Founded in 1926 in the northern Indian region of Mewat by prominent Islamic scholar Maulana Mohammed Ilyas Kandhlawi, its aim was to inculcate "true" Islam among the "Umma" (global Islamic community).

Many Muslims at the time felt that their political and religious identities were being compromised under the British Raj.

It is now a global religious movement, with followers in more than 80 countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the US.

The Jamaat has its own headquarters in every country it operates in, but its global spiritual centre remains the Markaz (centre) in Delhi.