The Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir or Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JIJK) is an Islamic political party based in the city of Srinagar in the Indian administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is distinct from the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. The organisation's stated position on the Kashmir conflict is that Kashmir is a disputed territory and the issue must be sorted as per UN or through tripartite talks between India, Pakistan and representatives of Kashmir.
Origins
Reformist roots
The JIJK stemmed from Islamic reformist activities in Kashmir in the late nineteenth century, when Jammu and Kashmir was under Dogra rule. One of the pioneers during this phase was the Mirwaiz of Kashmir, Maulana Rasul Shah, who formed the Anjuman Nusrat ul-Islam (The Society for the Victory of Islam) in 1899. which aimed to impart both modern and Islamic education and eradicate un-Islamic 'innovations' (bida'at) and superstitions which had entered into popular Sufi practices in Kashmir.
The Anjuman, in 1905, established the Islamiya High School in Srinagar. Mirwaiz Ahmadullah established the Oriental College in Srinagar. Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah connected the Anjuman with other Islamic reformist groups throughout India. He created Kashmir's first press, the Muslim Printing Press, inaugurated two weeklies called al-Islam and Rahnuma, and published the first translation and commentaries of the Quran in the Kashmiri language.
The connections with other Indian Muslim groups brought the Ahl-i-Hadith movement to Kashmir. Sayyed Hussain Shah Batku, began a campaign to eradicate innovations in Kashmiri Muslim society. Although this movement failed due to a lack of mass support, it still paved the future path for JIJK to carry forward the same reformist agenda.
Origins of the Jamaat-e Islami Kashmir
Jamaat e Islami Kashmir's origins lay in the Islamic reformist and anti-Dogra movements in Kashmir. Its progenitors came from middle-class families associated with Sufism and were disillusioned with both the secular politics of the National Conference and the Muslim nationalism advocated by the Muslim Conference. They chose to work for Islam as advocated in the writings of Maulana Maududi.
The first amir of JIJK was Sa'aduddin Tarabali, who was from a family associated with the Sufi mystic of Srinagar, Ahmad Sahib Tarabali. Sa'aduddin Tarabali influenced many Kashmiri men in Shopian, then a political hub, and these men included Maulana Ghulam Ahmad Ahrar who was a member of the Islamic reformist group Majlis-i-Ahrar and also came from a family of Sufi connections and later went on to join Tarabali as one of JIJK's earliest members. Hakim Ghulam Nabi of Pulwama, who came from a family of Pirs, was another of the earliest members of JIJK.
These men were dissatisfied with contemporary religious practices in Kashmir which they saw as un-Islamic and were also dissatisfied with secular Kashmiri leaders such as Sheikh Abdullah who would win over people's hearts with Quran recitations but would not follow Quranic teachings themselves.
The first all-India ijtema of Jamaat e Islami was held at Pathankot in 1945 which was attended by four Kashmiris and it was then decided that the Jamaat start organising itself in Kashmir. Three personalities from Srinagar, Sa'aduddin, Qari Saifuddin and Muhammad Hussain Chishti established the Jamaat in Kashmir and thus Sa'aduddin became the amir, a position he held till 1985.
Jamia Masjid in Srinagar became the location of Jamaat's weekly meetings as the group distributed Maududi's literature. The Jamaat expanded its presence from Srinagar to other places in the Valley as Qari Saifuddin and Ghulam Rasul Abdullah undertaking travels to spread the Jamaat's message. The Jamaat's first large ijtema was organised in Srinagar in late 1945 which was attended by between seventy and a hundred people including government servants, youth and traders.
History
Jamaat activists, based in Srinagar, favoured the state to join Pakistan while at the time most Kashmiri Muslims appeared to have rallied around Sheikh Abdullah. The pro-Pakistan constituency provided a solid base of support for the Jamaat.
During this time an increasing number of educated youth and low and middle-ranking government servants came to be attracted to the Jamaat which established a number of schools between 1947-1952 and an expansion of its activities in the media and mosques.