Пәкістан-Канадалық Ислам ғалымы Мухаммад Тахир ул Қадри

Pakistani–Canadian Islamic scholar

Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri (‎; born 19 February 1951) is a Pakistani–Canadian Islamic scholar and former politician who founded Minhaj ul Quran International and Pakistan Awami Tehreek. He served as a professor of international constitutional law at the University of the Punjab, and is the founding chairman of several sub organizations of Minhaj ul Quran International. Additionally, he has been featured in every edition of The 500 Most Influential Muslims since its first edition in 2009.

Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri was born on February 19, 1951, in a Punjabi Muslim family from the Jhang District of Punjab, Pakistan. He received both non religious and Islamic education at a young age and was a student of Tahir Allauddin Al Qadri Al Gillani.

Minhaj ul Quran International is an organization established on 17 October 1980, with branches in over a hundred countries.

In May 1989, he founded Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and successfully contested elections in 1990, becoming a Member of the National Assembly. However, on 29 November 2004, Qadri announced his resignation from the National Assembly of Pakistan in protest of the counter terrorism policies of then President Pervez Musharraf, whom he viewed as dictatorial. Subsequently, in 2005, he relocated to Canada.

In December 2012, after residing in Toronto, Canada for seven years, Qadri returned to Pakistan and launched a political campaign. He called for a "million men" march in Islamabad to protest against the government's corruption. He demanded the establishment of an independent body to conduct electoral reforms, with the aim of ensuring free and fair elections. Additionally, he stated that if the constitutional requirements were not met, he would reject the upcoming elections. On 14 January 2013, a crowd marched down the city's main avenue, with thousands of people pledging to engage in a sit in until their demands were met. When he commenced the long march from Lahore, approximately 50,000 people accompanied him. He addressed the rally in front of parliament, stating, "There is no Parliament; there is a group of looters, thieves, and dacoits Our lawmakers are the lawbreakers." After four days of sit in, the Government and Qadri signed an agreement called the Islamabad Long March Declaration, which promised electoral reforms and increased political transparency. Critics have alleged that the protests were a ploy by the Pakistan Armed Forces to delay elections and undermine the influence of the civilian government. They have pointed to Qadri's close ties to the military, dual nationality, and questionable foreign and Pakistani sources of funding as evidence to support their claims. Lawyers for the Supreme Court of Pakistan asserted that Qadri's demands are unfeasible because they conflict with the Constitution of Pakistan. The Tribune reported on 17 February 2013, that Qadri seemed to have capitulated on most of his demands in the Islamabad Long March Declaration.

On 17 June 2014, a violent clash occurred between the Punjab Police and Pakistan Awami Tehreek activists resulting in the deaths of several protesters from police gunfire. Tahir ul Qadri said the police refused to log a First Information Report. The Baqir Najfi inquiry found that police actively participated in the massacre to remove barriers that were installed on orders of the High Court. Tahir ul Qadri's flight was scheduled to land at Islamabad airport; however, the Pakistani authorities denied landing permission, leading to the plane being diverted to Lahore airport. Tahir ul Qadri expressed concerns about potential harm from the Government of Punjab, and was personally escorted by the convoy of the Governor of Punjab to his residence in Model Town, Lahore. As of the end of September 2014, the Inqilab March began, with sit in protests with allied partner Imran Khan, chairman and founder of Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) and organiser of 2014 Azadi March, in the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad. Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri did not fully join their protest marches nor decline to support each other. On 10 August 2014, Qadri formally announced that his party's political march, the Inqilab March, would proceed parallel with PTI's Azadi march. Both marches were organised to take different routes, albeit closely mirroring each other. It is apparent that the two parties have similar objectives yet different aims and strategies. The announcement of two parallel marches by parties in opposition gave rise to speculation that a coalition between PTI and PAT was possible. The chiefs of the two parties never clearly stipulated a formal coalition; but an informal agreement to support each other was achieved. On 21 August 2014, Qadri said that the government had not been allowing his workers to supply food items and potable water to the participants of the sit in. The Daily Dawn of 31 August 2014 claimed that hundreds of people were injured in the federal capital as police battled throngs of protesters led by Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek. Then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to act as a mediator. General Raheel Sharif met with Tahir ul Qadri and Imran Khan to end the sit in. It was due to the intervention of General Raheel Sharif that the police report was logged. Tahir ul Qadri congratuled his supporters in their struggle for justice. It was reported that Tahir ul Qadri led the Eid prayer at Islamabad's D Chowk. The congregation was attended by Imran Khan and other political leaders, including Raja Nasir Abbas Jafary of MWM. Animal sacrifies were also offered in the name of Allah following the Sunnah of Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Ismail.

In August 2010, Qadri held an anti terrorism camp for Muslim youth at the University of Warwick with the aim of tackling extremism in the UK. He organised the camp under the auspices of Minhaj ul Quran UK.

In 2011, he spoke at the WEF that took place in Davos, Switzerland.

Seven days after the Faisalabad Gathering, Qadri made a public gathering in Lahore on 19 October 2014.

The 2014 Lahore Clash, more commonly known as the Model Town Tragedy or the Lahore massacre, was a violent clash that ensued between the Punjab Police and Pakistan Awami Tehreek activists on 17 June 2014 resulting in several protesters being killed by the police gunfire. Five police officers remain under arrest. The standoff lasted for almost 11 hours when the police's anti encroachment squad launched an operation to remove the barriers from the road leading to the offices of Minhaj ul Quran and the residence of PAT founder Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri in Model Town, Lahore. Although, police officials were given a court order by PAT leaders, stating "due to terrorism issues, place security barriers in front of Minhaj ul Quran and the residence of PAT founder Qadri", but the police still attacked. The incident was broadcast live on various local news channels and there were conflicting accounts of how the standoff began. Police claimed that they were attacked by people inside the PAT secretariat, a claim that is denied by party chief Qadri. In the live footage broadcast on television, the policemen were shown firing assault rifles and lobbing tear gas canisters at the protesting masses while the protesters threw stones at the police for defence.

Qadri and his party observed Youm e Shuhada (Day of Martyrs) at 9 August 2014 in Tehreek e Minhaj ul Quran secretariat in Model Town. A Country Wide clash occurred between Police and the Workers of PAT. After the gathering of People, He assured his supporters and the government that the rally on 10 August would be peaceful while requesting his followers to bring their prayer mats for recitation of the Quran.

He has been invited to deliver his lectures by several organisations. In July 2011, he gave a lecture on the issues of terrorism and integration at the Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia where he was invited by the member of the NSW Legislative Council, Shaoquett Moselmane MLC. Qadri also made appearances on Australian media, where he discussed Islam, terrorism and possible troop withdrawals from Afghanistan. On 24 September 2011, Minhaj ul Quran convened the "Peace for Humanity Conference" at Wembley Arena in London where Tahir ul Qadri and the assembled speakers issued a declaration of peace on behalf of religious representatives of several faiths, scholars, politicians, and 12,000 participants present from various countries. This conference was endorsed by, or received supportive messages from, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar University, Ban Ki moon (Secretary General of the United Nations), Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), David Cameron (British Prime Minister), Nick Clegg (British Deputy Prime Minister), Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury) and others. On 30 November 2011, Qadri delivered a lecture at the "Peaceful Future of Afghanistan" conference in Istanbul, Turkey which was organised by the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution of George Mason University together with Marmara University and was attended by more than 120 Afghan leaders. On 22 February 2012, Qadri visited Delhi for a four week tour of India. Qadri delivered a message of peace and said: "Terrorism has no place in Islam", while addressing the fatwa book launch in Delhi. People gathered to listen to Qadri along with government officials in Gujarat. Qadri also urged the Pakistani and Indian governments to reduce their defence expenditures and instead spend money on the welfare of poor people. He also visited Ajmer, where he was given a large reception, at which he gave a lecture on Sufism. On 4 January 2015, he declared terrorism as biggest problem of the world.

The Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings is a 600 page (Urdu version), 512 page (English version) is an Islamic decree by Qadri which demonstrates from the Quran and Sunnah that terrorism and suicide bombings are unjust and evil, and thus un Islamic. It was published in London as a book. This fatwa is a direct refutation of the ideology of al Qaeda and the Taliban. It is one of the most extensive Islamic anti terrorism rulings, an "absolute" condemnation of terrorism without "any excuses or pretexts" which goes further than ever and declares that terrorism is kufr under Islamic law. The launch was organised by Minhaj ul Quran UK. Qadri said during the launch that "Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of excuses or ifs or buts." The fatwa received widespread media attention and was positively covered by the international press. According to CNN, experts see the fatwa as a significant blow to terrorist recruiting. CNN's Amanpour show added the fatwa summary to its website and declared it to be fatwa for peace, while the US State Department declares the fatwa to be significant step in taking Islam back from terrorists. Before it had been released, Douglas Murray described the Fatwa on Terrorism, in an article in the Evening Standard, as "potentially important", although he said "A single fatwa will not change the level of denial and self criticism inherent in so much of modern Islam". ITV news channel questioned the credibility of the fatwa and asks if it was not by the British government because senior counter terrorism officials from Scotland Yard and MI5 were present at the launch. The 512 page English book version of the fatwa, Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings, (London: Minhaj ul Quran, 2011. ) has a foreword by John Esposito and an introduction by Joel Hayward, both of whom share Qadri's scholarly assessment that, regardless of any intention, the evil of terrorism remains evil and must be exposed, opposed and condemned. It also has a certification from the Islamic Research Council of Al Azhar, Egypt issued on 9 January 2011. The Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings has been officially endorsed by Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. In January 2011, the fatwa was discussed at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011. In June 2011, Pope Benedict XVI received a copy of the fatwa from representatives of Minhaj Interfaith Relations. The Pope reportedly appreciated that it promoted peace, harmony and interfaith dialogue. The Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings was reviewed positively by Kemal Argon who published a review in the Journal of Rotterdam Islamic and Social Sciences, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2011, pp. 149–160. Islamic University of Rotterdam, Netherlands.

On 7 April 2019, Qadri addressed scholars at the OIC meeting in Riyadh and presented Minhaj ul Quran's Counter Terrorism Syllabus.

According to one newspaper pundit, the legal theological opinion by Qadri in his fatwa on terrorism creates an impression that there is a consensus in Islam on the Khawarij. Think Magazine (World Religions) cited Dr. Tahir ul Qadri as providing a competing vision of Islam against that of Osama Bin Laden. In November 2017, Mandla Mandela (the grandson of South African revolutionary leader Nelson Mandela) visited Pakistan after his conversion to Islam in 2016. He arrived in Pakistan on Tahir ul Qadri's invitation to attend Tajdar e Khatam e Nabuwwat Conference in Pakistan.