‘Divided we stand’: Some clerics reconcile, others fall out
As two major clerics appeared to have resolved their differences ahead of an upcoming conference in London, their coming together prompted divisions elsewhere among Barelvi groups in the United Kingdom.
Tehreek-i-Minhajul Quran chief Dr Tahirul Qadri is to chair the Peace for Humanity Conference at Wembley Arena on Sunday. Sources said that Minhajul Quran leaders, concerned that they wouldn’t be able to fill the 12,000-seat arena for the conference, had reached out to Pir Syed Abdul Qadir Jillani,
Markazi Jamaate Ahle Sunnat Britain and Europe chief, to seek his support.
Prominent UK cleric Pir Munawwar Hussain Jamati arranged a meeting between the two leaders and Jillani organised a reception at Pavilion Hall in Walthamstow shortly afterwards where several Barelvi scholars including Jamaate Ahle Sunnat president Maulana Nisar Beg Qadri, former Jamaate Ahle Sunnat UK president Syed Zahid Hussain Shah, Syed Anwar Kazmi, Syed Ahmad Shah Tirmizi, Allama Qazi Abdul Aziz Chishti, Syed Sabir Hussain and Mazhar Hussain Gilani, pledged their support for the peace conference.
Pir Jillani later received 4,000 tickets for the conference to give to his followers, said an official of the JAS UK chapter.
But the apparent reconciliation between Jillani and Qadri, said to have been at odds for 30 years, did not sit well with everyone. Shortly after their coming together, a group of 200 JAS clerics organised a meeting in Bradford where they announced that they would boycott the peace conference and Pir Abdul Qadir Jillani. They said that the Barelvi Muslims of the UK had no link with Minhajul Quran.
Sunni Ittehad Council chairman Sahibzada Fazle Karim also refused the Minhajul Quran’s invitation to the conference during his recent visit to the UK.
JAS Pakistan Secretary General Allama Syed Riaz Hussain Shah arrived in London a few days ago and held “marathon meetings” over the last few days to try and forge unity, said sources.
Mazhar Hussain Gilani, a central leader of Markazi Jamaate Ahle Sunnat and son-in-law of Pir Jillani, denied that Jillani or Qadri had ever issued fatwas against each other. He said ‘some people’ had ‘created misconceptions’ between the two.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2011.
COMMENTS (7)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Dr. Tahir Qadri is the great leader its gift for mankind god may bless him and long life.for his work for peace for all mankind.
@Afsheen shouket: I beg to differ with yor opinions brother. Unfortunately we need to be open to constructive criticism because remeber all humans are prone to make mistakes apart from ambiya. this is something that has led to many wx-MQI members severing their ties with the organisation as Professor sahib seems to always be embroiled in controversy and before the emotional blackmail starts it's not hasad or jealousy but when you consider islam came to rid the world of idol worship i fail to see how anybody can defend the actions that took place at this even in the pretext of "global harmony". quite simply as mentioned before this will not happen until the Muslim leaders be they political or religious have the courage to expose the root cause of terrorism rather than constantly being apologetic. It's really unfortunate that a man who has done so much is undoing it all by his own hands. re the attendance i'd love yo know what percentage of the audience were non-MQI members. without being cynical i wouldn't be surprised that 90% wer e members and ppl given courtesy tickets. it's a disgrace and as someone who is a sunni I thank Allah teh majority of our shuyukh have distanced themselves from such events in the name of "peace"
This is totally a false reporting .The person reported this news has already reported against the brelvi clerics specifically Sunni ittehad council .
Well said sister afsheen, i endorse your views
From reading the above article, all I have to say is this is indeed very poor reporting! I was present at the event that took place on 24th September and can say, that the aim and objective of the conference was very much clear- "to bring unity and promote peace".
It is deeply sad that a newspaper of this standard has chosen to concentrate on such a petty issue, rather then congratualte Dr Tahir Ul Qadri and its organisation Minhaj Ul Quran for organising such an event.
Speaking as a moderate Muslim, I congratulate Dr Tahir Ul Qadri for voicing the views of a ordinary peaceful Muslim, I hope in the future newspapers such as this will cedit and showcase postives of anyone who promtes peace and love, rather then write petty gossip, heard through chinese wisppers.
Thank you