Tablighi Jamaat (, also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party")that focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant and encouraging fellow members to return to practising their religion as per the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and secondarily give dawah (calling) to non-Muslims. "One of the most widespread Sunni" islah (reform, and called "one of the most influential religious movements in 20th-century Islam," the organisation is estimated to have between 12 and 80 million adherents worldwide, in over 150 countries, with the majority living in South Asia. The group encourages its followers to undertake short-term preaching missions (khuruj), lasting from a few days to a few months in groups of usually forty days and four months, to preach to Muslims reminding them of "the core teachings of the Prophet Muhammad" and encourage them to attend mosque prayers and sermons. Members "travel, eat, sleep, wash and pray together in the mosques and often observe strict regimens relating to dress and personal grooming". Established in 1926 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi, in the Mewat region of India, it has roots in the Deobandi reformist tradition, and developed as a response to the perceived deterioration of moral values and the supposed neglect of aspects of Islam. The movement aims for the spiritual reformation of Islam by working at the grassroots level. The teachings of Tabligh Jamaat are expressed in "Six Principles": Kalimah (Declaration of faith), Salah (Prayer), Ilm-o-zikr (Reading and Remembrance), Ikraam-e-Muslim (Respect for Muslims), Ikhlas-e-Niyyat (Sincerity of intention), and Dawat-o-Tableegh (Proselytization). Tablighi Jamaat denies any political affiliation, involvement in debate over political or Islamic doctrine such as fiqh, let alone terrorism. It maintains its focus is on the study of the sacred scriptures of Islam: the Quran and the Hadith, and that the personal spiritual renewal that results will lead to reformation of society. However, the group has been accused of maintaining political links, and being used by members of Islamist terrorist organisations to recruit operatives. History The emergence of Tablighi Jamaat also coincided closely with the rise of various Hindu revivalist movements such as Shuddhi (purification) and Sanghatan (consolidation) launched in the early twentieth century to reconvert Hindus who had converted to Islam and Christianity. Tablighi Jamaat has been called a "missionary offshoot" of the revivalist Deobandi movement of India. Origin Muhammad Ilyas, the founder of Tablighi Jamaat, wanted to create a movement that would enjoin good and forbid evil as the