It was formed on 26 August 1941 in Lahore under the leadership of Maududi, who believed that contemporary political ideologies resulted from Western imperialism, and that it was necessary to implement Sharia law to preserve Muslim culture.

He saw the creation of an Islamic state as both act of piety, and a cure for social and economic problems faced by Muslims, which he attributed to Western influence.

Madudi's efforts focused on transforming to a "theo-democracy" based on the Sharia which would enforce things like abolition of interest-bearing banks, sexual separation, veiling of women, hadud penalties for theft, adultery, and other crimes.

Maududi believed that Islam is a universal religion that calls for a single, globally unified government and therefore nationalism in any form was un-Islamic.

[24] Maududi sought to educate the elite of the Muslim community in the principles of Islam and correct "their erroneous ways of thinking" both because he believed societies were influenced from the top down.

[10] Maududi argued that the division of India violated the Islamic doctrine of the ummah and believed that the partition would separate Muslims by a temporal boundary.

[10] As such, before the partition of colonial India happened, the Jamaat-e-Islami actively worked to prevent it, as he feared the liberalism of its founders and the British-trained administrators.

However, when the partition went ahead, Maududi viewed it as a gradual step to the Islamization of its laws and constitution even though he had earlier condemned the Muslim League for the same approach.

[30] In the 1950s, Jamaat Pakistan launched a militant student wing, Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, which successfully gained control of many urban colleges and universities, often through violent tactics.