Jamaat-e-Islami, (Urdu: جماعتِ اسلامی‬; meaning "Islamic Congress") abbreviated JI, is a socially conservative and Islamist political party based in Pakistan. Its objective is the transformation of Pakistan into an Islamic state, governed by Sharia law, through a gradual legal, and political process.[2] JI strongly opposes capitalism, communism, liberalism, socialism and secularism as well as economic practices such as offering bank interest. JI is a vanguard party: its members form an elite with "affiliates" and then "sympathizers" beneath them. The party leader is called an ameer.[3](p70) Although it does not have a large popular following, the party is quite influential and considered one of the major Islamic movements in Pakistan, along with Deobandi and Barelvi (represented by Jamiat Ulema-e Islam and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan respectively).[4][5]