1971 and, the following year, he founded the first
of several organizations to pursue his approach to
Islamic renewal, including the Markaz-i Anjuman
Khuddam ul-Quran in Lahore. This organization
sought to promote the study of the Quran and
propagate its teachings so as to foster a return
to the true Islam. He founded Tanzeem-e Islami
three years later.
Ahmad began with Mawdudi’s understanding
that Islamic thought should be implemented not
just in one’s personal life, but also in the larger
world of the social, cultural, juristic, political,
and economic realms. Tanzeem-e Islami teaches
that a Muslim should develop sincere faith,
live in obedience to Muslim law (sharia), and
make an effort to propagate the teachings to all
humanity. The ultimate goal is to place Islam
over all human-constructed systems (from gov-
ernment to science). Any Sunni Muslim may
join Tanzeem-e-Islami. Membership involves
offering a pledge of obedience to the organiza-
tion’s Amir (leader), currently Hafiz Akif Saeed.
That pledge operates within the realm of obedi-
ence to the sharia.
Tanzeem-e Islami has emerged as a strong
conservative force within Pakistan. It has opposed
the development of modern secular curriculum at
Pakistani universities, the Pakistani government’s
friendly relations with the United States (and
especially the sending of troops to iraq), and the
influx of Western values and vices into Pakistan.
While primarily active in Pakistan, Tanzeem-e
Islami has developed affiliates based in the Indo-
Pakistani Muslim communities in North America
and Europe.
See also islamism; reneWal and reForm
movements.
J. Gordon MeltonFurther reading: Israr Ahmad, Rise and Decline of the
Muslim Ummah. Translated by S. Ansari (London: Ta-
Ha,1986); Tanzeem-e-Islami Web site. Available online.
URL: http://www.tanzeem.org/. Accessed December 19,
2005.
tanzil See revelation.
Tanzimat
The term Tanzimat (plural of tanzim = “ordering”)
refers to the series of reforms designed to reorga-
nize and modernize the Ottoman state, which were
introduced under Sultan Abd al-Majid (r. 1839–61)
and continued under Abd al-Aziz (r. 1861–76), and
more generally to this period in Ottoman history.
Earlier reforms had been attempted during the
Tulip Period (1718–30), when military defeats had
convinced Ottoman intellectuals of the need for
adopting European technologies. After the French
Revolution (1789), Selim III (r. 1789–1807) initi-
ated a series of military, economic, political, and
diplomatic reforms, and interaction with Europe
continued to develop during the process. These
reforms were elaborated under Mahmud II (r.
1808–39). The Tanzimat reforms drew on these ear-
lier attempts, and they were prompted by military
defeats resulting in the independence of Greece and
the autonomy of egypt. Confronted with the eco-
nomic and military superiority of eUrope, the Otto-
mans felt an increased need for modernization.
Abd al-Majid acceded to the throne as sUlta n
in 1839, and he named as his foreign minister
Mustafa Rashid Pasha, a diplomat with experi-
ence in Europe. Rashid Pasha urged the sultan to
approve an imperial decree known as the Gulhane
Edict, which Rashid Pasha read publicly in 1839.
This decree constituted a quasi-constitutional
document outlining a replacement of traditional
economic, legal, and educational institutions with
modern ones, many of them derived from Europe,
which many Ottomans saw as representing prog-
ress. It called for reforms in tax collection and
military conscription, provided for the formation
of councils of representatives at the provincial
level and of secular schools, and ensured some
rights and protections for citizens of all classes
and religious communities. This gesture of equal-
ity to Christian and Jewish minorities was meant
to curb the threat of separatism by promoting aTanzimat 661 J