John Mohammed Butt

Last updated

John Mohammed Butt
Born1950
Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago
Other namesJohn Butt
Era20th Century
RegionMuslim Scholar
School Deobandi Sunni Islam
Notable ideas
Co-creator of New Home, New Life

John Mohammed Butt is an Islamic scholar and broadcaster, known as the first Westerner to graduate from Darul Uloom Deoband. [1]

Contents

Early life

Born in Trinidad in 1950, Butt spent his early life in Walton-on-Thames, England, and attended boarding school at Stonyhurst College before becoming a hippie and traveling to Pakistan. [2]

Conversion to Islam and life in Pakistan

Arriving in Swat in 1969, he was impressed by the tribal way of life and (unlike most of his fellow hippies) settled in the area, learning Pashto and Dari (he speaks a total of seven languages). [2]

He converted to Islam in 1970. He studied for eight years at Darul Uloom Deoband in India, graduating in 1984, the only Westerner to do so since its foundation in 1866. In Deoband, he studied under the scholars like Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri. [3] Although he continued to live mainly in Swat, he began spending part of each year as the Muslim chaplain at Cambridge University. [2] He left Swat in 2010 when his house was washed away by floods. [1]

Broadcasting career

In 1993 he worked with the BBC World Service to create a new Pashto and Dari radio soap opera. Loosely based upon the format of The Archers , BBC Radio 4's long-running series, New Home New Life became so popular that it has been credited with influencing the Taliban not to press ahead with plans to outlaw radio. [4]

When the Taliban began to gain influence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, he saw their radical interpretation of Islam to be in conflict with the traditional Islamic tolerance of tribal culture. In response, he established the Pak/Afghan Cross-border Radio Training and Production (Pact) project in 2004, producing the Da Pulay Poray (Across the Border) programme to confront what he saw as Islamic extremism. [2]

He has continued to promote what he sees as 'mainstream' Islam, and has been among those pressing ahead with plans for a new Islamic university in Jalalabad, offering a moderate alternative to radical clerics:

It makes perfect sense. There is currently nowhere in Afghanistan where a young man can do higher Islamic studies. They go to Pakistan, where as we know some of them have become radicalised. [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibliography of Deobandi Movement</span>

This bibliography of Deobandi Movement is a selected list of generally available scholarly resources related to Deobandi Movement, a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law, formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Deoband in British India, from which the name derives, by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and several others, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857–58. It is one of the most influential reform movements in modern Islam. Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband, 1860-1900 by Barbara D. Metcalf was the first major monograph specifically devoted to the institutional and intellectual history of this movement. Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi wrote a book named The Tradition of the Scholars of Deoband: Maslak Ulama-i-Deoband, a primary source on the contours of Deobandi ideology. In this work, he tried to project Deoband as an ideology of moderation that is a composite of various knowledge traditions in Islam. This list will include Books and theses written on Deobandi Movement and articles published about this movement in various journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, seminars, websites etc. in APA style. Only bibliography related to Deobandi Movement will be included here, for Darul Uloom Deoband, see Bibliography of Darul Uloom Deoband.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibliography of Darul Uloom Deoband</span>

This bibliography of Darul Uloom Deoband is a selected list of generally available scholarly resources related to Darul Uloom Deoband, a leading Islamic seminary and Muslim theological centre in India at which the Deobandi movement began, founded in 1866. It is one of the most influential reform movements in modern Islam. It created a largest network of satellite madrasas all over the world especially India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan neighboring countries in Asia and beyond, and as far afield as the Caribbean, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States. Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband, 1860-1900 by Barbara D. Metcalf was the first major monograph specifically devoted to the institutional and intellectual history of Deoband. Syed Mehboob Rizwi wrote History of Darul Uloom Deoband in 1977 in 2 volumes. This list will include Books and theses written on Darul Uloom Deoband and articles published about Deoband in various journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, seminars, websites etc. in APA style. Only bibliography related to Darul Uloom Deoband will be included here, for Deobandi movement, see Bibliography of Deobandi Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deobandi jihadism</span> History of Deobandi movement

Deobandi jihadism refers to a militant interpretation of Islam that draws upon the teachings of the Deobandi movement, which originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century. The Deobandi movement underwent three waves of armed jihad. The first wave involved the establishment of an Islamic territory centered on Thana Bhawan by the movement's elders during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, before the founding of Darul Uloom Deoband. Imdadullah Muhajir Makki was the Amir al-Mu'minin of this Islamic territory. However, after the British defeated the Deobandi forces in the Battle of Shamli, the territory fell. Following the establishment of Darul Uloom Deoband, Mahmud Hasan Deobandi led the initiation of the second wave. He mobilized an armed resistance against the British through various initiatives, including the formation of the Samratut Tarbiat. When the British uncovered his Silk Letter Movement, they arrested him and held him captive in Malta. After his release, he and his disciples entered into mainstream politics and actively participated in the democratic process. In the late 1979, the Pakistan–Afghan border became the center of the Deobandi jihadist movement's third wave, which was fueled by the Soviet–Afghan War. Under the patronage of President Zia-ul-Haq, its expansion took place through various madrasas such as Darul Uloom Haqqania and Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S) provided political support for it. Trained militants from the Pakistan–Afghan border participated in the Afghan jihad, and later went on to form various organizations, including the Taliban. The most successful example of Deobandi jihadism is the Taliban, who established Islamic rule in Afghanistan. The head of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S), Sami-ul-Haq, is referred to as the "father of the Taliban."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deobandi fiqh</span> Contribution of Deobandi movement

Deobandi fiqh is a school of Islamic jurisprudence that is based on the Hanafi school of Islamic law. It is associated with the Deobandi movement, which originated in India in the late 19th century and has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly in South Asia. Deobandi fiqh emphasizes a strict adherence to the Quran and the Sunnah, and seeks to ensure that all aspects of daily life are guided by Islamic law. It places a strong emphasis on the principles of fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence, and is known for its strict interpretation of Islamic law. It also emphasizes the importance of Islamic ethics and morality, and emphasizes the need for Muslims to lead a pious and virtuous life. Deobandi fiqh has had a significant influence on Islamic education and scholarship, particularly in South Asia and among the global South Asian diaspora. It plays a foundational role in the judiciary of Afghanistan. It has also been associated with various Islamic political movements and has been a subject of controversy and debate within the Muslim community.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ghouri, Nadine (22 January 2011). "John Mohammed Butt: The hippy who became an imam". From Our Own Correspondent. BBC Radio 4.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Albone, Tim (9 December 2007). "Cambridge mullah John Butt takes on radicals with radio". The Times. Retrieved 23 October 2001.
  3. Butt, John (16 March 2020). A Talib's Tale: The Life and Times of a Pashtoon Englishman. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN   9789353058029.
  4. Brockes, Emma (23 October 2001). "A long way from Ambridge". The Guardian.