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Barelvis claim to follow the true Sunni Islam as it had existed all along.[11][12] The movement emphasizes personal devotion to God, adherence to Sharia, and Sufi practices such as veneration of saints,[13][14][15] and especially "active veneration" of the Islamic prophetMuhammad "as the most exalted of all beings".[16][11] They considered themselves to be "true" Sunni Muslims or simply Sunni,[17][18] and called themselves the Ahl-e-Sunnat wa Jama'at, the classical name for the Sunni community.[18][19]
Etymology
The name of the movement derives from the north Indian town of Bareilly, the hometown of its founder and main leader Ahmed Raza Khan (1856–1921).[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
Although Barelvi is the commonly used term, the movement is also known by the title of Ahle Sunnat wa Jama'at (Urdu: اہل سنت وجماعت, "People of the Prophet's Way and the Community")[27][18] the classical name for the Sunni community, a reference to their self-perception as mainstream Sunnis rather than a distinct sect.[28][29][19][30]
To its followers, the movement is the Ahle Sunnat wal Jama'at, or "People of the traditions and the community," and they refer to themselves as Sunnis. This terminology is used to lay exclusive claim to be the only legitimate form of Sunni Islam in South Asia, in opposition to the Deobandi, Ahl-i Hadith, Salafis and Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama followers.[30][31][32]Ahmad Raza Khan and his supporters never used the term 'Barelvi' to identify themselves or their movement;[15] they saw themselves as Sunni Muslims defending traditional Sunni beliefs from deviations.[15] Only later was the term 'Barelvi' used.[24][33]
History
According to the Oxford Reference, the Ahl-e-Sunnat movement was "triggered" by the failure of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, followed by "formal colonization of India" by the British, and end of the Muslim Mughal Empire; and "emerged" as part of "the religious debate among Islamic legal scholars as to how Muslim identity and action should be used to redeem India".[27] Anil Maheshwari describes the Ahl-e-Sunnat movement as taking shape in Bareilly during the 1870s and 1880s, under the leadership of Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi (1856-1921), and influenced by 1) British colonial rule, and 2) "the rise of reformist-cum-revivalist movements among the ulema and the revivalist Sufism".[11] It has been described "by supporters and opponents" as a "reaction" to two other (revivalist) groups -- Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith groups (together, the three rival groups had the greatest impact of any religious movement on the masses of Muslims in South Asia during this time)[11]—and formed to prove, support and defend the traditional mystic practices of South Asia.[34]
In terms of background and location, "the core group of Barelvi ulema were Rohilla Pathans from the cities of Bareilly and Badaun. Support came primarily from the small towns and rural areas of the United Provinces, Punjab and Patna in Bihar," according to Anil Maheshwari.[11]
Naqi Ali Khan (1830-1880), an Islamic scholar and teacher of Ahmed Raza Khan Qadri, argued against the ideas of Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi (d. 1831), who was a founder of Wahabism in India.[43]
Naqi Ali Khan declared Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi, a ‘Wahabi’ due to his support for Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's ideology. In his writings, Naqi `Ali defended Muhammad against what he considered the belittling of his powers by Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi and his associate Muhammad Isma`il Dihlawi.[36]
Similarly, founder of Khairabad school, Allama Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi in 1825 in his book 'Tahqîqul-Fatâwâ' and
Fazle-Rasûl Badayûnî in his book 'Saiful-Jabbâr' issued Fatwas against the founders of Ahle Hadith and Deobandi sect.[44][45]
The movement views themselves as Sunni or Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat[27] and according to it main leaders of the movement including Imam Ahmad Riza Khan, did not invent new sect but defended traditional Sunni Islam. According to Ahle Sunnat scholars, Deobandis have created a news sect.[29]
Propagation against Shuddhi (Arya Samaj conversion) Movement
Hindu Arya Samaj, through its founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati[46] initiated converting Muslims in to Hinduism specially in North India, and Punjab in early 1900s.
They became active in Bharatpur State and among the neo-Muslim Malkanas, in Etawah, Kanpur, Shahajahnpur, Hardoi, Meerut and Mainpuri in the western United Provinces, exhorting them to return to what they called their 'ancestral religion'. As a result, the movement became controversial and antagonized the Muslims populace.[47]
To counter this movement Indian Muslims started Islamic Dawa work among the Muslim population and challenged the Arya Samaj leaders for debates. Mufti Naeemuddin Moradabadi, Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri and Hamid Raza Khan along with a team of Ahle Sunnat scholars through Jama'at Raza-e-Mustafa worked in north Indian towns and villages against the Shuddhi movement.[48][49][50]
The Jama'at Raza-e-Mustafa prevented around four hundred thousand conversions to Hinduism in eastern U.P and Rajasthan during its activities under anti-Shuddhi movement.[51]
In 1917, Mufti Naeem-ud-Deen Muradabadi organized the historical Jama'at Raza-e-Mustafa conference at Jamia Naeemia Moradabad U.P, with a mission to curb, and if possible reverse, the tide of re-conversions threatening the Muslim community in the wake of the Shuddhi movement.[52][53]
All India Sunni Conference
In 1925, Barelvi Muslims established a body of Islamic scholars and Sufis called the All India Sunni Conference in the wake of Congress led secular Indian nationalism and the changing geo-political situation of India. Islamic scholars and popular leaders Jamaat Ali Shah, Naeem-ud-Deen Muradabadi, Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri, Amjad Ali Aazmi, Abdul Hamid Qadri Badayuni, Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi and Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah were the main leaders.[54][55]
In 1925, its first Conference was attended by three hundred Ulema and Mashaikh. AISC focus was on Unity, brotherhood, preaching and protection of Islamic faith with a stress on need for acquiring modern education for Muslims.[56][54]
The Second Conference was held in Badaun U.P in October 1935 under the Presidency of Jamaat Ali Shah.It discussed Shaheed Ganj Mosque Movement. and openly opposed Ibn Saud’s policies in Arabia, the Conference demanded to respect the Holy and sacred places of the Muslims.[56][54]
The third Conference held on 27–30 April 1946 at Benaras discussed the disturbed condition of the country and possible solution for the Muslims in the wake of demand for Pakistan.[56][54][57]
Several Barelvi scholars supported the All-India Muslim League and Pakistan's demand claiming that Congress aimed at establishing Hindu state and arguing, that Muslims need to have their own country.[58] Few Barelvi scholars opposed the partition of India and the League's demand to be seen as the only representative of Indian Muslims.[59]
In the aftermath of the 1948 Partition, they formed an association to represent the movement in Pakistan, called Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP). Like ulema of the Deobandi and Ahl-i Hadith movements, Barelvi ulema have advocated application of sharia law across the country.[60]
As a reaction to the anti-Islam filmInnocence of Muslims, a conglomerate of forty Barelvi parties called for a boycott of Western goods, while at the same time condemning violence which had taken place in protest against the film.[61]
Barelvi group was founded in reaction to revivalist movements, particularly the Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith,[11] but for most of its history the conflicts were confined to "books, public debates, and juridical rulings".[29] or "polemics and fatwa bazi.[62] These differences of doctrine could be bitter, as when Deobandis and Barelvis engaged in a "fatwa war" in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, takfiring each other. In 1906, "Ahmed Riza issued a fatwa accusing leading figures at Deoband -- including the founders of the madrassah ... of being leaders of kafir" and Wahabis. Deobandis replied with a fatwa asserting that they, Deobandis, were the only true Hanafi Sunnis.[63] Other Barlevi have attacked Deobandis and Ahl-e-Hadith as "'Gustakh-e-Rasool' (the one who blasphemes against the Prophet)", according to Mumtaz Ahmad.[62]
Ali Riaz writes that in Pakistan, relations between the major sects of Sunni Islam remained "relatively amicable until 1979" when the Islamization policy of the Zia ul-Haq government "unleashed the forces of sectarianism".[64]
During the 1990s and 2000s, sporadic physical conflict stemming from disputes between Barelvis and Deobandis over control of Pakistani mosques.[65] The conflict came to a head in May 2001, when sectarian riots broke out after the assassination of Sunni Tehreek leader Saleem Qadri.[66]
But in 2006, a terror campaign began against the group by Deobandi extremists.[29] In April 2006, 57 people, including the entire leadership of two prominent Barelvi outfits, the Sunni Tehreek and Jamaat Ahle Sunnat were killed in a bomb attack on a Barelvi gathering celebrating Muhammad's birthday in Pakistan's largest city and business hub Karachi.[67][68]
On 12 June 2009, Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi, a prominent cleric of the Barelvi sect and outspoken critic of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan was killed in a suicide bombing.[69] Between 2005 and 2010, hundreds of Barelvi sect members have been killed in more than 70 suicide attacks at different religious shrines.[70] Militants believed to be affiliated with the Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba attacked Barelvis celebrating Mawlid in Faisalabad and Dera Ismail Khan on 27 February 2010, sparking tensions between the groups.[71]
Sunni Tehreek activists attempted to seize a Karachi mosque in April 2007, opening fire on the mosque and its worshipers; one person was killed and three were injured.[72]
While these attacks have happened within Pakistan, in recent decades there have been "similarly divisive results in India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and within South Asian Muslim communities across North America, the British Isles and continental Europe, East Africa, South Africa, and beyond—indeed, wherever the rivalry has spread".[73]
Beliefs
Like other Sunni Muslims, Barelvis base their beliefs on the Quran and Sunnah and believe in monotheism and the prophethood of Muhammad. Like the other major Sunni movement in South Asia, the Deobandi, Barelvis follow the Hanafi school of Islamic law.[5] Although they may follow any one of the Ashari and Maturidi schools of Islamic theology in addition to optionally choosing from one of the Sufi orders or tariqas, most Barelvis in South Asia follow the Maturidi school of theology, and the Qadiri or Chishti Sufi orders.[citation needed]
According to the Oxford Reference, Barelvis "emphasizes primacy" of Islamic law "over adherence to Sufi practices".[27]
Several beliefs and practices differentiate the Barelvi movement from other Sunni groups, particularly Deobandis and Wahhabis, including beliefs in the intercession of Muhammad, the knowledge of Muhammad, the "Nur Muhammadiyya" (Light of Muhammad), and whether Muhammad views and witnesses actions of people.[74][75][76][77] Anil Maheshwari writes that unlike revivalists who wanted to return Islam to the "historical past" or "as idealised in the holy texts", Barelvi sought to "preserve Islam ... as it had evolved into the present".[6]
"A major part of the theological literature" of the founder of Barelvi, Ahmad Reza Khan "was directed at proving that the mystical practices of the Barelwis as spiritual mentors and guides (pir) were in consonance with Islamic law or prophetic tradition", according to Ali Riaz.[78]
Intercession of Muhammad
A fundamental belief of those within the Barelvi movement is that Muhammad helps people in this life and in the afterlife.[77] According to this doctrine, God helps through Muhammad (Tawassul). Sunni Muslims of the Barelvi movement commonly call upon Muhammad using statements such as ‘’Ya Rasool Allah’’ with the belief that any ability that Muhammad has to help others is from God, who helps through Muhammad. The help received from Muhammad is therefore considered God's help.[77] Sunni Muslims of the Barelvi movement believe that Muhammad is a Rahmah (mercy) to all creation as mentioned in the Quran 21:107.[77] Muhammad therefore is a means by which God expresses his attribute, Ar-Rahman, to creation.[77] Proponents of this belief look to the Quran 4:64 as a proof that God prefers to help through Muhammad.
They also believe that in the afterlife, on the day of judgement, Muhammad will intercede on the behalf of his followers and God will forgive his nation of sins and allow them to enter heaven.[77]
The belief of Muhammad providing support and help is a common theme within classical Sufi literature. An example of this can be found in Fariduddin Attar’s book The Conference of the Birds in which he details the story of a Shaykh, named Sam’an, who travels to Rome where he falls deeply in love with a Christian woman.[79] The woman after seeing his state commands him to do acts forbidden in Islam to prove himself to her and the Shaykh begins to drift away from Islam.[79] Concerned disciples and friends of the Shaykh decide to go to Makkah to pray for the Shaykh and make many supplications for him. One of them has a vision of Muhammad who says: ‘’I have loosed the chains which bound your sheikh - your prayer is answered, go.‘’[79] They return to Rome to find that Shaykh Sam'an has returned to Islam and that the Christian woman whom he loved had also become a Muslim.
The belief of Muhammad interceding is found in various hadith:
A Bedouin of the desert visited the Prophet’s tomb and greeted the Prophet, addressing him directly as if he were alive. “Peace upon you, Messenger of God!” Then he said, “I heard the word of God ‘If, when they had wronged themselves . . .,’ I came to you seeking pardon for my mistakes, longing for your intercession with our Lord!” The Bedouin then recited a poem in praise of the Prophet and departed. The person who witnessed the story says that he fell asleep, and in a dream he saw the Prophet saying to him, “O ‘Utbi, rejoin our brother the Bedouin and announce [to] him the good news that God has pardoned him!”[80][81][82]
Light of Muhammad (Nur Muhammadiyya)
A central doctrine of this movement is that Muhammad is both human and (Noor) light.[75] Muhammad's physical birth was preceded by his existence as a light which predates creation. The primordial reality of Muhammad existed before creation, and God created for the sake of Muhammad.[83] Adherents of this doctrine believe that the word Nur (light) in the Quran5:15 refers to Muhammad.
Sahl al-Tustari, the ninth-century Sunni Quran commentator, describes the creation of Muhammad's primordial light in his tafsir.[84]Mansur Al-Hallaj (al-Tustari's student) affirms this doctrine in his book, Ta Sin Al-Siraj:[85][84]
That is, in the beginning when God, Glorified and Exalted is He, created him as a light within a column of light (nūran fī ʿamūd al-nūr), a million years before creation, with the essential characteristics of faith (ṭabāʾiʿ al-īmān), in a witnessing of the unseen within the unseen (mushāhadat al-ghayb bi’l-ghayb). He stood before Him in servanthood (ʿubūdiyya), by the lote tree of the Ultimate Boundary [53:14], this being a tree at which the knowledge of every person reaches its limit.
When there shrouded the lote tree that which shrouded [it]. This means: "that which shrouded" the lote tree (ay mā yaghshā al-shajara) was from the light of Muḥammad as he worshipped. It could be likened to golden moths, which God sets in motion towards Him from the wonders of His secrets. All this is in order to increase him [Muḥammad] in firmness (thabāt) for the influx [of graces] (mawārid) which he received [from above].
According to Stūdīyā Islāmīkā, all Sufi orders are united in the belief in the light of Muhammad.[86]
Prophet views and witnesses (Hazir o Nazir) actions of people
Another central doctrine of this movement is that Prophet Muhammad views and witnesses (Hazir o Nazir) actions of people.[76] The doctrine appears in the works predating this movement, such as Sayyid Uthman Bukhari's (d. ca. 1687) Jawahir al-Quliya (Jewels of the Friends of God), describing how Sufis may experience the presence of Muhammad.[87] Proponents of this doctrine assert that the term Shahid (witness) in the Quran (33:45, 4:41) refers to this ability of Muhammad, and cite hadiths to support it.[88]
This concept was interpreted by Shah Abdul Aziz in Tafsir Azizi in these words: The Prophet is observing everybody, knows their good and bad deeds, and knows the strength of faith (Imaan) of every individual Muslim and what has hindered his spiritual progress.[89]
Hafiz Ibn Kathir says: “You are witness of the oneness of Allah Almighty and that there is no God except Allah. You will bear evidence about the actions and deed of whole mankind on the day of judgment.
(Tafseer Ibne Katheer, Vol. 3, Page 497).[89]
Muhammad's Knowledge of the Unseen (Ilm-e-Ghaib)
A fundamental Barelvi belief is that Prophet Muhammad has knowledge of the unseen, which is granted him by Allah (ata'e) and is not equal to God's knowledge.[74] This relates to the concept of Ummi as mentioned in the Quran (7:157). This movement does not interpret this word as "unlettered" or "illiterate", but "untaught". Muhammad learns not from humankind, but from Allah; his knowledge is universal, encompassing the seen and unseen realms. This belief predates this movement, and is found in Sunni books such as Rumi's Fihi Ma Fihi:[90]
Mohammed is not called "unlettered" [Ummi] because he was incapable of writing or reading. He is called "unlettered" [Ummi] because with him writing and wisdom were innate, not taught. He who inscribes characters on the face of the moon, is such a man not able to write? And what is there in all the world that he does not know, seeing that all people learn from him? What can the partial intellect know that the Universal Intellect [Muhammad] does not possess?
Allah has sent down to you the Book and Wisdom and has taught to you what you did not know, and great is the grace of Allah upon you" [Sura an-Nisa, verse 113].
Imam Jalal udin Al-Suyuti writes: (Taught to you what you did not know) means that Allah Most High has told the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Ahkam and Unseen.[91]
Qur'an states: This is of the tidings of the Unseen which We inspire in thee (Muhammad). Thou thyself knewest it not, nor did thy folk (know it) before this. Then have patience. Lo! the sequel is for those who ward off (evil).[Surah Hud (11), verse 49]
[91]
Qur'an states: Nor will He disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen. "But He chooses of His Apostles [for the purpose].[Sura Aali-Imran, verse 179][92]
Practices
International Mawlid Conference at Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore
Veneration of pious. This consists of the intervention of an ascending, linked and unbroken chain of holy persons claimed to reach ultimately to Muhammad who Barelvis believe intercede on their behalf with God.[14][95][96]
Visiting the tombs of Prophet Muhammad, his companions and pious Muslims, an act they believe is supported by the Quran, Sunnah and the acts of the companions.[97][98][99]
The movement views a man who trims his beard to less than a fist-length as a sinner, and shaving the beard may be considered abominable[104] or advisable.[105]
Sufi tradition
Dargah Shareef of Khwaza Moinuddin Chishti
Sufism is a fundamental aspect of this movement, and Khan, its founder, was a member of the Qadritariqa and pledged bay'ah (allegiance) to Sayyid Shah Al ur-Rasul Marehrawi.[106][107] Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi instructed his followers in Sufi beliefs and practices. Traditional Sufi practices, such as devotion to Muhammad and the veneration of walis, remain an integral part of the movement[108][109] (which defended the Sufi status quo in South Asia.[15] They was at the forefront of defending Sufi doctrines such as the celebration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad and tawassul.[15]
The wider Barelvi movement was sustained and connected through thousands of Sufi Urs festivals at Dargahs/shrines in south Asia, as well as in the Britain and other parts.[110]
Khan's efforts served to counter both reformers such as the Deobandis, as well as those influenced by them like the Tablighi Jamaat and hardliners like the anti-Sufi Ahl-i Hadith movement, which resulted in the institutionalization of diverse Sufi movements in many countries of the world, though not all Sufis self-identified as Barelvis.[111]
Presence
The three rival schools of Islamic thought that had the "largest impact" on "the masses" of Muslims in South Asia during British colonization were the Barelvi, Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith, according to Anil Maheshwari.[11] W. Kesler Jackson does not mention Ahl-e-Hadith, but says that while there were "other schools of Islamic thought", the "category" that "the vast majority of South Asian Muslims gravitated toward" were either Barelvi or Deobandi.[112]
According to Martin W. Lewis, "mapping the distribution" of adherents to Barelvi, vis-a-vis Deobandi "is all but impossible, as the two movements are spatially intertwined."[5]
India
Stamp of India - 1995- Ala Hazrat Imam Ahle Sunnat
India Today estimated that over two-thirds of Muslims in India adhere to the Sufi oriented Ahle Sunnat (Barelvi) movement.[113]
Bareilly Sharif Dargah is one of the main centers of the Barelvi movement in south Asia. Millions of People turned to seek guidance in Islamic matters towards this center of Islamic learning. Bareilly city has been heart throb of Sunni Muslims since 1870 when Ahmed Raza Khan established Fatwa committee under the guidance of his father Naqi Ali Khan. Later his son Hamid Raza Khan and Mustafa Raza Khan continued fatwa work.[114]
In mid-1970s during The Emergency (India), Indian Govt. on the advice of Sanjay Gandhi, son of Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi tried to force vasectomy. Huge but unconfirmed numbers of young men were forcibly sterilized. Government officials, even school teachers were given orders to induce a predetermined number of males to endure vasectomy or Nasbandi, as it was called. Indian Muslims were finding to difficult to oppose this harsh Govt. action as the time was of emergency and the powers were totally in the hands of Prime Minister.
Mustafa Raza Khan at that time acted without pressure and passed a verdict against vasectomy as un-Islamic. He published his judicial verdict and circulated it all over the India giving a sigh of relief to Muslims but a tension to Indian Govt. The government unsuccessfully tried to get the Fatwa withdrawn and with in two years the Indira Gandhi lost the Parliamentary elections.[115][116][117]
For Islamic missionary activities, Sunni Dawat-e-Islami (SDI) is an important Islamic preaching movement in India. It is working in at least 20 countries around the world. Muhammad Shakir Ali Noori founded it in Mumbai city. It has large network of (Dawah workers) preachers in India and in other countries. Sunni Dawat-e-Islami has established many modern and religious educational institutions around India and some in other parts of the world.[118][119][120][121]
Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema is leading organisation of south India which was organised in the aftermath of the 1921 Mappila Uprising as a response to the growing Salafi Wahabis movement in Kerala.[131][132][133]
Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqui, (JUP) Pakistan (second from right) led an international peace delegation to UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (third from left) for an end to the Iran–Iraq War:(New York, 16 June 1988)
Sufism has strong links to South Asia dating back to the eighth and ninth century and preaches religious tolerance, encourages spiritual over ritualistic practicing of Islam, and encourages diversity. The Ahle Sunnat Barelvi movement has originated from South Asian Sufism itself. The religious and political leaders of this movement were followers of Sufism and lead the masses in to revivalist Sunni movement.[140]
Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Ahl-e-Sunnat ASJ education board is the central organisation to register Ahle Sunnat Barelvi Madarsas.[153][154] The board follows Barelvi ideology and is opponent of the Wahabi doctrine.[155]
As per Islam online, around 10,000 madrassas are managed by Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Pakistan.[156]
Tahzibul Akhbar in its report on the educational services of Religious institutions has estimated that Tanzeem has 3000 institutions in Khyber Pakhtunwa and 1000 in the area of Hazara.[157]
Muhammad Ramzan, in his report on Madarsas has stated that Tanzeem has most has maximum 5584 Madarsas in Punjab state in comparison to others. 'In Lahore 336, Sheikhupura 336, Gujranwala 633, Rawalpindi 387, Faisalabad 675, Sargodha 461, Multan 944, Sahiwal 458, D.G.Khan 605, Bahawalpur 749 madarsa are affiliated with the Tanzeem'. According to Rizwan, 'the Madarsas of Tanzeem are rarely involved in militancy which is maximum in Deobandis. In population, Barelvis or traditional Sunnis outnumber all other sects combined. They are about 53.4% of total population of the province'.[158]
Barelvis have been targeted and killed by radical Deobandi groups in Pakistan such as the TTP, SSP, LeJ, etc.[159] Suicide attacks, vandalism and destruction of sites considered holy to those in the Barelvi movement have been perpetrated by Deobandi extremist groups. This includes attacks, destruction and vandalism of Data Darbar in Lahore, Abdullah Shah Ghazi's tomb in Karachi, Khal Magasi in Balochistan, and Rahman Baba's tomb in Peshawar.[159] The murder of various Barelvi leaders have also been committed by Deobandi terrorists.[159]
Barelvi clerics claim that there is a bias against them by various Pakistani establishments such as the DHA, who tend to appoint DeobandiImams for mosques in their housing complexes rather than Barelvi ones. Historical landmarks such as Badshahi Masjid also have Deobandi Imams, which is a fact that has been used as evidence by Barelvi clerics for bias against Barelvis in Pakistan.[160][161] The Milade Mustafa Welfare Society has asserted that the Religious Affairs Department of DHA interferes with Human Resources to ensure that Deobandi Imams are selected for mosques in their housing complex.[161]
Bangladesh
The Muslims of Bangladesh have traditionally followed Sufism. A sizeable number of Bangladeshi Muslims follow Ahle Sunnat (Barelvi) movement.[9]
A majority of Bangladeshi Muslims perceive Sufis as a source of spiritual wisdom and guidance and their Khanqahs and Dargahs as nerve centers of Muslim society[162]
and large number of Bangladeshi Muslims identify themselves with a Sufi order, almost half of whom adhere to the Chishti order that became popular during the Mughal times, although the earliest Sufis in Bengal, such as Shah Jalal, belonged to the Suhrawardiyya order, whose global center is still Maner Sharif in Bihar.[163] During the Sultanate period, Sufis emerged[164] and formed khanqahs and dargahs that served as the nerve center of local communities.[162]
In Bangladesh, Sunni organization Dawat-e-Islami led Jamia-tul-Madina has produced scholars who are serving in various parts of Europe.[165]
According to Irfan Al Alawi, 'The Sufism influenced Ahle Sunnat Barelvi in United Kingdom immigrated to Britain earlier than the Deobandis, established the main mosques in Britain. They integrated into UK society and are considered law abiding.'[170]
moderate majority,[171] peaceful and pious.[172]
In 2011, the Ahle Sunnat Barelvi movement had most of the British mosques.[173]
The majority of people in the United Kingdom of Pakistani and Kashmir origin are descended from immigrants from Barelvi-majority areas.[30]
In Manchester, by 2014, Ahle Sunnat Barelvi was the largest denomination in terms of number of mosques and population.[174]
The majority of Birmingham Muslims are adherent to the Ahle Sunnat barelvi movement.[175]
The movement in Pakistan has received funding from their counterparts in the UK, in part as a reaction to rival movements in Pakistan also receiving funding from abroad.[176] According to an editorial in the English-language Pakistani newspaper The Daily Times, many of these mosques have been however usurped by Saudi-funded radical organizations.[177]
In 2017, the movement had around 538 mosques in the United Kingdom along with their fellow Sufi organisations which is second largest in terms of number.[178]
A "Barelvi Empire" was built by individual charismatic leaders of the Barelvi movement in Bradford from the early 1970s to the 1980s.[179]
Allama Arshadul Qaudri along with Peer Maroof Qadri established World Islamic Mission in 1973 at Makkah and became the leader of WIM in England. He worked in the United Kingdom to strengthen the movement of Ahle Sunna wal Jam'aat. Qadri through this movement shaped spirituality based Islam in Europe.[180]
Qamaruzzaman Azmi who is present General Secretary of World Islamic Mission worked for five decades in several parts of Europe and U.K to establish several mosques and institutions with his support and supervision.[181][182]
In Bradford, Azmi help established Islamic Missionary College (IMC) Bradford. In Manchester he established, North Manchester Jamia Mosque and in Birmingham, Ghamkol Shariff Masjid. His continuous Dawah work helped Southerland Mosque become of Barelvi.[183]
Grey Street Masjid (Grey & Queen Street) Durban, South Africa
Juma Masjid, Port Louis
The Barelvi movement has presence in various cities and town of South Africa where they have build network of Madarsas and Mosques. In South Africa, a debate with Tablighi Jama'at was called the Sunni-Tablighi controversy. The movement is represented by Sunni Jamiatul Ulema (SJU) which was founded in 1979.[187]
It was established to address the various social, welfare, educational and spiritual needs of the community and to preserve and to promote the movement's teachings.[188]
The Imam Ahmed Raza Academy is a publishing house which publishes books authored by various Barelvi authors. The academy was established in 1986 by Abdul Hadi Al-Qaadiri Barakaati, a graduate of Manzar-e-Islam.[189][190]
Darul Uloom Aleemiyah Razvia was established in 1983 and on 12 January 1990, and Muhammad Akbar Hazarvi established Darul Uloom Pretoria.[191] Darul Uloom Qadaria Ghareeb Nawaz (New Castle) is one of the leading madrasas of the mission and was founded in 1997 at Lady Smith by Muhammad Aleemuddin.[192] Jamia Imam Ahmed Raza Ahsanul Barkaat was established in 2007. All these institutions have focused more on defending Barelvi beliefs from Deobandis. Debates are common features of these institutions.[193][190]
In Durban, Barelvis run Durban's largest mosque, the Juma Mosque (Durban) which is also known as Grey Street mosque.[194] The Barelvi community celebrates Mawlid and observes anniversaries of Sufis in association with various Sufi orders.[195]
In United States and Canada the movement has found a strong following among Muslims of South Asian and in some cities it has significant presence. Two notable madrasas are Al-Noor Masjid in Houstn, Texas and Dar al-Ulum Azizia, in Dallas.[199][200]
Sunni missionary organization Dawat-e-Islami (D.I) established twelve centers in Greece and seven in Spain which are being used as mosque and madrasas.[201] In Athens, D.I has established four centers.[202]
Relations with other movements
Since the Barelvi movement was formed in reaction to the reformist Deobandi movement, relations between the two groups have been strained; Barelvi founder Ahmad Raza Khan declared Deobandis infidels and apostates.[203] Relations with other South Asian Muslim movements have been somewhat better. Leaders of the Barelvi and Ahl al-Hadith movements in the Kashmir Valley denied animosity between the groups in mid-2012, saying that Kashmiris can no longer afford sectarian strife after two decades of war.[204]
R. Upadhyay and Rajesh T. Krishnamachari of the India-based South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG) denied that Barelvism and Deobandism are mutually tolerant.[205][206] According to the SAAG analysis, the "Deobandi-Barelvi rivalry is also known to be rooted to their ethnic rivalry."[205]
Conflicts with the Taliban
Anti Terror Sunni Conference by All India Tanzeem Ulema-e-Islam
The Barelvi movement opposes South Asian Taliban movements, organising rallies and protests in India and Pakistan and condemning what they view as unjustified sectarian violence.[207] The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), an alliance of eight Sunni organizations, launched the Save Pakistan Movement to slow Talibanisation. Calling the Taliban a product of global anti-Islamic conspiracies, SIC leaders accused the Taliban of playing into the hands of the United States to divide Muslims and degrade Islam.[208] Supporting this movement, Pakistani Minister of Foreign AffairsShah Mehmood Qureshi said: "The Sunni Tehreek has decided to activate itself against Talibanisation in the country. A national consensus against terrorism is emerging across the country."[209]
In 2009, Islamic scholar Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi issued a fatwa denouncing suicide bombings[210] and criticized Taliban leader Sufi Muhammad by saying that he "should wear bangles if he is hiding like a woman". Naeemi added, "Those who commit suicide attacks for attaining paradise will go to hell, as they kill many innocent people", and was later killed by a suicide bomber.[211]
Analysts and journalists have conflicting opinions about the underlying nature of the Barelvi movement. Some describe the movement as moderate and peaceful;[212]
others describe it as affected by intolerance and radicalism, similar to other regional Islamic movements.[205][144][213][214][215][216] "Staunch Barelvis" have been criticized for their excessive use of excommunication (takfir) against opponents, creating hatred and violence in the Muslim community.[217]
According to Safdar Sial of Pak Institute for Peace Studies, traditional narratives of the Barelvis being followers of Sufism, peace-loving and moderate stands negated when it comes blasphemy-related issues.[229] Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, came into being in 1990 to contest take over of the mosques and madrasas of the Barelvi school of thought by Deobandi and Ahle Hadith groups, then there slogan was “Jawaniyan lutaain gai, masjidain bachayein gai [We will sacrifice our lives to protect our mosques]” with anti blasphemy protest newer radical slogan adopted by them is "Tauheen rasalat ki ek saza, sar tan se juda (There’s only one punishment for a blasphemer and that is beheading).[229] According to Zia Ur Rehman's geo.tv news report, Barelvi groups are politically exploiting the issue of blasphemy to exhibit their strength to counter the growing influence of Deobandi and Ahle Hadith groups and started trend of radicalisation, making it difficult to differentiate between them and jihadist groups.[229] According to the Pakistan's law enforcement official, they are sectarian group with background of organised network of criminals mainly involved in extortion cases and targeted killings, turned into a extremist group.[229]
A Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, was acquitted of blasphemy in a landmark 2018 Supreme Court decision.[230] The ruling prompted Barelvis led by Khadim Hussain Rizvi to demonstrate in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Multan, and clashes with police were reported. Muhammad Afzal Qadri (a TLP leader) said that the three Supreme Court judges "deserve[d] to be killed", and Islamabad's Red Zone was sealed off by police.[231] Rizvi demanded that Bibi be punished for blasphemy under Pakistan's penal code: "Our sit-in will go on until the government accepts our demand".[232] Arrested on 23 November 2018 with other TLP leaders,[233] he was released on bail in May 2019.[234]
^ abc"Deobandi Islam vs. Barelvi Islam in South Asia". Retrieved 30 January 2019. Among South Asian Sunni Muslims, the crucial distinction is that separating Deobandis from Barelvis, both following Hafani law. The Deobandi movement is aligned with Wahhabism and advances an equally harsh, puritanical interpretation of Islam. The Barelvi movement, in contrast, defends a more traditional South Asian version of the faith centered on the practices of Sufi mysticism. In India and especially Pakistan, tensions between the two groups can be intense, sometimes verging on open warfare.
^ abMaheshwari, Anil (2021). "6. Ahl-e-Sunnat: Energising Faith in Rough Times". Syncretic Islam. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN9789354350092. Retrieved 7 August 2021. The Barelivi ulema did not emerge out of a desire to transform standards of practice and belief ... They held fast to Hanafi law, broadly interpreted, and to a custom-laden style of Sufism ...
^ abcdefghMaheshwari, Anil (2021). "6. Ahl-e-Sunnat: Energising Faith in Rough Times". Syncretic Islam. Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
^ abJackson, W. Kesler (2013). A subcontinent's Sunni schism: The Deobandi-Barelvi dynamic and the creation of modern south Asia. Syracuse University. p. 4. While Deobandi leaders like Muhammad Qasim and Mahmud Hasan were introducing what might arguably have been deemed “new” concepts into Islamic practice (Qasim and Hasan, of course, would have characterized such “new” concepts as those originally upheld and practiced by the Prophet and his companions but subsequently forgotten, ignored, abandoned, or erroneously replaced by the majority of South Asian Muslims), Ahmad Riza Khan crusaded to protect the old. The Barelvis, then, held that their version of Islam—the “true,” “Sunni” version—had existed all along.
^"Syncretic Islam [publisher's blurb]". ITSEYERIS.com. Retrieved 14 August 2021. An Islamic scholar, jurist and an Urdu poet, Ahmad Raza Khan was the founder of the Barelvi movement whose defining feature of thought is the active veneration of the Prophet as the most exalted of all beings.
^ abMaheshwari, Anil (2021). "6. Ahl-e-Sunnat: Energising Faith in Rough Times". Syncretic Islam. Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 7 August 2021. The Barelvis, like the Deobandis, insisted that they were leaders [not??] of separate sects but of the mainstream Sunni Muslims. And so, they called themselves the Ahl-e-Sunnat wa Jama'at, the classical name for the Sunni community. [note, the first sentence makes no sense without "not" inserted after "leaders"].
^Globalisation, Religion & Development, pg. 53. Eds. Farhang Morady and İsmail Şiriner. London: International Journal of Politics and Economics, 2011.
^Elizabeth Sirriyeh, Sufis and Anti-Sufis: The Defense, Rethinking and Rejection of Sufism in the Modern World, pg. 49. London: Routledge, 1999. ISBN0-7007-1058-2.
^Riaz, Ali (2008). Faithful Education: Madrassahs in South Asia. Rutgers University Press. p. 75. ISBN978-0-8135-4345-1. ...a defining characteristic of the Ahl-e-Sunnat wa Jama'at, as the name suggests, is the claim that it alone truly represents the sunnah (the Prophetic tradition and conduct), and therby the true Sunni Muslim tradition. ...
^Roy & Sfeir 2007, p. 92 "...as distinct from the reformist construction of Deoband."
^Gregory C. Doxlowski. Devotional Islam and Politics in British India: Ahmad Raza Khan Barelwi and His Movement, 1870–1920. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Oct–Dec 1999.
^Introduction of Ahle Sunnat wal Jama'at (Sawad E Azam Ahl E Sunnat Wal Jama'at Aqaed W Mamulat) by Yaseen Akhtar Misbahi, published by Darul Qalam, Delhi 2014
^untouchable assertionThe Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-century India, by Nandini Gooptu. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN0-521-44366-0. Page 157.
^The Fundamentalism Project, by Martin E. Marty, R. Scott Appleby, American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Published by University of Chicago Press, 1991. ISBN0226508781. Page 564.
^Kukreja, Veena; Singh, M. P. (2005). Pakistan: Democracy, Development, and Security Issues. SAGE Publishing. ISBN978-93-5280-332-3. The latter two organizations were offshoots of the pre-independence Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Hind and were comprised mainly of Deobandi Muslims (Deoband was the site for the Indian Academy of Theology and Islamic Jurisprudence). The Deobandis had supported the Congress Party prior to partition in the effort to terminate British rule in India. Deobandis also were prominent in the Khilafat movement of the 1920s, a movement Jinnah had publicly opposed. The Muslim League, therefore, had difficulty in recruiting ulema in the cause of Pakistan, and Jinnah and other League politicians were largely inclined to leave the religious teachers to their tasks in administering to the spiritual life of Indian Muslims. If the League touched any of the ulema it was the Barelvis, but they too never supported the Muslim League, let alone the latter's call to represent all Indian Muslims.
^Riaz, Ali (2008). Faithful Education: Madrassahs in South Asia. Rutgers University Press. p. 75. ISBN978-0-8135-4345-1. ... The differences of opinion turned into a bitter fight in the late nineteenth and ealyl twentieth centuries, when Deobandis and Barelvis engaged in a fatwa war. In 1906, Ahmed Riza issued a fatwa accusing leading figures at Deoband -- including the founders of the madrassah ... of being leaders of kafir ... They were also termed Wahhabis... The Deobandi's countered ... with one of their own, testifying that the Deobandis were the only Hanafi sunnis ...
^ abcdefعلامہ مشتاق احمد نظامی علیہ الرحمہ, وسیلہ نسبت تعظیم, Noor Masjid Ka Ghazi Bazaar - Karachi
^Riaz, Ali (2008). Faithful Education: Madrassahs in South Asia. Rutgers University Press. p. 75. ISBN978-0-8135-4345-1. ... A major part of the theological literature of Ahmad Reza Khan was directed at proving that the mystical practices of the Barelwis as spiritual mentors and guides (pir) were in consonance with Islamic law or prophetic tradition...
^Sandeep Unnithan and Uday Mahurkar (31 July 2008). "The radical sweep". India Today. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
^Gwatkin, Davidson R. 'Political Will and Family Planning: The Implications of India’s Emergency Experience', in: Population and Development Review, 5/1, 29-59;
^"Kerala celebrates Bakrid adhering to COVID protocols". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020. Grand Mufti of India and President of the Islamic Community of India, Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar
^Kumar, Ashwani. "Education is key to peace, says India's Grand Mufti". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020. Sheikh Aboobacker took charge as the Grand Mufti this February and holds the supreme authority to give fatwas in relation to Islamic religious matters in India.
^OSELLA, FILIPPO, and CAROLINE OSELLA. "Islamism and Social Reform in Kerala, South India." Modern Asian Studies, vol. 42, no. 2-3, 2008, pp. 317–346., doi:10.1017/S0026749X07003198.
^VISAKH, M., SANTHOSH, R., & MOHAMMED ROSHAN, C. (2021). Islamic Traditionalism in a Globalizing World: Sunni Muslim identity in Kerala, South India. Modern Asian Studies, 1-42. doi:10.1017/S0026749X20000347
^Sanyal, Usha (2008). "Ahl-i Sunnat Madrasas: the Madrasa Manzar-i Islam, Bareilly, and Jamia Ashrafiyya, Mubarakpur". In Jamal, Malik (ed.). Madrasas in South Asia: Teaching terror?. Routledge. pp. 23–44.
^OSELLA, FILIPPO, and CAROLINE OSELLA. "Islamism and Social Reform in Kerala, South India." Modern Asian Studies, vol. 42, no. 2-3, 2008, pp. 317–346., doi:10.1017/S0026749X07003198.
^Kamran, Tahir. “The Making of a Minority: Ahmadi Exclusion through Constitutional Amendments, 1974.” Pakistan Journal of Historical Studies, vol. 4, no. 1-2, 2019, pp. 55–84. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/pjhs.4.1_2.03. Accessed 4 July 2021.
^ ab"Barelvi leader alleges pro-Deobandi bias in Defence Housing Authority", The Express Tribune, In a letter to the corps commander, who is vice chairman of the DHA, the secretary general of the Milade Mustafa Welfare Society in DHA Lahore said that the Religious Affairs Department was interfering in the Human Resources Department's responsibilities to ensure that Deobandi scholars are appointed to positions in mosques in DHA. "Because of Deobandi khateebs in DHA mosques, Barelvi people have ... opted not to go to DHA mosques", he added.
^Vahed, G., ‘Contesting “orthodoxy”: the Tablighi–Sunni conflict among South African Muslims in the 1970s and 1980s’, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 23:2 (2003), 313–34
^Kaarsholm, P. (2014). ZANZIBARIS OR AMAKHUWA? SUFI NETWORKS IN SOUTH AFRICA, MOZAMBIQUE, AND THE INDIAN OCEAN. The Journal of African History,55(2), 191-210. doi:10.1017/S0021853714000085
^Eisenlohr, Patrick. “The Politics of Diaspora and the Morality of Secularism: Muslim Identities and Islamic Authority in Mauritius.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. 12, no. 2, 2006, pp. 395–412. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3804260. Accessed 16 July 2021.
