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Inquiry & Analysis |920|January 15, 2013 The Ideology And Politics Of Pakistani Religious Leader Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri By: Tufail Ahmad* MEMRI | MEMRI TV | JIHAD AND TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR | SOUTH ASIA STUDIES PROJECT

Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (Image courtesy: Tribune.com.pk) Introduction Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (born February 19, 1951) is an eminent Islamic scholar who, after five years of self-exile in the United Kingdom and Canada, returned to Pakistan on December 23, 2012, and on the same day addressed a mass public rally in Lahore, pledging to unseat the elected Pakistani government through a mass uprising just weeks before it is to complete its five-year term. In recent years, Tahir-ul-Qadri has achieved an international reputation as a moderate Islamic cleric after he issued a celebrated fatwa (Islamic decree) against suicide bombings by Taliban militants. He is a proponent of the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam, a noted follower of which, Mumtaz Malik Qadri, a member of an elite Pakistani commando force on duty to protect Pakistan's liberal provincial governor Salman Taseer, assassinated him in January 2011 for advocating reforms to Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws. The stated purpose of Tahir-ul-Qadri's return is to bring about fundamental political and electoral change to Pakistan, where the British form of parliamentary democracy is in practice, with a lawmaker directly elected by the people being nominated with parliamentary consent by the victorious political party to the post of prime minister as the executive head, and the president elected as the titular head of the state by members of parliament and provincial legislatures. Before arriving in Pakistan, Tahir-ul-Qadri was interviewed from his base in Canada by a Pakistani journalist about the relevance of democracy. Qadri responded: "I am neither a representative of the Western world nor I am coming [to Pakistan] with any agenda of Western democracy. Rather, right from the beginning I am opposed to this notion [of democracy] itself. My notion, my concept, and my teachings are that every country has a right to develop its own model of democracy in consonance with its political, social, economic, and geographical situations." Tahir-ul-Qadri's return is seen in Pakistani politics as a big bang, causing worry among some rival Islamic scholars and politicians. Maulana Fazlur Rehman – a leading Islamic scholar, politician, and chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) party – has described Qadri's slogan of Save the State, Not Politics as "illogical" and has expressed concern that "such tactics… [could be] only used to derail democracy." For the first time in Pakistan's history, the current government of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is set to complete a full term, opening the possibility of a peaceful transfer of power in the 2013 elections. However, the suddenness with which Tahir-ul-Qadri has arrived in Pakistan, where elected governments have been routinely dislodged by the military, has many politicians wondering about who is behind him and whether the current government will be allowed to complete its full term by the Pakistani military's controversial Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). A day after his December 23 rally in Lahore, the Urdu-language daily Roznama Ummat carried frontpage reports with headlines: "Reforms in the System: Tahir-ul-Qadri presents agenda for delaying elections; rally in Lahore – declares [2013] elections under the present administration unconstitutional and if not rectified by January 10, threatens march on Islamabad"; and "Tahir-ul-Qadri has returned to turn democracy's continuity upside down." In a parliamentary democracy like Pakistan, the existence of a nationwide party organization is a prerequisite to winning elections. Tahir-ul-Qadri will probably take years to build a party and win an election to form a government. However, one factor that has led some to believe that he is supported by some hidden forces, possibly the Pakistani military's ISI or foreign powers like the United States and the UK, is Qadri's quick collaboration with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the third largest political party in Pakistani parliament with strong pockets of influence in Karachi and other parts of Sindh province. Unlike other mainstream parties, the MQM is known for a consistent secular position on most issues facing Pakistan but has also been engaged in an unending series of violence by followers of different political parties in Karachi. Tahir-ul-Qadri arrived in Pakistan on December 23, 2012, declaring that the present system of elections and politics is a hurdle in the way of real change in the country. He also addressed a mass public rally jointly organized by the MQM in Karachi on January 1, 213, where he vowed to turn Islamabad into a second "peaceful Tahrir Square" on January 14. Tahir-ul-Qadri is a former Pakistani parliamentarian and heads a party named Pakistan Awami Tehreek, founded on May 25, 1989 but which holds no electoral presence. He may not win power outright, but he is a leading proponent of the Barelvi School of Sunni Islam and his followers are present in large numbers in Pakistan, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries. His return to Pakistan is likely to turn international attention to the thoughts and practices of the Barelvi clerics in Pakistan and elsewhere. His likely influence on the country's politics is expected to strengthen the hands of Barelvi clerics in Pakistan, and possibly in neighboring India where he travels frequently. The Barelvi School Of Sunni Islamic Thought The Barelvi School of Sunni Islam was propounded in the 19th century by Ahmed Raza Khan of Bareilly, a town in northern India. Ahmed Raza Khan (1856-1921) is popularly known as Aala Hazrat (of the highest station) and his followers are generally described as Barelvis, in opposition to the Deobandi School of Sunni Islam, which follows the teachings of the scholars at the leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom in Deoband, another northern Indian town. Darul Uloom Deoband is the second largest Islamic seminary in the world, after Cairo's Al-Azhar University. The Barelvis are criticized by Deobandi scholars for sanctioning bid'ah (innovation) in Islamic practices such as some spiritual forms of singing, music, and dance prevalent at numerous shrines of Sufi mystics across South Asia. In Pakistan, the Taliban are known to be followers of the Deobandi school and have bombed several Sufi-Barelvi shrines in recent years. Literally, thousands of religious organizations, owing their allegiance to the Deobandi and the Barelvi doctrines, are active in Pakistan and India. In Pakistan, Barelvi and Deobandi followers have attracted media headlines for armed attacks and for preaching violence against each other, as recently as in 2010. In Pakistan, the Deobandi stream enjoys the support of the state institutions, but the majority of Pakistanis follow the Barelvi practices. Despite doctrinal differences, the Barelvi followers are also known for holding Taliban-like orthodox and militant views, notably adhering to unconditional love for Prophet Muhammad. It was due to this unconditional love for Prophet Muhammad that Barelvi follower Mumtaz Malik Qadri assassinated Salman Taseer, after the liberal governor had called for reforms in Pakistan's laws regarding blasphemy of the prophet and had been working for release of Aasia Bibi, a Christian mother sentenced to death in Pakistan in an alleged blasphemy case. Mumtaz Malik Qadri, member of a Barelvi group called Dawat-e-Islami, was influenced by Barelvi scholar Allama Muhammad Hanif Qureshi, who called for killing anyone who caused disrespect to Prophet Muhammad, stating in a December 31, 2010 sermon: "We explicitly say it without mincing any words that if the death penalty was not provided in Section 295-C [one of Pakistan's blasphemy laws stipulating the death penalty] for the blasphemers in that case Allah has given us the courage. We know how to trigger a gun, how to shoot somebody dead and how to behead those who commit blasphemy against our beloved Prophet [Muhammad]."Thousands of Barelvi clerics and their supporters from different sections of Pakistani society organized mass rallies in support of the assassin. Pakistani lawyers garlanded the assassin, and Justice (retired) Khwaja Muhammad Sharif, the former chief justice of Lahore High Court, defended the assassin in court hearings. The Barelvi assassin was also defended by Al-Qaeda. Umar Ahmad Farooq, the Head of Al-Qaeda's Media and Dawa Department for Pakistan, spoke in favor of Mumtaz Malik Qadri, reminding the Pakistani nation that Prophet Muhammad himself had advocated such practices. Farooq stated: "On the Day of Victory of Mecca, when all people were granted amnesty, the Prophet [Muhammad] was informed that there were about 10 people, including women, who had committed blasphemy against him. He ordered that even if they are found hanging by the curtains of the Kaaba (the Holy Mosque of Mecca), they deserve no respect, and their blood should be spilled; and indeed it was spilled." Tahir-ul-Qadri's politics has suddenly boosted the Barelvi school of thought. He is a leading international pioneer of the Barelvi movement in the early years of the 21st century and is on record telling his followers that his organization Minhaj-ul-Quran International was founded at the urging of Prophet Muhammad. Tahir-ul-Qadri Says Prophet Muhammad Told Him: "If You Want Me That I Stay In Pakistan, Then The Condition Is That Only You Become My Host"; "You Will Be Responsible For [Bus/Train] Ticket For Wherever I Come And Go In Pakistan"; "Set Up Your Organization Minhaj-ul-Quran" Tahir-ul-Qadri's video was first posted on Facebook and later removed In a black-and-white video whose date is difficult to ascertain, Tahir-ul-Qadri narrates a dream in which Prophet Muhammad visited him in Pakistan and urged him to establish Minhaj-ul-Quran International, an organization that propagates the cause of Islam through his books, videos, and religious activities. Throughout the video, Tahir-ul-Qadri sobs, weeps, and cries – along with the audiences – and wipes his tears repeatedly as he addresses a crowd of Islamic clerics and followers, narrating the dream. Tahir-ul-Qadri tells the audience: "[In the dream, Prophet Muhammad visits me in Pakistan] I sit on the floor, kissing the prophet's pious feet… and the lord [Prophet Muhammad] begins the process of conversation and tells me: 'Tahir, I had come to Pakistan at the invitation of the inhabitants of Pakistan, at the invitation of the religious institutions, religious parties, and Ulema [Islamic scholars]…. and despite inviting me here they did not accord me respect, were not a host for me. "'And now, displeased at the inhabitants of Pakistan, I am returning to Medina. I am saddened; they have hurt me; they have invited me, but did not play host to me…. [The Prophet] said they have hurt me, invited me but did not play a host for me…. Being saddened, I have decided now that I am leaving Pakistan to return [to Medina]. That is why I did not meet with people [here in Pakistan]. I am now returning, leaving Pakistan.' "After hearing of this, I fall to the feet of the prophet, peace be upon him. I hold the pious feet, stick to them, kiss them, weep and cry. I fold both my hands before him, beseeching, 'lord, for the sake of Allah, please change the decision; do not leave Pakistan; do not leave Pakistan [sobs and cries, along with the audience]… revise the decision.' The lord says, 'No, Tahir, you do not know; they have hurt me very much.' "Repeatedly, [Prophet Muhammad] says, 'They had invited me; I had come at their invitation, but they did not respect me despite having me invited…. I have decided that I will leave Pakistan, to return [to Medina].' I keep crying, pleading: lord, have mercy; do not leave Pakistan, do not return; please order me, lord, is there a way for you to stay here…  [He] repeatedly says, no…. After lots of crying and pleading, the pious feelings of the lord change, a little love and affection comes, the pious anger cools down a bit. And he says: 'Tahir, if you want me to stay more in Pakistan, there is one condition: if you promise to fulfil that condition… (I ask him, the lord, what is that condition and he says)… Tahir, if you want me that I stay in Pakistan, then the condition is that only you become my host… you become my host, then I stay here….' "I respond: 'lord, I cannot refuse, it is a blessing, but I am not capable, I am a very weak and frail person; your highness, how can I be worth hosting you, how will I host you?' He says: 'there is only one condition, you promise to me… to play host, you alone promise to host, then I promise to stay.' Crying, I submit, your highness, I undertake the promise to you; I become a host to your highness. [He] says, 'Tahir, you promised me, so I too promise that I stay.' And he said: 'For seven more days, I stay in Pakistan. I will stay here for seven more days….' Now, I cannot say what is meant by 'seven days'….   "I say, your highness, this is acceptable to me but how will this be organized. He says, 'you promise and everything will be arranged…' And he tells me then, 'Promise me one thing more; you will have to arrange my stay; you will be responsible for my food and drink; you will be responsible for [bus/train] ticket for wherever I come and go in Pakistan... And when I have to return to Medina, then too only you will buy me the ticket valid till Medina; you will be responsible for this entire arrangement; promise me this.' I said, your highness, I promise all of this. [He] says, 'then I stay here for seven days.' Then the lord told me, 'you set up your organization Minhaj-ul-Quran, and I promise to you that I will visit you at your organization.'" In another video statement, Tahir-ul-Qadri, when challenged by his critics, has denied that the Minhaj-ul-Quran was named on Prophet Muhammad's "order" in the above-narrated dream, stating: "In such matters, if the Prophet (peace be upon him) wishes to issue an order to the ummah, he can do it through dreams. But the matter is this that I have never said and have never understood so [about the prophet telling me to found the Minhaj-ul-Quran]." Click here to read the full reort.