Barelvi (Hindi: बरेलवी, Urdu: بریلوی, /bəreːlviː/) is a term used for a movement of Sufi, Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent. The movement is known as Ahle Sunnat to its followers.

The movement in British India was shaped by the writings of Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi (1856–1921).^[1] The movement defends contemporary traditionalist Islamic beliefs and practices from the criticisms of movements like the Deobandi, Wahabi and Ahl al-Hadith.^[2] This included a defence of many traditional practices and rites associated with popular Sufism.^[3]

Etymology[link]

To its followers the movement is known as Ahle Sunnat wal Jama'at ("People of the traditions [of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad] and the community"), to lay exclusive claim to be the legitimate form of Sunni Islam, in opposition to its reformist rivals like the Deobandi, Ahl al-Hadith or Salafi and Nadwatul Ulama movements.^[4]

Presence[link]

India Today estimates that the vast majority of Muslims in India adhere to the Barelvi movement,^[5] and The Times (UK) writes that most (South Asian) Muslims in the United Kingdom also adhere to the movement.^[6] Similarly, the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation gives such estimates for the vast majority of Sunni Muslims in Pakistan.^[7]

Beliefs and practices[link]

Like other Muslims, Barelvi base their beliefs on the Qur'an and Sunnah, and believe in monotheism and the prophethood of Muhammad. Barelvis follow the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools of aqidah, any one of the four school of fiqh, and the Qadri, Chishti, Naqshbandi or Suhrawardi Sufi orders.

Beliefs regarding Muhammad[link]

Barelvis have several beliefs regarding the nature of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, which distinguish them from Deobandi, Salafi and Shia groups in South Asia:

• He is noori bashar: a human made from God's light (noor).^[8]
• He is hazir (present in many places at the same time).^[9]
• He is nazir (witnessing all that goes on in the world).^[9]
• He has ilm-e-ghaib (knowledge of the unseen/unknown).^[10]
• He is mukhtaar kul (having the authority to do whatever he desires as granted to him by God).^[11]

Practices[link]

• Public celebration of the Mawlid (the birthday Muhammad).^[12][13]
• Asking auliyā' (Muslim saints) for intercession to God on behalf of the living.^[14]
• Ziyarat (visiting) the mazar (tombs) of notable Muslims.^{[citation needed]}

Mosques[link]

• 

  North Manchester Jamia Mosque, UK

• MosqueLarge.jpg

  Largest Jama Masjid in England,Ghamkol Sharif

• 

  The Manchester Central Mosque

• 

  Makkah Masjid, Hyderabad,India

• 

  The Haji Ali Dargah Masjid, Mumbai

• 

  Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri, India

• 

  Na Khoda Masjid, Calcutta, India

• 

  Islamic Center of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• 

  Al-Rashid Mosque Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• 

  Masjid-an-Noor, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

• 

  Salaheddin Islamic Centre, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

• 

  Ottawa Mosque Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Relations with other movements[link]

Support[link]

This movement is working in line with more traditional Sufi Islam, which is established in other parts of the world. The views and ideologies shared by them are also similar. The All India Ulema & Mashaikh Board, representing Ahle Sunnat movement of South Asia, has demanded protection and reconstruction of shrines in Hijaz Mecca and Medina, destroyed in 1803 and 1804 by the Saudis, such as the shrine built over the tomb of Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, and even intended to destroy the grave of Muhammad himself as idolatrous. Even in 1998 the Saudis bulldozed and poured gasoline over the grave of Aminah bint Wahb, the mother of Muhammad, causing resentment throughout the Muslim world.^{[15][16][17][18]}

Opposition[link]

Islamic Scholar Ahmad Raza Khan, along with other religious figures, issued fatāwā of apostasy against the founders of the Deobandi, Wahhabism, Shia Islam and "Qadiani" (Ahmadiyya. 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 subcontinent, 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.^[19] The feat was, nevertheless, stunning. The antipathy of the Deobandis toward the Ahl-i Sunnah on the emotional level becomes more comprehensible when Ahmad Riza's fatwa receives a full explication.^[20]

Opposition to the Taliban[link]

The Barelvi movement has taken a stance against Taliban movements in South Asia, organising rallies and protests in India and Pakistan, condemning what they perceive as unjustified sectarian violence.^[21] The Sunni United Council (SUC), 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 SUC charged the Taliban with playing into the hands of the United States to divide Muslims and bring a bad name to Islam.^[22]

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.^[23]

Sectarian violence[link]

In the 1990s and 2000s, sporadic violence resulted from disputes over control of Pakistani mosques between Barelvi and Deobandi.^[24] In May 2001, sectarian riots broke out after the assassination of Sunni Tehreek leader Saleem Qadri.^[25] In April 2006 in Karachi, a bomb attack on a Barelvi gathering to celebrate the mawlid (Muhammad's birthday) killed at least 57 people, including several central leaders of the Sunni Tehreek.^[26][27] 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.^[28] On February 27, 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.^[29]

Notable scholars[link]

Early scholars[link]

Present scholars[link]

Notable organizations[link]

In Pakistan, prominent Barelvi religious and political organizations include^[30]:

Other organizations include:

Main institutions[link]

See also[link]

• Maulana, Andhe ki laathi, a book detailing theological debates between Barelvis and Deobandis

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Riaz, Ali (2008). Faithful Education: Madrassahs in South Asia. Rutgers University Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=HxOOwy-4J4UC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA75#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Geaves, Ron (2006). "Learning the lessons from the neo-revivalist and Wahhabi movements: the counterattack of the new Sufi movements in the UK". In Malik, Jamal; Hinnells, John R.. Sufism in the West. Routledge. pp. 142–157. http://books.google.com/books?id=VgGVulz0gjcC&pg=PA142#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Jones, Kenneth W. (1989). Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India, Part 3. 1. Cambridge University Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=8HV4nHv8urgC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA70#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Malik, Jamal, ed. (2008). Madrasas in South Asia: Teaching terror?. Routledge. http://books.google.com/books?id=0lo_Whlz-sYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb. 
• Sanyal, Usha (2008). "Ahl-i Sunnat Madrasas: the Madrasa Manzar-i Islam, Bareilly, and Jamia Ashrafiyya, Mubarakpur". In Malik, Jamal. Madrasas in South Asia: Teaching terror?. Routledge. pp. 23–44. http://books.google.com/books?id=0lo_Whlz-sYC&lpg=PA23&pg=PA23#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Sanyal, Usha (2005). Ahmed Riza Khan Barelwi: In the Path of the Prophet. Makers of the Muslim World. Oxford: Oneworld. http://www.scribd.com/doc/33417132/Ahmad-Riza-Khan-Barelwi-In-the-Path-of-the-Prophet-Makers-of-the-Muslim-World. 
• Sirriyeh, Elizabeth (1999). Sufis and Anti-Sufis: The Defense, Rethinking and Rejection of Sufism in the Modern World. Routledge. ISBN 0-7007-1058-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=taESmRsDlo4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb. 
• Sirriyeh, Elizabeth (2004). "Sufi Thought and its Reconstruction". In Taji-Farouki, Suha; Nafi, Basheer M.. Islamic Thought in the Twentieth Century. I.B. Tauris. pp. 104–127. ISBN 1-85043-751-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=miT_ySSiwacC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA104#v=onepage&q&f=false. 

External links[link]

• Ahlesunnat Network Pakistan
• Most Popular Site
• Imam Ahmed Rida books
• Islamic Academy
• Madani Community
• books from Pakistan
• Turkish Sunni Books

• Institutions/Organization
• Dawat-e-Islami
• Al-quraan Islamic foundation Netherlands
• Sunni Dawate Islami Of India
• [http://www.nafseislam.com/en/Media.php
• Noore Madinah Network
• Faizan-e Attar
• Idara Sirat e Mustaqeem
• Sunni.org.uk
• Official Website of Silsalah-e-QadriahAl-Syed Abdul Qadir Al-Gillani Al-Jilani(RA) - Baghdad- Iraq
• Al-quraan Islamic foundation Netherlands
• Barkatiya Org

This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (November 2011)

Wasim Barelvi is an Indian Urdu poet.^[1] His ghazals are very popular. He has been awarded the "Firak International Award".  Barelvi is Vice Chairman of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language(NCPUL) .He has also performed at Culrav 2012 (the cultural event of NIT Allahabad).

• 

  Prof. Wasim Barelvi

• 

  Prof. Wasim Barelvi

• 

  Prof. Wasim Barelvi

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wasim Barelvi

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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2011)

Mujahid Barelvi is a veteran journalist from Pakistan.^[1] He has a current, daily evening show “Doosra Pehlu” for CNBC Pakistan.

Mujahid was the first Pakistani journalist to enter Kabul in 1979, after the Soviet Invasion. He was also the secretary of the Karachi Press Club for two years from 1987. He is responsible for several prolific articles for political journals and newspapers and has authored six books on Afghanistan and Baluchistan. As a progressive writer and publisher he founded various magazines, weeklies, and monthlies. He founded Sonehra Daur Karachi in the 80's. Bankari was a monthly that would help a political activist know about the economic and fiscal realities.

See also[link]

• List of Pakistani journalists

References[link]

This Pakistani biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e