Vol. 12, 2020 A new decade for social changes ISSN 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com 9 772668 779000 Technium Social Sciences Journal Vol. 12, 247-264, October 2020 ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com From Preaching Faith to Spreading the Virus: A Study of The Tablighi Jama’at in Pakistan Kausar Ali, Huang Minxing Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, Northwest University, Xian, Shaanxi, China
[email protected] Abstract. With the outbreak of coronavirus disease or coronavirus pandemic, now popularly known as COVID-19, a new worldwide discussion started that religion and religious gatherings can play an active role in accelerating the spread of coronavirus in the world. If, on one hand, religious gatherings were banned or at least limited in some Muslim countries while on the other hand, such faith-based gatherings have proven to be the hotbeds for outbreaks. The purpose of this study is to investigate the connection between the Tablighi Jama’at (TJ) and the coronavirus in Pakistan. It is believed that the participants carried the virus into different parts of Pakistan. This study finds that the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan increased after the annual congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in March. Shia pilgrims from Iran also brought the virus from Iran to Pakistan. The paper finds that this pandemic may once again raise the issue of sectarianism in the county. The present research finds that Islamists have always been supported by the state. Now, it has become very difficult for state policy-makers to resist them in the present fight against the coronavirus. Keywords. Pakistan, Coronavirus, Tablighi Jama’at, Annual Ijtima, Political Islam, Shia Pilgrims 1.