Abdul Aziz (Pakistani cleric)
Muhammad Abdul Aziz | |
|---|---|
 Aziz delivering the Friday sermon at Red Mosque. | |
| Chancellor of Jamia Faridia | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Abdullah |
| Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Abdullah |
| Chancellor of Jamia Hafsa | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Abdullah |
| Personal life | |
| Born | January 10, 1960 |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent |
|
| Citizenship |  Pakistani |
| Alma mater | Jamia Farooqia Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia |
| Relations | Abdul Rashid Ghazi (brother) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| School | Hanafi |
| Teachers | Saleemullah Khan |
| Movement | Deobandi |
Mawlānā Muhammad Abdul Aziz (Urdu: محمد عبد العزيز) is a Pakistani Islamic scholar belonging to the Deobandi movement within Sunni Islam, who serves as the Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid in Islamabad,[1] which was the site of a siege in 2007 with the Pakistani army.[2] He also serves as the Chancellor of Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa.[3]
He is the son of Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi, and elder brother of Abdul Rashid Ghazi.[4]
Aziz was released from custody by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2009 and acquitted in 2013.[5][6]
Early life and Education
[edit]He is an ethnic Baloch, descending from the Sadwani clan of the Mazari tribe, in the town of Rojhan in Rajanpur, the border district of Punjab province of Pakistan.[7] He first came to Islamabad as a six-year-old boy from his home town in Rajanpur, when his father was appointed Khatib of Lal Masjid in 1966.[8]
He studied for few years at Islamabad College, a public school from where he completed his Intermediate and then joined Jamia Farooqia, where he was a student of Saleemullah Khan.[7]
Aziz later graduated with a Dars-i Nizami degree from Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia, a Madrasa in Karachi.[9]
After Graduation, Aziz served as Imam of The Mujaddiya Mosque in F-8, Islamabad, and as Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa.[10]
Father's Assassination
[edit]In October 1998, Aziz's father was assassinated in the courtyard of Lal Masjid as he was returning from teaching a class at Jamia Faridia.[11] The assassin afterwards, fired at Aziz, who barely escaped death.[12][13]
The assassin escaped with the help of an accomplice waiting outside in a car. Aziz's father died of his injuries on the way to the hospital.[14]
Lal Masjid
[edit]Following his father's assassination, Aziz was appointed Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid and succeeded his father as the Chancellor of both Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa.[8]
He closely followed the supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, and typically resisted being photographed.[15] He warned the government of attacks in the case of a violent police operation launched against the seminary. "If the government fails to eradicate all these moral evils from the society within the specified period of one month the students of the seminary would themselves take actions against all the people involved in such activities," said Abdul Aziz while addressing Friday Prayer congregation at Lal Masjid.[16]
2007 Showdown and Arrest
[edit]On 3 July 2007, the standoff with the government ended in bloody gun battles in which some publications claim that more than 1,000 students were killed and scores wounded.[17] The official death toll is much lower, at fewer than 300.[18]
On 4 July 2007 at 8:05 a.m., Aziz was arrested while leaving the complex disguised in a burqa.[19]
Aziz claims the reason for his cross-dressing escape was that he was called "by a senior official of an intelligence agency with whom he has been in touch for a long time" (Aziz admitted that he and his brother had done this many times before when they were declared wanted by the government) and since this man could not enter into the mosque to meet him, he asked Aziz to come down to Aabpara police station, situated on a walking distance from the mosque and asked him to wear a burqa to avoid identification.[20]
Release
[edit]
Aziz was released on 16 April 2009 by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as he awaited trial on alleged charges of murder, incitement, and kidnapping. He was greeted by throngs of supporters.[5]
Since then he has resumed his post as Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid and has also continued to serve as Chancellor of Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa.[21][3]
Since 2001, 27 different cases have been filed unsuccessfully against him.[22][6]
Books
[edit]By him
[edit]- Allah ki azeem naimat (The Great Blessings Of God)[23]
- Islami nizam ka mujawwiza khaka (Proposed Blueprint Of Islamic System)[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Lal Masjid: Why Maulana Abdul Aziz Remains Untouchable". The Friday Times. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ Hussain, Zahid (13 July 2017). "The legacy of Lal Masjid". Dawn. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ a b الفریدیہ, جامعۃ العلوم الاسلامیہ. "تعارفِ جامعہ فریدیہ - جامعہ فریدیہ | Jamia Faridia". تعارفِ جامعہ فریدیہ - جامعہ فریدیہ | Jamia Faridia (in Urdu). Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "Islamabad Red Mosque Cleric Killed" Archived 2007-07-12 at the Wayback Machine Pakistan Times, 11 July 2007, retrieved 27 July 2009
- ^ a b Walsh, Declan (17 April 2009). "Red Mosque siege leader walks free to hero's welcome". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ a b Asad, Malik (24 September 2013). "Lal Masjid cleric acquitted in all cases". Dawn News. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ a b c Zafar Imran, "The Religious Godfather of the Punjabi Taliban: Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi", in Militant Leadership Monitor – Jamestown, volume I, issue 5 (27 May 2010), pp. 3–4
- ^ a b Khan, Zia (15 August 2010). "Crimson tide". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Nadeem F. Paracha (3 November 2013), "Red handed", Dawn News. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "Lal Masjid: a history". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ Mansoor, Riaz (2006). Hayat Shaheed E Islam (حیات شہیدِ اسلام). Maktaba Faridia. p. 56.
- ^ "شہیداسلام مولانا عبداللہ شہید شخصیت و کردار۔۔۔تحریر مولاناتنویراحمداعوان". Shaffak (in Urdu). 18 October 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ Janjua, Simran Saeed; Malik, Mishaal; Malik, Simran Saeed Janjua and Mishaal (12 July 2024). "Miscalculation or Inevitable? The Lal Masjid Siege and its Legacy". South Asia Times. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ Lal Masjid : A Brief History.
- ^ Shah, Benazir; Islam, Nazar-ul (4 February 2016). "Meeting Pakistan's Maulana Mohammad Abdul Aziz". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Farooq, Umer (7 April 2007). "Religious Cleric Threatens Suicide Attacks". OhmyNews International. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Profile: Islamabad's Red Mosque". BBC News. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ "Pakistan counts costs of bloody end to mosque siege". Reuters. 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2019.[dead link]
- ^ Walsh, Declan (4 July 2007). "Red Mosque leader attempts to flee in burka". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ Asad, Malik (8 February 2013). "Lal Masjid cleric's interview in burqa still a mystery". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ Malik, Hasnaat (25 August 2016). "Jamia Hafsa rebuilding: Govt presents relocation agreement before SC". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ "یوم مزدور". Nawaiwaqt (in Urdu). 1 May 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "Pakistan Hausbesuch beim Hassprediger". FAZ.NET (in German). 21 August 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2021.