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Barelvi movement

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Barelvi (Hindi: बरेलवी, Urdu: بریلوی, /bəreːlviː/ Ahl-e-Sunnat) is a movement of Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent. The Barelvi movement was started in 1880 to promote South Asia's distinctive Islamic practices, which are deeply influenced by Sufism.[1] The movement in British India was greatly shaped by the writings of Ahmad Riza Khan (1856-1921).[2] The movement takes its name from Ahmad Raza Khan's home city of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.[3] The name is also variously spelled as Barelwi, Barelavi, or Bareillwi.

In India, the Grand Mufti is traditionally from the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam. Presently Muhammad Akhtar Raza Khan is the Grand Mufti of India.

Etymology

The movement is known to its followers as Ahle Sunnat ("People of the traditions of Mohammed"), differentiating it from Deobandi, Ahle Hadith and Nadwa movements.[2] However, the term Ahle Sunnat is also used by Sunnis in general, many of whom do not recognise an exclusive claim to the term by the Barelvi movement. The term Barelvi is also used pejoratively by some orthodox Islamic groups which disapprove of the Barelvi's adherence to heterodox practices, many of which are derived from Sufism.[2]

Presence

India Today estimates that the majority of Muslims in India adhere to the Barelvi movement,[4] and The Times (London) writes that a majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom adhere to the movement as well.[5] Similarly, the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation gives such estimates for the majority of Muslims in Pakistan.[1]

Beliefs

Like other Muslims, Barelvis base their beliefs on the Quran and Sunnah, and believe in monotheism and the prophethood of Muhammad. Barelvis follow the Ashari and Maturidi schools of aqidah, the Hanafi school of fiqh, and the Qadri, Chishti, Naqshbandi or Suhrawardi Sufi orders.

Distinctive beliefs

  • The prophet Muhammad (sallallah o alaihi wasalam) is made out of noor (light), and is present at all places and at all times, despite his physical death.
  • Muslim saints (the Sufi aulias or, in Farsi pīrs ) are able to intercede to Allah on behalf of the living


Distinctive practices

Missionary activities

Barelvis have expanded their missionary activities in various countries of Asia, Europe, North America and South Africa through an organization named Ahle Sunnah-wa-Al-Jamaah (ASWJ). Ilyas Attar Qadri founded an additional ASWJ foundation, Dawat-e-Islami, in 1981[citation needed].

Relations with other Islamic movements

The major opposition to the Barelvis in the Indian subcontinent come from another Sunni school of Islam called the Deobandis, who claim to follow a more puritanical version of Islam and forbid special reverence to the Sufi saints and even to the prophet Muhammad, because they fear that this could lead to polytheism (shirk). The Salafi/Wahhabi movement originating in Saudi Arabia has also been condemned by the Barelvis as extremist and misled. Barelvi ulema have declared Indian Salafi preacher Zakir Naik as non-Muslim and kafir, for praising Yazeed I, the murderer of prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein, and for forbidding intercession of Prophet Muhammad and the Aulia.[6]

Ahmad Raza Khan issued fatwas of takfir against the founders of the Deobandi sect, Wahabism and Qadianism. Commenting on this, historian Usha Sanyal in her research entitled, Devotional Islam and Politics in British India: Ahmad Raza Khan Barelwi and His Movement, 1870-1920 stated:

Not only did Ahmad Raza Khan obtain confirmatory signatures from other scholars in the subcontinent, he managed to get agreement from a number of prominent ulama in Mecca. That occurred in the first years of the twentieth century--long before the Al-Saud and their Wahhabi allies got control of the Haramayn. The feat was, nevertheless, stunning. The antipathy of the Deobandis toward the Ahl-i Sunnah on the emotional level becomes more comprehensible when Ahmad Riza's fatwa receives a full explication.[7]

Opposition to the Taliban

The Barelwi movement of South Asia have taken a stance against Taliban movements in South Asia, organising rallies and protests in India and Pakistan, condemning what they perceive as unjustified sectarian violence.[8] The Sunni United Council (SUC),an amalgamation of eight Sunni organizations, launched the Save Pakistan Movement to stem the process of Talibanisation. Terming the Taliban a product of global anti-Islam conspiracies, the leaders of SUC charged it with playing into the hands of the United States to divide Muslims and bring a bad name to Islam.[9]

Supporting this movement, the foreign minister of Pakistan Shah Mahmood 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.[10]

Sectarian Violence

In the 1990s and 2000s, sporadic violence resulted from disputes over control of Pakistani mosques between Barelwi and Deobandi and Salafi groups.[11] In May 2001, sectarian riots broke out after Sunni Tehreek leader Saleem Qadri was assassinated by the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a Deoband-affiliated terrorist group.[12] In April 2007, Sunni Tehreek activists attempted to forcibly gain control of a mosque in Karachi, opening fire on the mosque and those inside, resulting in one death and three injuries.[13]

Notable scholars

Early scholars

Present scholars

Notable organizations

Main Institutions

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Pakistan plays Sufi card against jihadis | World War 4 Report". Ww4report.com. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  2. ^ a b c http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=69415&jid=ASS&volumeId=32&issueId=03&aid=69414
  3. ^ http://attahawi.com/2009/05/07/ahmad-riza-khan-barelwi-in-the-path-of-the-prophet-by-Usha Sanyal/
  4. ^ Sandeep Unnithan and Uday Mahurkar (2008-07-31). "The radical sweep". India Today. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  5. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2402973.ece
  6. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62c63A6Vp7U
  7. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go2081/is_4_119/ai_n28754415/pg_2/?tag=content;col1
  8. ^ http://www.twocircles.net/2009jun17/indian_muslims_protest_against_talibani_terrorism.html
  9. ^ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/pakistans-sunnis-unite-against-talibanisation_100190373.html
  10. ^ http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C05%5C05%5Cstory_5-5-2009_pg3_1
  11. ^ " Serious threat to Pakistan's civil society" The Hindu, April 18, 2006
  12. ^ The Hindu : Opinion / Leader Page Articles : Serious threat to Pakistan's civil society
  13. ^ "One dead as ST tries to take control of Ahle Hadith mosque" Daily Times (Pakistan), April 11, 2007
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