Barelvi aqida read Sunni Islam Selimiye Camii ve Mavi Gökyüzü.jpg Beliefs Monotheism Prophethood / Messengership Holy books Angels Judgement Day Predestination Five Pillars Declaration of Faith Prayer Charity Fasting Pilgrimage Rightly-Guided Caliphs Abu Bakr Umar ibn al-Khattab Uthman ibn Affan Ali ibn Abi Talib Schools of Law Hanafi Maliki Shafii Hanbali Ẓāhirī Extinct Awzai Laythi Thawri Jariri Schools of theology Maturidi Ashari Athari Political movements Ahl al-Hadith Barelvi Deobandi Salafism Hadith collections Kutub al-Sittah Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih Muslim Al-Sunan al-Sughra Sunan Abu Dawood Sunan al-Tirmidhi Sunan ibn Majah v t e Barelvi (Urdu: بَریلوِی, Barēlwī, Urdu pronunciation: [bəreːlʋi]) is a term used for a movement within Sunni Islam of Hanafi school of jurisprudence, originating in Bareilly with over 200 million followers in South Asia.[1] The name derives from the north Indian town of Bareilly, the hometown of its founder and main leader Ahmed Raza Khan (1856–1921).[2][3][4][5][6] Although Barelvi is the commonly used term in the media and academia, the followers of the movement often prefer to be known by the title of Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat, a reference to their perception as forming an international majority movement.[7] The movement is much influenced by Sufism and the traditional folk Islam practices of South Asia, having formed as a reaction to the reformist attempts of the Deobandi movement, which was influenced by the Wahhabi movement in Arabia.[8][9] Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Presence 4 Beliefs and practices 4.1 Beliefs regarding Muhammad 4.2 Practices 4.3 Mosques 5 Relations with other movements 5.1 Conflicts with the Deobandi 5.2 Conflicts with the Taliban 5.3 Sectarian violence 6 Reaction to Blasphemy Law 7 Notable scholars 7.1 Early scholars 7.2 Present scholars 8 Notable organizations 9 Main institutions 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links Etymology[edit] To its followers, the movement is known as Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat (People of the traditions [of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad] and the community). 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 al-Hadith, Salafi and Nadwatul Ulama movements.[7][8][10] History[edit] The Barelvi movement was founded by Ahmad Raza Khan[11][12][13][14] who, after two failed attempts at establishing Islamic schools, finally succeeded in 1904 with the Manzar-e-Islam.[8][15] Though very much linked to Pakistan today, the movements foundation predated Pakistans nationhood; the movement was, essentially, founded as a defense of traditional Islam as understood and practiced in South Asia.[9] Defense of these beliefs sometimes brought the Barelvis into conflict with other movements and creeds. Unlike most other Muslim movements in the region, the Barelvis opposed the Indian independence movement due to its leadership under Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was a Hindu and not a Muslim.[16] On the other hand, Khan and his movement, being among the foremost campaigners for Sufism, were largely responsible for pulling Muslims into conflict with Hindus and were primary supporters of the Pakistan Movement.[16] The Barelvis were joined in this by all major Islamic movements in the South Asia, including Shiites and Ismailis, except the Deobandis, the Barelvis main rivals.[16][17][18] The Barelvi movement formed as a defense of the traditional mystic practices of South Asia, which it sought to prove and support.[8][9] Although the Nadwatul Ulema council was founded in 1893 to reconcile South Asias Muslim sectarian differences, the Barelvis eventually withdrew their support of the council and criticized its efforts.[8] As a reaction to the anti-Islam film Innocence 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.[19] Presence[edit] India Today estimates that the vast majority of Muslims in India adhere to the Barelvi movement,[20] and The Heritage Foundation, Time and The Washington Post both give a similar assessment for the vast majority of Muslims in Pakistan.[21][22][23][24] Political scientist Rohan Bedi estimates that 60% of Pakistani Muslims are Barelvis.[25] In Pakistani, many Barelvis have switched to Deobandi movement due to Islamization and radicalization of the society after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.[26][dead link] The majority of Pakistani and Kashmiri immigrants to the United Kingdom are descended from Barelvi-majority villages.[7] The Barelvi movement in Pakistan has received funding from Barlevis in the UK, in part as a reaction to rival movements in Pakistan also receiving funding from abroad.[27] 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.[28] Beliefs and practices[edit] Barelvi movement Sunni Barelvis consider Dargah Ajmer Shareef as their prime center of Islam in South Asia Central figures Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi Hamid Raza Khan Organizations Jamaat Ahle Sunnat, Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, Pakistan Sunni Ittehad Council, Pakistan Dawat-e-Islami, International Sunni Dawat-e-Islami, International Institutions Al Jamiatul Ashrafia · Manzar-e-Islam Al-Jame-atul-Islamia · Jamiatur Raza Notable Scholars Ameen Mian Qaudri, India Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi, Pakistan Muhammad Ilyas Qadri, Pakistan Akhtar Raza, India Qamaruzzaman Azmi, United Kingdom Muhammad Muslehuddin Siddiqui, Pakistan Arshadul Qaudri, India Literature Kanzul Iman, translation of the Quran This box: view talk edit Like other Sunni Muslims, Barelvis base their beliefs on the Quran and Sunnah and believe in monotheism and the prophethood of Muhammad. Barelvis follow the Maturidi school of Islamic theology and the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, in addition to choosing from the Qadri, Chishti, or Suhrawardi Sufi orders. Beliefs regarding Muhammad[edit] Barelvis have several beliefs regarding Muhammads nature, which distinguish them from Deobandi, Salafi and Shia groups in South Asia: He is a human being but created from light like angels, rather than from clay like other human beings.[29] He is present in many places at the same time.[30] He is still witnessing all that goes on in the world.[30] He has knowledge of that which is unknown, including the future.[31] He has Gods authority to do whatever he desires.[32] Practices[edit] Public celebration of Muhammads birthday. [33][34] Veneration of dead and living saints. This consists of the intervention of an ascending, linked and unbroken chain of holy personages claimed to reach ultimately to Muhammad, who Barelvis believe intercede on their behalf with God.[35] Visiting the tombs of Muhammad, his companions and of pious Muslims, an act the Barelvis claim is supported by the Quran, Sunnah and acts of the companions, but which opponents call shrine-worshipping and grave-worshiping and consider to be un-Islamic.[36][37][38][39] Use of devotional music[40][41][42][43] and dhikr.[44] Leaving the beard to grow for men; the movement views a man who trims his beard to less than a fist-length as a sinner, and shaving the beard is considered abominable.[45] Mosques[edit] North Manchester Jamia Mosque, UK The Manchester Central Mosque The Haji Ali Dargah Masjid, Mumbai[46] Relations with other movements[edit] Having formed as a reaction against the reformist Deobandi movement, relations between the two groups have often been strained. Ahmad Raza Khan, the founder of Barelvism, went as far as to declare not only all Deobandis infidels and apostates,[47] but also any non-Deobandis who doubted the apostasy of Deobandis.[citation needed] Although conflict has occurred, relations with other Muslim movements in South Asia have not always been hostile. In mid-2012, leaders of both the Barelvi and Ahl al-Hadith movements in the Kashmir Valley denied that there was any animosity between the two sects in the region.[48] One commentator has suggested that the Barelvi movement as a whole has begun to mix more with Shiites than in the past.[26][dead link][citation needed] According to New Delhi analyst Sushant Sareen, in contrast to the substantial Saudi funds received by the Pakistani Deobandi and Ahle Hadith movements, the countrys Barelvi movement has received almost no foreign funding. He says this is one reason no Barelvi jihadist group has grown large enough to get involved in Pakistans Islamist and sectarian politics.[49] Conflicts with the Deobandi[edit] The conflict with the Deobandi movement has been particularly heated and uncivil.[8][50] While both the Barelvi and Deobandi movements tend to prefer the Hanafi school of Islamic law and accept Sufism, their fundamental beliefs and way in practicing Sufism has kept them at odds.[7][8] 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 South Asia, 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.[51] The feat was, nevertheless, stunning. The antipathy of the Deobandis toward the Ahl-i Sunnah on the emotional level becomes more comprehensible when Ahmad Rizas fatwa receives a full explication.[52] Historically, relations between the Barelvi movement and Britain have been better than those of other Islamic movements.[7] According to Pakistani journalist Khaled Ahmed, the switchover from Barelvism to Deobandism and the gradual decline of Barelvism in the UK has resulted in the conversion of some mystically-minded Kashmiri expatriates to hardline Muslims,[26] though R. Upadhyay writing on behalf of the India-based South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG) has described as a myth the idea that Barelvism is more tolerant and moderate than Deobandism.[16] According to the same SAAG analysis, the Deobandi-Barelvi rivalry is also known to be rooted to their ethnic rivalry.[16] Conflicts with the Taliban[edit] The Barelvi movement has taken a stance against the various Taliban movements in South Asia, organising rallies and protests in India and Pakistan, condemning what they perceive as unjustified sectarian violence.[53] The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), 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 SIC charged the Taliban with playing into the hands of the United States to divide Muslims and bring a bad name to Islam.[54] Supporting this movement, the Pakistan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shah 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.[55] In 2009 another prominent Islamic Scholar of the movement, Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi, issued a fatwa denouncing suicide bombings,[56] as well as criticizing Taliban leader Sufi Muhammad by saying 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.[57] Sectarian violence[edit] Analysts and journalists have produced conflicting opinions about the underlying nature of the Barelvi movement, with some describing the group as moderate and peaceful,[58] while others describe it as being effected by intolerance and radicalism in ways similar to other Islamic movements in the region.[16][24][59][60][61][62] In the 1990s and 2000s, sporadic violence resulted from disputes over control of Pakistani mosques between the Barelvi and Deobandi movements,[63] with the conflict coming to a head in May 2001 when sectarian riots broke out after the assassination of Sunni Tehreek leader Saleem Qadri.[64] In April 2006 in Karachi, a bomb attack on a Barelvi gathering in celebration of Muhammads birthday killed at least 57 people, including several central leaders of the Sunni Tehreek.[65][66] In April 2007, Sunni Tehreek activists attempted forcibly to gain control of a mosque in Karachi, opening fire on the mosque and those inside, killing one person and injuring three others.[67] On 27 February 2010, militants believed to be affiliated with the Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba attacked Barelvis celebrating mawlid in Faisalabad and Dera Ismail Khan, again sparking tensions among the rival sects.[68] Reaction to Blasphemy Law[edit] On 4 January 2011, former governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer was assassinated by a member of the Barelvi group Dawat-e-Islami due to his opposition to the blasphemy law in Pakistan.[61][69] Over five hundred scholars of the Barelvi movement voiced support for the crime and urged a boycott of Taseers funeral.[16][24][60][62][70] According to Time, Sunni Tehreek rewarded the assassins family[71][72] and threatened Taseers family,[61][73] while another Barelvi group abducted Taseers son.[74] Supporters attempted to prevent police from bringing the perpetrator to an anti-terrorism court, blocking the way and cheering on the assassin.[75] During the same period, a number of Barelvi scholars also condemned the assassination.[76][77] Notable scholars[edit] Early scholars[edit] Hamid Raza Khan Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi — Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan Shah Ahmad Noorani — World Islamic Mission Ahmad Saeed Kazmi Muhammad Shafee Okarvi — founder of Jamaat Ahle Sunnat Shamsul-hasan Shams Barelvi Arshadul Qaudri — Jamia Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Present scholars[edit] Akhtar Raza Khan — Grand Mufti of India Muhammad Ilyas Qadri — Dawat-e-Islami Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri — Minhaj-ul-Quran Sahibzada Haji Muhammad Fazal Karim — Sunni Ittehad Council Muhammad Muneeb ur Rehman Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 12:48:27 +0000