Abdul Aziz Ghazi
Abdul Aziz Ghazi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chancellor of Jamia Faridia | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Abdullah |
| Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Abdullah (Imam) Abdul Rashid Ghazi (Khatib) |
| Chancellor of Jamia Hafsa | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Abdullah |
| Chief Executive of Jamia Faridia | |
| Assumed office 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Abdul Rashid Ghazi |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 10 January 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 |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Movement | Deobandi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Teacher | Saleemullah Khan |
| Military career | |
| Battles / wars | Soviet–Afghan War Siege of Lal Masjid |
Abdul Aziz Ghazi[a] (born 10 January 1960) is a Pakistani Islamic scholar and Islamist dissident belonging to the Deobandi movement within Sunni Islam, who serves as both the Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid in Islamabad,[1] which was the site of a siege in 2007 with the Pakistani army.[2]
Aziz also serves as the Chancellor & Chief Executive of Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa, two influential Deobandi Islamic seminaries in Islamabad.[3]
He is the son of Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi, and elder brother of Abdul Rashid Ghazi.[4]
Aziz was arrested during Operation Sunrise but was later released by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2009 and acquitted in 2013.[5][6]
Early life and education
[edit]He is an ethnic Baloch, a part of Baloch diaspora who migrated to Punjab from Baluchistan.[7] He is from the Sadwani clan of the Mazari tribe, in the town of Rojhan in Rajanpur, the border district of Punjab province of Pakistan.[8] He first came to Islamabad as a six-year-old boy from his home town in Rajanpur, when his father was appointed as Imam and Khatib of Central Mosque Islamabad (Lal Masjid) in 1966.[9]
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.[8]
Aziz later graduated with a Dars-i Nizami degree from Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia, a Madrasa in Karachi.[10]
After Graduation, Aziz served as Imam of Masjid Mujaddadiyyah in F-8, Islamabad.[11]
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.[12] The assassin afterwards, fired at Aziz, who barely escaped death.[13][14]
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.[15]
Lal Masjid and seminaries
[edit]Following his father's assassination, Aziz succeeded him as Imam of Lal Masjid and as the Chancellor of both Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa.[9]
Although most administrative duties of the seminaries were largely overseen by his younger brother, Abdul Rashid.[16] as Aziz was more interested in political activities, and would constantly issue fatwas on various public affairs.[17]
2004 Fatwa
[edit]In February 2004, Aziz who was then serving as BPS 9 government employee issued a "fatwa" (religious decree) against the army officers who were fighting against the Taliban during the Battle of Wanna in the tribal areas close to the Afghan border. In the fatwa he declared that none of the army officers who were killed in the fighting in tribal area were martyrs and religious sanctions were not available for their funeral.[18]
The fatwa was supported by several religious scholars, among them Aziz's close allies, Sami-ul-Haq and Nizamuddin Shamzai.[19]
2007 showdown
[edit]In 2007, Aziz launched an anti-vice and Shari'a campaign occupying a nearby library and embarking on vigilante raids through the city to stop what he called "un-Islamic activities," such as film vendors, barber shops and a Chinese-run massage parlor that he accused of being a brothel.[20]
He also launched a warned the government of attacks in the case of a violent police operation launched against him. "If the government fails to eradicate all these moral evils from the society within the specified period of one month they (students) would themselves take actions against all the people involved in such activities," said Abdul Aziz while addressing Friday Prayer congregation.[21]
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.[22] The official death toll is much lower, at fewer than 300.[23]
Arrest
[edit]On 4 July 2007 at 8:05 a.m., Aziz was arrested while leaving the complex disguised in a burqa.[24] 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 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.[25]
Aziz admitted that he had done this many times before when he was declared wanted by the government.[26]
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 2001, 27 different cases have been filed unsuccessfully against him.[27][6]
Subsequent activities
[edit]Since his release he has resumed his post at Lal Masjid and has also continued to serve as Chancellor of Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa.[28][3]
He is also known to closely follows the supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, and typically resists being photographed.[17]
In 2014, During peace talks between Taliban and Pakistani government, The Taliban nominated a five person team as part of their peace talks committee consisting of Aziz alongside PTI chief Imran Khan, Samiul Haq and Mufti Kifayatullah.[29][30][31] Aziz later withdrew from the committee and refused to attend future meetings with negotiators.[32][33]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Aziz kept the Lal Masjid open and refused to comply with lockdown orders, stating, “Lockdowns are not the answer to these problems. We should have faith in God at this time and place their hope in Him. If death is written for you, then it will come”.[34][35]
Books
[edit]- اللہ کی عظیم نعمت (Allah ki Azeem Naimat – The Great Blessing of Allah), 2010.[36][37]
- اسلامی نظام کا مجوزہ خاکہ (Islami Nizam ka Mujawwiza Khaka – A Proposed Blueprint of the Islamic System), 2007.[38][8]
See also
[edit]Notes
[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"[usurped] 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.
- ^ Qandeel Siddique, The Red Mosque Operation and Its Impact On the Growth of the Pakistani Taliban, report for Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), p. 13. Link.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Walsh, Declan (2020). Nine Lives Of Pakistan. National Geographic Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-393-24991-0.
- ^ a b Shah, Benazir; Islam, Nazar-ul (4 February 2016). "Meeting Pakistan's Maulana Mohammad Abdul Aziz". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Lal Masjid reissues 2004 Fatwa". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ^ umer.nangiana (14 November 2013). "2004 religious ruling: Lal Masjid had declared soldiers as 'not martyrs'". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ "At Pakistan's Red Mosque, a Return of Islamic Militancy". TIME. 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Forces on alert as deadline to Lal Masjid passes". The News International. 17 May 2007. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
- ^ "یوم مزدور". Nawaiwaqt (in Urdu). 1 May 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ Malik, Hasnaat (25 August 2016). "Jamia Hafsa rebuilding: Govt presents relocation agreement before SC". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ "Pakistani government and Taliban hold talks". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "Pakistan enters peace talks with Taliban". BBC News. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ Nordland, Rod (16 December 2015). "Pakistan Military Deals a Blow to Jihadists but Not to Ideology". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ zahid.gishkori (7 February 2014). "Peace initiative: Maulana Aziz strikes a discordant note". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ Dawn.com (8 February 2014). "Aziz likely to continue in negotiating role: Yousuf Shah". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ "Pakistani Crowds Still Gather For Friday Prayers". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ Hashim, Asad. "Pakistanis gather for Friday prayers defying coronavirus advisory". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ Ghazi, Abdul Aziz (2005). Allah ki Azeem Naimat (اللہ کی عظیم نعمت) [The Great Blessing of Allah] (in Urdu). Lal Masjid Publications.
- ^ "Pakistan Hausbesuch beim Hassprediger". FAZ.NET (in German). 21 August 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Ghazi, Abdul Aziz (2006). Islami Nizam ka Mujawwiza Khaka (اسلامی نظام کا مجوزہ خاکہ) [A Proposed Blueprint of the Islamic System] (in Urdu). Lal Masjid Publications.