Tabligh, Tarbiyyat and the Religious Education of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Scandinavia

Abstract

The article is based on a study of the Jamia Ahmadiyya UK and its Scandinavian-born Muslim students and alumni for an MA thesis. Drawing on fieldwork and interview material collected between September 2019 and January 2020, it identifies tabligh (propagation) and tarbiyyat (upbringing) as central aspects of Ahmadiyya religious learning. It explores how tabligh and tarbiyyat are instrumental in the preservation and transmission of Ahmadiyya teachings and faith within the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat (AMJ). While the starting point is the Jamia Ahmadiyya, a Muslim seminary, also highlighted is the upbringing program, waqf-e-nau, and various auxiliary groups formed of Ahmadi men and women that are sites of religious education and learning and illustrate the multifaceted nature of the organization and its learning practice.