, no envyings,
no evil speakings.[288] Judge not one another. Let everything be
done in humility and concord, in obedience to those set over you, not
to the eye only but from the heart, as in the presence of God. Let
your obedience, your love, your humility be known to all, that very
many may be taught by your good examples and may advance in
the salvation of their souls.
“If the venerable father Bouulf,[289] my most loved friend, is unable
by reason of his weakness to observe the full hardness of the life by
rule, judge ye not him, but obey him from your heart and love him as
a father, for he will have to give account of your souls. He labours for
you in wanderings and journeyings, that you may live quiet and keep
the life by rule and have what is necessary for your bodies. Do you
act as very dear sons. Fear God, love God, and have care of your
most holy father in your prayers, that he may live in long prosperity
with you, and that he with you and you with him may merit to have
everlasting life.
“Warn, instruct, teach your young men in all holy discipline and
Catholic doctrine; that they may be held worthy to stand in the place
of you and to send up prayers for you wherever you may remain.
Warn them about chastity of body, about confession of their sins,
about study and manual labour without murmur, and about all things
which seem necessary at their age. And let them become subject to
their elders and masters in good humility, in most pious religion. And
do you who are older afford to them good examples, so that they
may learn not from your words only but by the religion of your life.
Let them not be given to luxury, not slaves to drink, not despisers,
not following empty games; but let them learn to be good servants in
the house of God, that by the intercession of holy Boniface their
father they may deserve to receive from the God Christ blessing and
favour.
“And as to myself, I pray you have me in perpetual recollection
with yourselves in your holy prayers. For the time is at hand which
no man can escape. Let each one prepare himself, that he may
appear in the presence of his God not naked but clothed with good
practices.
“I have sent a pall for the body of the holy Boniface our father, on
whose holy intercession for my sins I place great reliance; that I, a
sinner, may even merit pardon in that day, when your holiness shall
receive the crown of eternal blessedness.
“To you, O most holy presbyters, I have sent a little collection of
words for the Mass, for use on various days on which any one
desires to offer prayers to God, whether in honour of the Holy
Trinity[290], or in love of wisdom, or in tears of penitence, or in perfect
love, or asking for angelic support, or in address to any one of all the
saints; or if any one wish to offer prayers for his own sins, or for any
living friend, or for many friends, or for brothers departing this life; or,
especially, when one wishes to invoke the intercessions of blessed
Mary, mother of God, ever virgin; or when any desires to chant and
invoke by his prayers the most pious presence of the most holy
Boniface your father. All these things we have been at the pains to
send to you by the intuition of love, praying your humility to receive
benignantly that which with the fullest love we send you. Let each
make of it such use as each pleases; and blame me not in this office
of love. Let each be fully persuaded in his own mind[291] and do
always such things as are pleasing to God and all saints, that with
them they may be found worthy to enjoy the perpetual vision of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
“May the Lord God hearken to your holy blessedness mindful of
me in all holy supplication, and deign to grant unto you present
felicity and future beatitude, my most loved brothers.
“I beg that you make known to me by letter from your blessedness,
if this letter reaches you, and what it pleases your prudence to do.
What it is mine to do I have done, fulfilling the office of affection in
the love and honour of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
 APPENDIX B
(Page 91)

We have the report which the legates George and Theophylact

sent to Pope Hadrian on their mission. No reference is made in it to
the matter of the Archbishopric of Lichfield. Iaenbricht is still the sole
southern archbishop, and Higbert of Lichfield is only bishop.
“Your holy prayers favouring us, we set sail with Ep. 10. a.d. 786.
joyous countenance obeying your commands. But
the tempter hindered us with a contrary wind. He who stills the
waves hearkened unto your deprecatory entreaty, calmed the blue
strait, led us across to a safe haven, and brought us to the shore of
the English unharmed, but afflicted with many dangers.
“We were received first by Iaenberht, Archbishop of the holy
church of Dorovernia,[292] whose other name is Cantia, where the
holy Augustine rests in the body; dwelling there we gave him the
necessary information.
“Going on thence, we arrived at the dwelling of Offa, King of the
Mercians. With great joy, for reverence of the blessed Peter and
honour of your apostolate, he received both us and the messages
sent from the highest see. Then Offa the King of the Mercians, and
Cynewulf the King of the West Saxons, came together in a council to
which we delivered your holy writings; and they forthwith promised
that they would correct the vices named.[293] Then, after counsel
held with the said kings, pontiffs, and elders of the land, considering
that that corner of the world stretches far and wide, we gave
permission to Theophylact, the venerable bishop, to go to the King of
the Mercians[294] and the parts of Britain.
“I for my part, taking with me the companion whom your most
excellent King Karl sent with us out of reverence to your apostolate,