Nizamuddin Markaz, also called Banglewali Masjid, is a mosque located in Nizamuddin West in South Delhi, India. It is the birthplace and the global headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat network, the missionary and reformist movement started by Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi in 1927. Since 2015, frictions developed within the group over the leadership of the organisation, and factions have developed. The mosque continues to serve as the headquarters of the Nizamuddin faction of Tablighi Jamaat.
Building
The New York Times describes the Markaz as "a tall, white, modern building towering over the Nizamuddin West neighborhood". It is said to be a centre of the neighbourhood's economy, with money changers, guesthouses, travel agencies and gift shops surrounding it and catering to the missionaries that visit the Markaz. The building is six stories high, and is capable of housing about 2,000 people. It is adjacent to the Hazrat Nizamuddin Police Station, with which it shares a wall. The famous Khawaja Nizamuddin Aulia shrine is close by. There is a Madrasa along with the Markaz Masjid named Kashiful Uloom. Typical gatherings at the Markaz host 2,000–4,000 people. During the day, the large halls in the building are used for prayers and sermons. At night, they are used as sleeping quarters for 200–300 people on each floor.
History
Early history
The Banglewali Masjid was built in Nizamuddin by Mirza Ilahi Baksh, a relative of the last Mughal emperor, sometime after 1857. Mawlana Muhammad Ismail, the father ofMuhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi, established a madrasa in its premises under the name Kashif al-Ulum. It is said that he used to go out and invite people to come to the mosque and, on one occasion, he happened to bring Meos from Mewat who were in Delhi as labourers. Noticing that they were not schooled in proper practice of prayer, he decided to teach it to them, which was the beginning of the madrasa. After the death of Mawlana Ismail and his elder son, Muammad Ilyas took up the task of teaching at the madrasa. He too was concerned with educating the Meos of Mewat. Noticing that his own direct teaching would be indadequate to the task, in time, he evolved the practices of tabligh that form the foundation of Tablighi Jamaat. This involved turning ordinary Muslims into preachers. Training them in the preaching work became the main activity of the madrasa, gradually turning the Banglewali Masjid into a markaz. Ilyas also set up an organisational network for his fledgling organisation bringing in men of influence to gather in the mosque. By the end of Ilyas's life, Tablighi Jamaat emerged as a national organisation with transnational potential.
Transnational centre
Under Ilyas's son and successor, Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi, the Tablighi Jamaat expanded worldwide and became a transnational organisation. The Nizamuddin Markaz became the world headquarters. According to a commentator, it is "the heart circulating blood through the body" for the Tablighi Jamaat organisation. It is the place where people are trained for missionary work, worldwide tours are organised and information to the entire worldwide network is distributed. After Yusuf's sudden death, the senior members chose Inamul Hasan Kandhlawi, a close relative of Ilyas, as the third amir. However, some arugue that Hazrat Kandhlawi, Yusuf's brother, wielded more influence. After the 30-year leadership of Inamul Hasan, during which the movement grew to its present size, an executive council was established to share the responsibilities of leadership.
Recent developments
According to scholar Zacharias Pieri, the final decision-making responsibility fell on two men within the shura: Zubair ul-Hasan Kandhlawi and Muhammad Saad Kandhlawi. After Zubair ul-Hasan's death in 2014, Mawlana Saad assumed the leadership of the council and the movement. According to The Milli Gazette, the senior members of the Tablighi Jamaat from around the world met at the Pakistan regional markaz at Raiwind in 2015 and resolved that the organisation would be governed by a shura. Raiwind amir Muhammad Abdul Wahhab who was a member of the original shura backed this effort. Mawlana Saad did not accept the recommendations of the meeting, causing a split in the organisation. The friction led to division of the Tablighi Jamaat leadership into two groups, the first being led by Muhammad Saad Kandhlawi at the Nizamuddin Markaz, while the other being led by Ebrahim Dewla, Ahmed Laat and others at Nerul Markaz in India. The Raiwind Markaz in Pakistan is part of the latter group and has become the "de facto base" of the aalami shura group.
