The Barelvi movement, also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah is a Sunni revivalist movement that generally adheres to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, and Maturidi and Ash'ari schools of theology with hundreds of millions of followers, and it encompasses a variety of Sufi orders, including the Chistis, Qadiris, Suhrawardis and Naqshbandis as well as many other orders of Sufism. They consider themselves to be the continuation of Sunni Islamic orthodoxy before the rise of Salafism and the Deobandi movement.
Minhaj-ul-Quran International is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) founded by Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri in 1980 in Lahore, Pakistan. Its headquarters is based in Lahore, Pakistan and has branches in 93 countries.
The British Muslim Forum is a non-governmental Islamic organization of Barelvi movement of Sunni Muslims which represents 500 Mosques across the United Kingdom. Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada is the current Secretary of the organization.
Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to violence directed against people and places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's religious sect. As many as 4,000 Shia are estimated to have been killed in sectarian attacks in Pakistan between 1987 and 2007, and thousands more Shia have been killed by Salafi extremists from 2008 to 2014, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Sunni Sufis and Barelvis have also suffered from some sectarian violence, with attacks on religious shrines killing hundreds of worshippers, and some Deobandi leaders assassinated. Pakistan minority religious groups, including Hindus, Ahmadis, and Christians, have "faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution" in at least two recent years, according to Human Rights Watch. One significant aspect of the attacks in Pakistan is that militants often target their victims places of worship during prayers or religious services in order to maximize fatalities and to "emphasize the religious dimensions of their attack".
Salman Taseer was a Pakistani businessman and politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011.
The Ahmadiyya branch of Islam has been subjected to various forms of religious persecution and discrimination since the movement's inception in 1889. The Ahmadiyya Muslim movement emerged within the Sunni tradition of Islam and its adherents believe in all of the five pillars and all of the articles of faith required of Muslims. Ahmadis are considered non-Muslims by many mainstream Muslims since they consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the movement, to be the promised Mahdi and Messiah awaited by the Muslims.
Pakistan Sunni Tehreek or simply Sunni Tehreek is a Pakistani Barlevi organization. The organization was founded by Muhammad Saleem Qadri in 1990 in order to prevent Barelevi mosques from being seized by Deobandi and Wahabi organizations. It also sees itself as a defender of Barelvis from attacks from Deobandis and Wahabi Muslims.
Muhammad Arshad Misbahi, or Allama Maulana Hafiz Imam Muhammad Arshad al-Misbahi is the Chair of Al-Karam Scholars Association and has served at Manchester Central Mosque from 1997 to 2015 as the Khatib, Imam and Headteacher. He is a graduate from the Islamic Seminary Al Jamiatul Ashrafia. He is considered by many to be among the knowledgeable scholars of his time.
Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qadri is a Pakistani Islamic scholar who is the founder of Dawat-e-Islami. He belongs to the Qadri order of Sufism.
In 2010, a Pakistani Christian woman, Aasiya Noreen, commonly known as Asia Bibi or Aasia Bibi, was convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging. In October 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted her based on insufficient evidence, though she was not allowed to leave Pakistan until the verdict was reviewed. She was held under armed guard and was not able to leave the country until 7 May 2019; she arrived in Canada the next day.
Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi is a Syrian religious leader and Islamic scholar. He has opposed both Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Muhammad Umar Al-Qadri is a Sunni Islamic scholar and sheikh based in Ireland who was born to a Pakistani Muslim scholarly family. His father is Sunni Muslim scholar Mehr Ali Qadri, who arrived in the late 1970s in The Hague, Netherlands, to serve as an Imam. Al-Qadri is also the Chair of the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council, a national representative Muslim body with a presence in Dublin, Cork, Athlone, Portlaoise and Belfast. He unsuccessfully contested the 2024 European Parliament election for the Dublin constituency.
The All India Ulama & Mashaikh Board is an Indian Non-governmental Organisation and a representative body consisting the Sajjadanasheens of Dargahs, Imams of Mosques, the Teacher and Muftis working in the Madrasa belonging to the Barelvi movement of Sunni Islam. It was established in all the states and territories of India. It was formally founded by Mohammad Ashraf Kichhouchhwi.
Syed Muzaffar Shah Qadri is a Pakistani Islamic scholar belonging to the Barelvi movement of Sunni Islam. He is the son of Nobat Ali Shah Qadri, a sufi saint. He is a Friday preacher at the Jama Masjid Habibiya. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Jazba Welfare, a non-governmental organisation.
Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, better known as Mumtaz Qadri, was a Pakistani Elite Police commando who is known for murdering Salmaan Taseer, Governor of Punjab. Qadri was a commando of the Elite Police and, at the time of the assassination, a member of the squad of personal bodyguards assigned to protect Taseer. A follower of the Barelvi version of Sunni Islam, he assassinated Taseer on 4 January 2011. He claimed to have killed the Governor because Taseer spoke in defense of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death. Qadri was convicted by the Islamabad High Court, sentenced to death and hanged in February 2016.
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic movement in Australia, first formally founded in the country in the 1980s, during the era of the fourth caliph. However, the history of the Community dates back to the early 20th century, during the lifetime of the founder of the movement, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, with the first contacts arising as a consequence of Australians travelling to British India, and also as a consequence of early, "Afghan" camel drivers settling in Australia during the mid to late 19th century. Today there are at least four Ahmadi mosques in four of the six Australian states, representing an estimated 6,000-8,000 Australian Ahmadis in the country.
Central Jamaat-e Ahl-e Sunnat is a congregation and mosque of the Pakistani community in Oslo, Norway with 6,000 members, making it the largest mosque in the country. Within Sunni Islam, the mosque is affiliated with Sufism and the Barelvi movement.
The murder of Asad Shah was the religiously motivated murder of an Ahmadiyya Muslim shopkeeper, in the Scottish city of Glasgow on 24 March 2016. The murderer, a Sunni Muslim, Tanveer Ahmed, had driven from the English city of Bradford with the intent of confronting Shah about his claim to be a prophet. Shah had allegedly issued YouTube videos in which he claimed the status of a prophet. Mainstream Islam's belief being that Muhammad is considered as the last prophet, Ahmed regarded Shah's claims to be blasphemous. Some Muslims and mosques in the UK praised his action. Ahmed was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years.
Amer Jamil is an Islamic scholar and co-founder of the Solas Foundation and iSyllabus programme, the latter of which he is currently the Project Director. He holds a (LLB) law degree from the University of Strathclyde and BA (Hons) in Islamic studies from the University of Wales. He was also previously the Muslim Chaplain at Glasgow Caledonian University.
