Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri | |
|---|---|
محمد طاہر القادری | |
.jpg) | |
| Title | Shaykh ul Islam |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1951-02-19)19 February 1951 (age 74) Jhang,West Punjab, Pakistan |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Citizenship | Canadian Pakistani[1] |
| Political party | Pakistan Awami Tehreek |
| Main interest(s) | Tafsir,Sharia,Fiqh,Hadith,Quran,Usul al-Fiqh,Sufism,History,Aqidah |
| Alma mater | University of the Punjab |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Founder of | Minhaj-ul-Quran International,Pakistan Awami Tehreek |
| Philosophy | Sufism,Anti-Terrorism,Philanthropy |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Tariqa | Qadiri |
| Muslim leader | |
| Period in office | October 1981 – Present |
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | Punishment in Islam their Classification & Philosophy (1984) |
| Doctoral advisor | Bashir Ahmad Siddique |
| Website | minhaj |
Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (Urdu:محمد طاہر القادری; born 19 February 1951) is aPakistani–Canadian Islamic scholar and former politician who foundedMinhaj-ul-Quran International andPakistan Awami Tehreek.[2]
Born inWest Punjab, Pakistan, Qadri has served as a professor ofinternational constitutional law at theUniversity of the Punjab.[3][4] He also served as ajurist consult (legal advisor) onIslamic law for theSupreme Court and theFederal Shariah Court of Pakistan. Additionally, he has worked as a specialist adviser on Islamic curricula for theFederal Ministry of Education of Pakistan[5][6] and is the founding chairman of several sub-organizations of Minhaj-ul-Quran International. Qadri has delivered over 6,000lectures[7][8][9] andauthored more than 1,000books inUrdu,English, andArabic, with over 450 of them published.[10][11][8] As of 2022, he has featured in every edition ofThe 500 Most Influential Muslims since its first edition in 2009.[5] In 2012, it was reported that Qadri was nominated[by whom?][when?] for theNobel Peace Prize.[12][13]
Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri was born on 19 February 1951 inJhang, a city in Punjab, Pakistan,[14] into aPunjabi Muslim family with a strong scholarly and spiritual heritage.[15][16][17] His father, Dr. Farid-ud-Din Qadri, was a respectedphysician, Sufi poet, andreligious scholar who emphasized both secular and Islamic education for his son.[18][19][16][20]
Qadri’s early education blended religious and secular instruction.[20] He attended the Sacred Heart School, a Catholic mission school inJhang, where he learned English and gained exposure to Christianity.[17][21]
Concurrently, he began formalIslamic studies under his father at age 10, focusing on classical texts andSufi practices. At 12, he traveled toMedina, Saudi Arabia, to enroll at Madrasa al-‘Ulum ash-Shar‘iyya, situated in the historic residence ofAbu Ayyub al-Ansari, acompanion of theProphet Muhammad. This institution provided rigorous training inQuranic exegesis (tafsir),Hadith,jurisprudence (fiqh), and Arabic language.[22][23][24]
He also studied classicalIslamic sciences under eminent scholars around the world, including inMakkah,Madinah,Syria,Baghdad,Lebanon,Morocco,India, and Pakistan, receiving around 500 authorities and chains of transmission in various branches of Islamic knowledge.[25][26] He learned under MawlanaZiauddin Madani (d. 1981, aged 107) and studied Hadith fromMuhaddithal-Hijaz al-Sayyid ‘Alawi ibn ‘Abbas al-Maliki al-Makki (d. 1971). Additionally, al-Shaykh al-Sayyid ‘Alawi's son, the late muhaddith of al-Hijaz, al-SayyidMuhammad 'Alawi al-Maliki (d. 2004), gave Qadri all of his father'sijazas andisnads in written form, which had been previously received verbally, as well as his own chains of transmission.[22][27][17]
Returning to Pakistan, Qadri pursued higher education at theUniversity of the Punjab in Lahore. He earned aBachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1974, followed by aMaster of Arts (MA) inIslamic Studies in 1972, where he received the university’sGold Medal for academic excellence.[28][29] He later completed aPhD inIslamic Law in 1986, focusing on constitutional and jurisprudential frameworks within Islamic tradition.[30][31]
During his academic tenure, Qadri became the youngestprofessor in the university’s history, teaching British, American, and Islamic constitutional law. He also served on the university’sSyndicate,Senate, andAcademic Council, its highest governing bodies.[23][29][32]
Before entering academia full-time, Qadri practiced law in Jhang’sdistrict courts. His expertise in Islamic jurisprudence led to his appointment as aJurist Consult for Pakistan’sSupreme Court andFederal Shariat Court, where he influenced landmark rulings on issues such asblasphemy laws andgender equality inblood money (diya) cases.[33][34][6]
Qadri’s intellectual development was shaped by his father’s Sufi teachings and his studies under scholars likeTahir Allauddin Al-Qadri Al-Gillani[5][35] andMaulana Zia-ud-Din Madani.
By his late 20s, Qadri had already authored significant texts on Islamic law and theology, includingIslamic Penal System and its Philosophy (1986), reflecting his early engagement with contemporarylegal debates.
Minhaj-ul-Quran International is an organization established on 17 October 1980, with branches in over a hundred countries.[5] The organization states that its mission is to promote religious moderation, effective education, inter-faith dialogue and harmony, and a moderate interpretation of Islam, drawing on methods of Sufism. In March 2011, theUnited Nations Economic and Social Council granted specialconsultative status to Minhaj-ul-Quran International.[36]
In May 1989, he foundedPakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and successfully contested elections in 1990, becoming a Member of theNational Assembly. However, on 29 November 2004, Qadri announced his resignation from the National Assembly of Pakistan in protest of thecounter-terrorism policies of then-PresidentPervez Musharraf, whom he viewed asdictatorial. Subsequently, in 2005, he relocated toCanada.[37]
In December 2012, after residing in Toronto, Canada for seven years, Qadri returned to Pakistan and launched a political campaign. He called for a "million-men" march in Islamabad to protest against the government's corruption.[38] He demanded the establishment of an independent body to conduct electoral reforms, with the aim of ensuring free and fair elections. Additionally, he stated that if the constitutional requirements were not met, he would reject the upcoming elections.[39]
On 14 January 2013, a crowd marched down the city's main avenue, with thousands of people pledging to engage in a sit-in until their demands were met.[40]
When he commenced the long march from Lahore, approximately 50,000 people accompanied him.[41] He addressed the rally in front of parliament, stating, "There is no Parliament; there is a group of looters, thieves, and dacoits.. Our lawmakers are the lawbreakers."[42] After four days of sit-in, the Government and Qadri signed an agreement called theIslamabad Long March Declaration, which promised electoral reforms and increased political transparency.[43]
Critics have alleged that the protests were a ploy by thePakistan Armed Forces to delay elections and undermine the influence of thecivilian government. They have pointed to Qadri's close ties to the military,dual nationality, and questionable foreign and Pakistani sources of funding as evidence to support their claims.[44][45] Lawyers for theSupreme Court of Pakistan asserted that Qadri's demands are unfeasible because they conflict with theConstitution of Pakistan.[46]The Tribune reported on 17 February 2013, that Qadri seemed to have capitulated on most of his demands in the Islamabad Long March Declaration.[47]
On 17 June 2014, a violent clash occurred between the Punjab Police and Pakistan Awami Tehreek activists resulting in the deaths of several protesters from police gunfire.[48][49] Tahir-ul-Qadri said the police refused to log aFirst Information Report.[50] The Baqir Najfi inquiry found that police actively participated in themassacre to remove barriers that were installed on orders of the High Court.[51]
Tahir-ul-Qadri's flight was scheduled to land at Islamabad airport; however, the Pakistani authorities denied landing permission, leading to the plane being diverted to Lahore airport.[52] Tahir-ul-Qadri expressed concerns about potential harm from theGovernment of Punjab, and was personally escorted by the convoy of theGovernor of Punjab to his residence inModel Town, Lahore.[53]
As of the end of September 2014, the Inqilab March began, with sit-in protests with allied partnerImran Khan, chairman and founder ofTehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and organiser of 2014 Azadi March, in the capital of Pakistan,Islamabad.[54]
Imran Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri did not fully join their protest marches nor decline to support each other.[55] On 10 August 2014, Qadri formally announced that his party's political march, the Inqilab March, would proceed parallel with PTI's Azadi march. Both marches were organised to take different routes, albeit closely mirroring each other. It is apparent that the two parties have similar objectives yet different aims and strategies. The announcement of two parallel marches by parties in opposition gave rise to speculation that a coalition between PTI and PAT was possible. The chiefs of the two parties never clearly stipulated a formal coalition; but an informal agreement to support each other was achieved.[56][57]
On 21 August 2014, Qadri said that the government had not been allowing his workers to supply food items and potable water to the participants of the sit-in.[58]
TheDaily Dawn of 31 August 2014 claimed that hundreds of people were injured in the federal capital as police battled throngs of protesters led by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek.[59][undue weight? –discuss]
Then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointedChief of Army StaffGeneral Raheel Sharif to act as a mediator.[60] General Raheel Sharif met with Tahir-ul-Qadri and Imran Khan to end the sit-in.[61] It was due to the intervention of General Raheel Sharif that thepolice report was logged. Tahir-ul-Qadri congratuled his supporters in their struggle for justice.[50]
It was reported that Tahir-ul-Qadri led the Eid prayer at Islamabad'sD-Chowk. The congregation was attended by Imran Khan and other political leaders, including Raja Nasir Abbas Jafary ofMWM. Animal sacrifies were also offered in the name ofAllah following theSunnah ofProphet Ibrahim and his sonProphet Ismail.[62][63][64]
In August 2010, Qadri held an anti-terrorism camp for Muslim youth at theUniversity of Warwick with the aim of tackling extremism in the UK.[65] He organised the camp under the auspices ofMinhaj-ul-Quran UK.[66]
In 2011, he spoke at theWEF that took place in Davos, Switzerland.[67]
Seven days after the Faisalabad Gathering, Qadri made a public gathering in Lahore on 19 October 2014.[68]
The 2014 Lahore Clash,[69][70] more commonly known as the Model Town Tragedy (Urdu:سانحہ ماڈل ٹاؤن) or the Lahore massacre,[71] was a violent clash that ensued between thePunjab Police and Pakistan Awami Tehreek activists on 17 June 2014 resulting in several protesters being killed by the police gunfire. Five police officers remain under arrest.[72] The standoff lasted for almost 11 hours when the police's anti-encroachment squad launched an operation to remove the barriers from the road leading to the offices of Minhaj-ul-Quran and the residence of PAT founder Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri in Model Town, Lahore. Although, police officials were given a court order by PAT leaders, stating "due to terrorism issues, place security barriers in front of Minhaj-ul-Quran and the residence of PAT founder Qadri", but the police still attacked.[citation needed]
The incident was broadcast live on various local news channels[73] and there were conflicting accounts of how the standoff began.[74] Police claimed that they were attacked by people inside the PAT secretariat, a claim that is denied by party chief Qadri. In the live footage broadcast on television, the policemen were shown firing assault rifles and lobbing tear gas canisters at the protesting masses while the protesters threw stones at the police for defence.[74]Qadri strongly condemned the attack and called it the worst form ofstate terrorism. Qadri vowed to avenge the deaths of his political workers by bringing about a revolution that would hasten the end of the rule of prime ministerNawaz Sharif and his brotherShahbaz Sharif.[75][76]
Qadri and his party observed Youm-e-Shuhada (Day of Martyrs) at 9 August 2014 in Tehreek-e-Minhaj ul Quran secretariat in Model Town.[77] A Country-Wide clash occurred between Police and the Workers of PAT. After the gathering of People, He assured his supporters and the government that the rally on 10 August would be peaceful while requesting his followers to bring their prayer mats for recitation of the Quran.[78]
He has been invited to deliver his lectures by several organisations.[79][80]
In July 2011, he gave a lecture on the issues of terrorism and integration at theParliament of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia where he was invited by the member of theNSW Legislative Council, Shaoquett Moselmane MLC.[81] Qadri also made appearances on Australian media, where he discussed Islam, terrorism and possible troop withdrawals from Afghanistan. On 24 September 2011, Minhaj-ul-Quran convened the "Peace for Humanity Conference" atWembley Arena in London where Tahir-ul-Qadri and the assembled speakers issued adeclaration of peace on behalf of religious representatives of several faiths, scholars, politicians, and 12,000 participants present from various countries. This conference was endorsed by, or received supportive messages from, the Grand Imam ofAl-Azhar University,Ban Ki-moon (Secretary-General of the United Nations),Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (Secretary General of theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation),David Cameron (British Prime Minister),Nick Clegg (British Deputy Prime Minister),Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury) and others. On 30 November 2011, Qadri delivered a lecture at the "Peaceful Future of Afghanistan" conference in Istanbul, Turkey which was organised by the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution ofGeorge Mason University together withMarmara University and was attended by more than 120 Afghan leaders.
On 22 February 2012, Qadri visited Delhi for a four-week tour of India.[82][83][84] Qadri delivered a message of peace and said: "Terrorism has no place in Islam", while addressing the fatwa book launch in Delhi.[85] People gathered to listen to Qadri along with government officials in Gujarat.[84][86] Qadri also urged the Pakistani and Indian governments to reduce their defence expenditures and instead spend money on the welfare of poor people.[87] He also visitedAjmer, where he was given a large reception, at which he gave a lecture onSufism.[88] On 4 January 2015, he declared terrorism as biggest problem of the world.[89]
TheFatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings is a 600-page (Urdu version), 512-page (English version) is an Islamic decree by Qadri which demonstrates from the Quran and Sunnah that terrorism and suicide bombings are unjust and evil, and thus un-Islamic. It was published in London as a book.[90] Thisfatwa is a direct refutation of the ideology ofal-Qaeda and theTaliban. It is one of the most extensive Islamic anti-terrorism rulings, an "absolute" condemnation of terrorism without "any excuses or pretexts" which goes further than ever and declares that terrorism iskufr underIslamic law.[91] The launch was organised byMinhaj-ul-Quran UK. Qadri said during the launch that "Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of excuses or ifs or buts."
The fatwa received widespread media attention and was positively covered by the international press.[92]
According to CNN, experts see the fatwa as a significant blow to terrorist recruiting.[93] CNN'sAmanpour show added the fatwa summary to its website and declared it to be fatwa for peace,[94] while theUS State Department declares the fatwa to be significant step in taking Islam back from terrorists.[95]
Before it had been released,Douglas Murray described the Fatwa on Terrorism, in an article in theEvening Standard, as "potentially important", although he said "A single-fatwa will not change the level of denial and self criticism inherent in so much of modern Islam".[96]
ITV news channel questioned the credibility of the fatwa and asks if it was not by theBritish government because seniorcounter-terrorism officials fromScotland Yard andMI5 were present at the launch.[97]
The 512-page English book version of the fatwa,Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings, (London: Minhaj-ul-Quran, 2011.ISBN 978-0-9551888-9-3) has a foreword byJohn Esposito and an introduction byJoel Hayward, both of whom share Qadri's scholarly assessment that, regardless of any intention, the evil of terrorism remains evil and must be exposed, opposed and condemned. It also has a certification from the Islamic Research Council ofAl-Azhar, Egypt issued on 9 January 2011.
TheFatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings has been officially endorsed byAl-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. In January 2011, the fatwa was discussed at theWorld Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011.[98] In June 2011,Pope Benedict XVI received a copy of the fatwa from representatives of Minhaj Interfaith Relations. The Pope reportedly appreciated that it promoted peace, harmony and interfaith dialogue.[99]
TheFatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings was reviewed positively by Kemal Argon who published a review in theJournal of Rotterdam Islamic and Social Sciences, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2011, pp. 149–160. Islamic University of Rotterdam, Netherlands.
On 7 April 2019, Qadri addressed scholars at theOIC meeting inRiyadh and presented Minhaj-ul-Quran's Counter Terrorism Syllabus.[100]
According to one newspaper pundit, the legal-theological opinion by Qadri in his fatwa on terrorism creates an impression that there is a consensus in Islam on theKhawarij.[101][102]Think Magazine (World Religions) cited Dr. Tahir ul Qadri as providing a competing vision of Islam against that ofOsama Bin Laden.[103] In November 2017,Mandla Mandela (the grandson of South African revolutionary leaderNelson Mandela) visited Pakistan after his conversion to Islam in 2016. He arrived in Pakistan on Tahir ul Qadri's invitation to attendTajdar-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwwat Conference in Pakistan.[104][105]
He has authored 1000 works[106] out of which 550 are published books, including an "eight-volume, 7,000-page Qur’anic Encyclopaedia in English covering all 6,000-plus verses of the Koran."[107] He has delivered over 6000 lectures and has been teaching subjects such as Islamic jurisprudence, theology, sufism, Islamic philosophy, law, Islamic politics, hadith, seerah, and many other traditional sciences.[106] His works include:
Tahir Qadri has faced criticism from Islamic scholars and organizations for his unconventional views, such as celebration of Christmas. Some have labeled him as “misguided”,[117] and Indian scholarAkhtar Raza Khan, issued afatwa in 2014 declaring him adisbeliever.[118]
TheUS government funded broadcaster,Radio liberty and the German public broadcaster,Deutsche Welle, have issued articles pointing out his contradictions in claiming to be in favour of democracy while also having previously called for the toppling of the Pakistani civilian government.[119][120]
Media related toMuhammad Tahir ul-Qadri at Wikimedia Commons
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