African elephants form a widely-accepted taxon, the genus Loxodonta

A taxon (plural: taxa) is a group of (one or more) organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement. Defining what belongs or does not belong to such a taxonomic group is done by a taxonomist with the science of taxonomy. It is not uncommon for one taxonomist to disagree with another on what exactly belongs to a taxon, or on what exact criteria should be used for inclusion.

Taxonomists sometimes make a distinction between "good" (or natural) taxa and others that are "not good" (or artificial). Today it is common to define a good taxon as one that reflects evolutionary (phylogenetic) relationships, but this is not mandatory.

A taxon may be given a formal name, or a scientific name. Such a scientific name is governed by one of the Nomenclature Codes, which sets out rules to determine which scientific name is correct for that particular grouping.

Advocates of phylogenetic nomenclature, using cladistic methods, do require taxa to be monophyletic, consisting of all descendants of some ancestor. They generally do not refer to taxa as their basic unit, but to "clades," a clade being a special form of taxon. However, even in traditional nomenclature, few taxonomists of our time would establish new taxa that they know to be paraphyletic.^[1] A famous example of a widely accepted taxon that is not also a clade is the "Reptilia."

Definition[link]

The Glossary of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999) defines^[2] a

• "taxon, (pl. taxa), n.

A taxonomic unit, whether named or not: i.e. a population, or group of populations of organisms which are usually inferred to be phylogenetically related and which have characters in common which differentiate (q.v.) the unit (e.g. a geographic population, a genus, a family, an order) from other such units. A taxon encompasses all included taxa of lower rank (q.v.) and individual organisms. [...]"

But there are other definitions.

Ranks[link]

A taxon can be assigned a rank, usually (but not necessarily) when it is given a formal name. The rank of a given taxon is not necessarily fixed, but can be altered later by another (or the same) taxonomist.

"Phylum" applies formally to any biological domain, but traditionally it was always used for animals, whereas "Division" was traditionally often used for plants, fungi, etc.

The hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia. Intermediate minor rankings are not shown.

A prefix is used to indicate a ranking of lesser importance. The prefix super- indicates a rank above, the prefix sub- indicates a rank below. In zoology the prefix infra- indicates a rank below sub-. For instance, among the additional ranks of class are superclass, subclass and infraclass.

Rank is relative, and restricted to a particular systematic schema. For example, liverworts have been grouped, in various systems of classification, as a family, order, class, or division (phylum). The use of a narrow set of ranks is challenged by users of cladistics; for example, the mere 10 ranks traditionally used between animal families (governed by the ICZN) and animal phyla (usually the highest relevant rank in taxonomic work) often cannot adequately represent the evolutionary history as more about a lineage's phylogeny becomes known. In addition, the class rank is quite often not an evolutionary but a phenetical and paraphyletic group and as opposed to those ranks governed by the ICZN, can usually not be made monophyletic by exchanging the taxa contained therein. This has given rise to phylogenetic taxonomy and the ongoing development of the PhyloCode, which is to govern the application of names to clades.

See also[link]

• ABCD Schema
• Alpha taxonomy
• Folk taxonomy
• Chresonym
• Cladistics
• International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN)
• International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN)
• Rank (botany)
• Rank (zoology)
• Segregate (taxonomy)

References[link]

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. (March 2008)

Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke during Erasure performing on 1 July 2011
Background information
Birth name	Vincent John Martin
Born	(1960-07-03) 3 July 1960 (age 51) South Woodford, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Synthpop, New Wave
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, remixer, DJ, producer
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, violin, piano, bass guitar
Years active	1979–present
Labels	Mute Records Reset Records
Associated acts	Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly, Erasure, VCMG, Robert Marlow
Website	www.vinceclarkemusic.com
Notable instruments
Roland Synthesizers, Moog Synthesizers, Oberheim Synthesizers, Casio CZ-101

Vince Clarke (born 3 July 1960) is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been a member of a number of groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure.

Early years[link]

This section requires expansion.

Born Vincent John Martin, in South Woodford, London (then in Essex) and raised in Basildon, Essex, he initially studied the violin and then the piano.

Depeche Mode[link]

In the late-1970s, Clarke and schoolmate Andy Fletcher formed the short-lived band No Romance in China. In 1979, he teamed up with Marlow & Gore to form French Look, an early incarnation of Depeche Mode. Another band, named Composition of Sound, followed with another addition of Martin Gore and also, Fletcher. Clarke provided vocals until 1980, when singer Dave Gahan joined the band, which was now renamed Depeche Mode. At that time, Clarke adopted his stage-name. The band initially adopted a slick synthesised electropop sound, which produced the album Speak and Spell and the Clarke-penned singles "Dreaming of Me", "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough" in 1981.

Clarke left Depeche Mode shortly thereafter. There were many rumoured reasons pertaining to his departure. Clarke himself has stated that he did not enjoy the direction in which the band was going.^{[citation needed]} He commented on Depeche Mode's later material as being a little dark for his taste, but good nonetheless. He also commented: "Martin was a strong writer. He always had been. And I think when I left, it gave him the chance just to sort of emerge as the songwriter. I mean, he could always write songs. It's not like he just started because I left".^{[cite this quote]} Clarke also stated that he didn't enjoy the public aspects of success, such as touring and interviews, and found himself frequently at odds with his bandmates, particularly on the tour bus.^[1] He also stated: "I think everybody in the band, especially myself, imagined that the reason we were doing so well was because of themselves… We were pretty young and very lucky, and things had happened very quickly for us and I don't think we were really mature to handle the situation."^[2] Depeche Mode went on to achieve international stardom.

Yazoo[link]

Clarke then teamed up with singer Alison Moyet (at the time known by the nickname of 'Alf') to form the popular synthpop band Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.), which produced two albums and a string of hits including "Only You", "Don't Go", "Situation", "The Other Side of Love", "Nobody's Diary" and "Walk Away from Love".

Yazoo split in 1983, and Moyet went on to have a successful solo career. Yazoo reformed in 2008 for a series of live dates to celebrate 25 years since the duo's split.

The Assembly[link]

In 1983 Clarke teamed up with Eric Radcliffe and it was their idea to collaborate as one-off associations with different artists on each new single, under the name The Assembly, notably with singer Feargal Sharkey they scored the Top 5 hit "Never Never". In the meanwhile he founded the label Reset Records with Eric Radcliffe. During 1983 and further on in 1984, he produced four singles "The Face of Dorian Gray" "I Just Want to Dance", "Claudette" and "Calling All Destroyers" for his friend Robert Marlow, which were released on this label. They also produced an album, which was shelved but was released much later in 1999 under the name The Peter Pan Effect. In 1985, another collaboration took place with Paul Quinn of Bourgie Bourgie, the result was the single "One Day" by Vince Clarke & Paul Quinn. However, the project never took off, and Clarke moved on to other projects.^[3]

Erasure[link]

Clarke with Erasure in a performance at Delamere Forest (near Chester), England, UK on 1 July 2011

In early 1985, Clarke put an ad in Melody Maker for a singer, and one applicant was Andy Bell, who was a fan of his earlier projects. He teamed with Bell to form the group Erasure, and the duo became one of the major selling acts in British music with international hits like "Oh L'amour", "Sometimes", "Chains of Love", "A Little Respect", "Chorus", "Love to Hate You", "Take a Chance on Me" and "Always".

The band has released 16 albums to date and have enjoyed a long string of hit singles spanning their more than two decades together, most recently topped-off by the 2005 top five hit "Breathe" taken from their Nightbird album. In 2006 Erasure produced a country-western style acoustic album consisting of mostly non-single cuts from their previous albums. This album, Union Street was preceded by the single "Boy" originally included on their 1997 Cowboy album.

On 26 January 2007, in a video message on the official Erasure website,^[4] the band announced the release of their sixteenth (thirteenth studio) album, entitled Light at the End of the World. Released in the UK on 21 May 2007, with a US release the following day, it was preceded by the single "I Could Fall in Love with You", released on 2 April 2007. The second single, "Sunday Girl" was subsequently released.

The album was produced by Gareth Jones and was a more "dance oriented" effort than some of their more recent work with Clarke making reference to the new material sounding potentially a bit more like Andy Bell's 2005 solo effort Electric Blue.

Erasure went on to tour with Cyndi Lauper, Deborah Harry, Margaret Cho and other artists, for the 2007 True Colors Tour of the United States, a tour which benefited gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender freedoms and rights. Erasure then went out on their own, headlining the "Light at the End of the World" tour in North America and Europe.

The band released a new EP, Storm Chaser, in September 2007. The EP contains nine tracks, one of them the winner of an online fan remix contest, for the track "When a Lover Leaves You", from the Light at the End of the World album.

The most recent Erasure album, Tomorrow's World, was released in October 2011, featuring production by Frankmusik.

Additional work[link]

In July 1984, Clarke teamed Stephen Luscombe of Blancmange, Pandit Dinesh and Asha Bhosle. The group, West India Company, released a four track, self-titled EP.

Clarke worked with synthpop producer Martyn Ware (of Heaven 17 and The Human League) in 1999 as "The Clarke & Ware Experiment" and released the album Pretentious. The duo collaborated again in 2001 for the album Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle, which was created with "3D music technology" specifically designed for listening in headphones. 2001 also saw the release of the Clarke-produced album Erasure's Vince Clarke which featured The Peter Pan Effect, an album that he and Eric Radcliffe produced for his long time friend, Robert Marlow. Clarke wrote "Let's Get Together" for the pop girl group Girl Authority for their second album, Road Trip. The song was originally meant to be for Depeche Mode, but was never recorded by them. Clarke also co-wrote "What Do I Want From You?" with Freeform Five, for their album Strangest Things (2005).

Also in 2001, Clarke founded Illustrious Co. Ltd. with Martyn Ware, to create new forms of spatialised sound composition using their unique 3D AudioScape system, collaborating with fine artists, educational establishments, the performing arts, live events, corporate clients and educational settings round the world.^[5]

In 2004, Clarke provided additional music for an episode of Johnny Bravo entitled "The Time of My Life". This was a collaboration with Richard Butler (singer).

Clarke was an essential component of a 2000 project called Family Fantastic.^[6] They produced the album Nice!.^[7] In 2007 Family Fantastic released a second album, entitled Wonderful.

On 21 May 2009, Clarke was awarded by an "Outstanding Song Collection" prize, during the Ivor Novello Awards ceremony of the same day, in recognition of 30 years in the music industry.

Clarke was featured in the BBC Four documentary Synth Britannia.

Production and recording methods[link]

When Clarke started out in the music industry in 1979, most synthesisers were analogue (digital synthesisers were rare, and would remain that way until the launch of the Yamaha DX7 in 1983^[8]). In order to connect analogue synthesisers, analogue drum machines and analogue sequencers together, multiple CV/Gate cables were required between each device. This system was not standardised, so interoperability between instruments from different manufacturers was not always straightforward. In addition, some manufacturers used their own proprietary interfaces.^[9] When an industry-wide standard called MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was introduced in 1983, Clarke, like most other electronic musicians, gradually migrated to the new technology. However, he continued to prefer his older analogue instruments:

"... CV and Gate is tighter. I can hear and feel that it's tighter than MIDI – we can even prove it using 'scopes. Because everything is clocked simply, it arrives bang on the beat. The whole production starts to 'tick over'. Just look at Kraftwerk's stuff. I think that 'feel' has been lost with MIDI sequencers. No matter what you do with MIDI, the music will never sound as good as it did in the good old Futurist days. That's why our tracks sound the way they do."^[10]

For the Chorus album in 1991, he gathered together his collection of analogue synthesisers from various recording studio locations in London and set up a small studio in Amsterdam. This led Clarke to assemble an intricate patch system to more easily enable the control of his analogue instruments:

"... the secret is having a good patch system – not as in patching to the mixing desk, but in patching CV and Gate. Because we don't use MIDI at all, you have to run three or four cables between each synth module – CV, Gate, Filter, Amplitude or whatever – and you've got to have a really unique system to do that."^[10]

In 1993 Clarke described his approach to songwriting:

"Andy [Bell] and I get together with a guitar and a tape recorder, I'll strum some chords, he'll sing a melody and we work in little sections, four or eight bars long. Then we'll try stringing the sections together. It's like a jigsaw puzzle. I find it very hard to relate songwriting to synthesisers, actually – we write songs in a very traditional way. The electronic side of things is just to create the atmosphere. It's mostly just messing about..!
"Once we've worked out a song, I start programming up the arrangement on the BBC UMI sequencer, which lets me run 16 synths simultaneously. That way you get a better idea if parts are working together or not. Then we start refining the individual sounds. And finally the whole lot is transferred to my Roland MC4, piece by piece, so it's being run in CV and Gate. Once we've got that, it's a case of Andy sketching out vocal ideas – in the studio we use two 48 track digital tape machines, which gives Dinger 24 tracks just for his voice!"^[10]

Clarke continued to expand his collection of analogue synthesisers and in 1994 set up "37B", a recording studio built adjacent to his custom-made home, "Ammonite", in Chertsey, Surrey. From 1994 to 2003, all Erasure albums were either wholly or in part recorded at "37B".^[11][12][13]

In 2004 Clarke moved to Maine, USA. While waiting for his studio equipment to be shipped from the UK, he began using an Apple Mac laptop with Logic Pro, Max/MSP, and various software synthesisers (many of which were analogue emulations). Since then, he has continued to use Logic Pro, along with both software and analogue synthesisers:

"Nowadays, you can take the best bits from digital and analogue. On certain projects – say, if I'm doing library music – where you need to have instant recall all the time, then it's obviously much more convenient to use the computer. When it comes to writing a new song, though, I still like to have the old analogue gear there, too. But, a lot of soft synths have a character of their own, too; the Moog Modular V is just crazy!
"I think that analogue has an inherent sound to it – it's like the old argument over vinyl versus CD. It seems that you hear more frequencies coming from an analogue synth than you do from a software synth, but the great thing about the latter is that you can do far more complex modulation, both within the synth itself and on the keyboard. To emulate any of those really complex modulations on an analogue... well, you'd need a mile of cable."^[14]

As of 2009, Clarke has installed his analogue synthesisers alongside his Logic Pro-based workstation in a custom-built commercial studio called "The Cabin" in Maine.^[15][16][17]

Current/recent studio equipment: Dave Smith Instruments Mopho, Roland System 700, Roland 100M, Roland Jupiter-8, Roland Jupiter-4, Roland MKS-80, Roland SH-1, Roland VP-330, Roland JP-8000, Roland Juno-60, Roland Juno-106, Roland Super JX, Roland D-550, ARP 2500 Modular, ARP 2600, PPG Wave 2.2, Waldorf Microwave, Waldorf Pulse, Moog Modular, Minimoog, Moog Source, E-Mu Modular System, Buchla 100 series Modular, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, Oxford Synthesiser Company OSCar, Synton Syrinx, Korg MS-20, Korg MS-10, Korg 700, Korg M1, Korg DVP, Serge Modular, Polyfusion Modular, Oberheim Xpander, Oberheim SEM System, RSF Kobol, Electronic Music Studios VCS 3, Matten and Wiechers x2 48 track sequencers total 96 track., Sennheiser Vocoder VSM201, Apple Ipad 2, Apple Power Mac G5, Apple MacBook Pro.^[18][19]

Current/recent software: Apple Logic Pro, Cycling '74 Max/MSP, Arturia ARP 2600 V, Arturia Minimoog V, Arturia Moog Modular V, GForce impOSCar, GForce Oddity, LinPlug Octopus, Muon Tau Pro, Native Instruments Absynth, Native Instruments Reaktor, Native Instruments FM7, Native Instruments FM8, Vienna Symphonic String & Choir Libraries.^[19][20]

Personal life[link]

Clarke has been married to Tracy Hurley since 2004. They have a son named Oscar and live together in the United States, in Maine. Tracy Hurley is the sister of the American writer Tonya Hurley whose husband, Michael Pagnotta, is the manager of Erasure. ^[21][22]

Clarke is left-handed.

Discography[link]

with Depeche Mode

• Speak & Spell (1981, album)
  • "Dreaming of Me" (1981, single)
  • "New Life" (1981, single)
  • "Just Can't Get Enough" (1981, single)
• The Singles 81>85 (1985, compilation)

with Yazoo

• Upstairs at Eric's (1982, album)
  • "Only You" (1982, single)
  • "Don't Go" (1982, single)
  • "The Other Side of Love" (1982, single)
• You and Me Both (1983, album)
  • "Nobody's Diary" (1983, single)

with The Assembly

• "Never Never" (1983, single)

In duet with Paul Quinn

• "One Day" (1985, single)

With Erasure

• See Erasure discography

Solo

• Lucky Bastard (1993, Sample CD)

In duet with Martyn Ware

• Pretentious (1999, as The Clarke and Ware Experiment)
• Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle (2001, simply as Vincent Clarke & Martyn Ware)

with Family Fantastic

• Nice! (2000)
• Wonderful (2008)

In RadioActivators

• "Knock on Your Door" (2001, single)

In VCMG

Vince Clarke, ex-member of Depeche Mode collaborated with his former colleague Martin Gore for the first time since 1981 as techno duo VCMG on an instrumental minimalist electronic dance album called Ssss, released on 12 March 2012. The first EP entitled Spock was released worldwide exclusively on Beatport on 30 November 2011.^[23] The second EP Single Blip was once again first released exclusively on Beatport on 20 February 2012. Their third EP, "Aftermaths" has a release date set on 25 June 2012.

Remixes

He has remixed the following songs for artists other than Erasure:

• 1988 Happy Mondays – "WFL (Wrote for Luck)"
• 1990 Betty Boo – "24 Hours" (Oratronic Mix)
• 1991 Fortran 5 – "Heart on the Line" (V.C. Mix)
• 1991 Habit – "Power"
• 1992 Nitzer Ebb – "Ascend" (Anonymous Mix)
• 1992 The Wolfgang Press – "Angel"
• 1992 Betty Boo – "I'm on My Way" (The Batman and Robin Mix)
• 1993 The Time Frequency – "Real Love'93"
• 1994 Sparks – "When Do I Get to Sing "My Way""
• 1994 Alison Moyet – "Whispering Your Name" (A Remix)
• 1995 Egebamyasi – "Remont" (Vince Version)
• 1997 White Town – "Wanted" single
• 2001 Marlow – "My Teenage Dream" (Stealth Mix)
• 2001 Marlow – "No Heart" (Vince Clarke 2001 Dance Mix)
• 2002 Simple Minds – "Homosapien"
• 2005 Andy Bell – "Crazy" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2005 Rammstein – "Mann Gegen Mann" (Popular Music Mix)
• 2006 Rosenstolz – "Nichts Von Alledem (Tut Mir Leid)" (Mix Up Mix)
• 2006 Noirhaus – "It's Over"
• 2009 The Saturdays – "Issues" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2009 Marlow – "Home" (Vince Clarke's Starstruck Mix)
• 2009 Polly Scattergood – "Other Too Endless"
• 2009 Franz Ferdinand – "No You Girls" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2009 The Presets – "If I Know You" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2009 Space Cowboy – "Falling Down" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2009 A Place to Bury Strangers – "In Your Heart" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2009 Ash – "True Love 1980" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2010 Andy Bell – "Call On Me" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2010 Andy Bell – "Non-Stop" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2010 Goldfrapp – "Believer" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2011 Billie Ray Martin – "Sweet Suburban Disco" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2011 Depeche Mode – "Behind the Wheel" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2011 Plastikman – "Elektrostatik" (Vince Clarke Remix)
• 2012 Liars - "No.1 Against The Rush" (Vince Clarke Remix)

References[link]

External links[link]

Media related to Vince Clarke at Wikimedia Commons

• Erasure (Andy Bell & Vince Clarke) official Web site.
• Official website
• Illustrious website

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. Its embedded lists may contain items that are not encyclopedic. Tagged since February 2009. It may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since February 2008. It may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. Tagged since May 2009.

Israr Ahmed (Urdu: اسرار احمد; April 26, 1932 – April 14, 2010) was a Pakistani Islamic theologian^[1] followed particularly in South Asia and also among the South Asian diaspora in the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America.^[2] Born in Hissar, (today's Haryana) in India, the second son of a government servant, he is the founder of the Tanzeem-e-islami, an off-shoot of the Jamaat-e-Islami.He has spent more than 50 years preaching Quraan.He hosted a daily show on Peace TV, a 24 hours Islamic channel broadcast internationally, and until recently^[when?] on ARY Qtv.

Early life and education[link]

Ahmad was born on April 26, 1932 in Hisar (a district of East Punjab, now a part of Haryana) in India, the second son of a government servant. He graduated from King Edward Medical College (Lahore) in 1954 and later received his Master's degree in Islamic Studies from the University of Karachi in 1965. He came under the influence of 'Abul Ala Maududi' as a young student, worked briefly for Muslim Student's Federation in the Independence Movement and, following the creation of Pakistan in 1947, for the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and then for the Jamaat-e-Islami. Ahmad resigned from the Jama`at in April 1957 because of its involvement in the electoral politics, which he believed was irreconcilable with the revolutionary methodology adopted by the Jama'at in the pre-1947 period.^[2]

Religious work[link]

While still a student and an activist of the Islami Jami`yat-e-Talaba, Ahmad became a Mudarris (or teacher) of the Qur'an. Even after resigning from Jama`at, he continued to give Quranic lectures in different cities of Pakistan, and especially after 1965 spent a great deal of time studying the Quran.He also worked with the tablighi jamaat but then left the organization due to some methodological differences.

In 1967 Ahmad wrote “Islamic Renaissance: The Real Task Ahead”, a tract explaining his basic belief. This was that a rebirth of Islam would be possible only by revitalizing iman (faith) among the Muslims – particularly educated Muslims – and the propagation of the Qur'anic teachings in contemporary idiom and at the highest level of scholarship is necessary to revitalize iman. This undertaking would remove the existing dichotomy between modern physical and social sciences on the one hand, and Islamic revealed knowledge on the other.

In 1971 Ahmad gave up his medical practice to devote himself full time to the Islamic revival. In 1972 he established or helped establish the Markazi Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Qur'an Lahore, Tanzeem-e-Islami was founded in 1975, and Tahreek-e-Khilafat Pakistan was launched in 1991.

Ahmad first appeared on Pakistan Television in 1978 in a program called Al-Kitab; this was followed by other programs, known as Alif Lam Meem, Rasool-e-Kamil, Umm-ul-Kitab and the most popular of all religious programs in the history of Pakistan Television, the Al-Huda, which made him a household name throughout the country.^{[citation needed]} His television lectures generally focused on the revitalization of the Islamic faith through studies of the Quran. Ahmad also criticized modern democracy and the electoral system and argued that the head of an Islamic state can reject the majority decisions of an elected assembly.^[3] Although he did not like to receive it personally, Ahmad was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1981. He has to his credit over 60 Urdu books on topics related to Islam and Pakistan, 9 of which have been translated into English and other languages. in 21st century Ahmad came on peace TV and taught Islam to people so they could understand Islam.

Health[link]

Ahmed relinquished the leadership of Tanzeem-e-Islami in October 2002 on grounds of bad health and Hafiz Aakif Saeed is the present Ameer of the Tanzeem to whom all rufaqaa of Tanzeem renewed their pledge of Baiyah.

Influences[link]

Supporters describe his vision of Islam as having been synthesized from the diverse sources. He has also acknowledged the "deep influence" of Shah Waliullah Dehlavi, the 18th century Indian Islamic leader, anti-colonial activist, jurist, and scholar.^[4] Ahmed followed the thinking of Maulana Hamiduddin Farahi and Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi, concerning what his followers believe is the "internal coherence of and the principles of deep reflection in the Qur'an". Furthermore, Ahmed followed Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi in regards to what he believes is the "dynamic and revolutionary conception of Islam."

"In the context of Qur'anic exegesis and understanding, Ahmed was a firm traditionalist of the genre of Maulana Mehmood Hassan Deobandi and Allama Shabbir Ahmad Usmani; yet he presented Qur'anic teachings in a scientific and enlightened way ..."^[2] Ahmed believed in what he called “Islamic revolutionary thought,” which consists of the idea that Islam – the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah – must be implemented in the social, cultural, juristic, political, and economic spheres of life. In this he is said to follow Mohammad Rafiuddin and Muhammad Iqbal. The first attempt towards the actualization of this concept was reportedly made by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad through his short-lived party, the Hizbullah. Another attempt was made by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi through his Jamaat-e-Islami party. Although the Jamaat-e-Islami has reached some influence, Ahmed resigned from the party in 1956 when it entered the electoral process and believed that such an involvement led to "degeneration from a pure Islamic revolutionary party to a mere political one".

Tanzeem-e-Islami[link]

Originally a member of Jamaat-e-Islami, Ahmed became disappointed with its electoral activity, "significant policy matters", and what he saw as the "lack of effort to create an Islamic renaissance through the revolutionary process." He and some other individuals resigned from JI and in 1956 founded the nucleus of Tanzeem-e-Islami, an attempt to create a "disciplined organization." "A resolution was passed which subsequently became the Mission Statement of Tanzeem-e-Islami."^[2]

Along with his work to revive "the Qur'an-centered Islamic perennial philosophy and world-view" Ahmed aimed with his party to "reform the society in a practical way with the ultimate objective of establishing a true Islamic State, or the System of Khilafah".

Caliphate[link]

According to the Tanzeem-e-Islami website Ahmed and the party believe "the spiritual and intellectual center of the Muslim world has shifted from the Arab world to the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent" and "conditions are much more congenial for the establishment of Khilafah in Pakistan" than in other Muslim countries.^[5]

Hizb ut-Tahrir[link]

According to Tanzeem-e-Islami's FAQ, while both Hizb ut-Tahrir and Tanzeem-e-Islami share belief in reviving the Caliphate as a means of implementing Islam in all spheres of life, Tanzeem-e-Islami does not believe in involvement in electoral politics, armed struggle, coup d'état to establish a caliphate, and has no set plan of detailed workings for the future Caliphate. Tanzeem-e-Islami emphasizes that iman (faith) among Muslims must be revived in "a significant portion of the Muslim society" before there can be an Islamic revival.^[5]

Abul Ala Maududi[link]

While Ahmed "considers himself a product" of the teachings of "comprehensive and holistic concept of the Islamic obligations" of Abul Ala Maududi, he opposes Jamaat-e-Islami's "plunge" into "the arena of power politics," which he considered to have been "disastrous."^[5]

Danger of foreign powers[link]

Nov 19, 2007 Ahmed warned that "the NATO forces are waiting on the western front to move into Pakistan and may deprive the country of its nuclear assets while on the eastern border India is ready to stage an action replay of 1971 events and has alerted its armed forces to intervene in to check threats to peace in the region".^{[citation needed]}

Criticism and controversy[link]

Canada's National Post newspaper reported in 2006 that, according to Ahmad:

"Islam's renaissance will begin in Pakistan... because the Arab world is living under subjugation. Only the Pakistan region has the potential for standing up against the nefarious designs of the global power-brokers and to resist the rising tides of the Jewish/Zionist hegemony.^[6]

Asia Times reports that in September 1995 Ahmed told the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America that:

The process of the revival of Islam in different parts of the world is real. A final showdown between the Muslim world and the non-Muslim world, which has been captured by the Jews, would soon take place. The Gulf War was just a rehearsal for the coming conflict.

He appealed to the Muslims of the world, including those in the US, to prepare themselves for the coming conflict."^[7]

On July 27, 2007, VisionTV, a Canadian multi-faith religious television channel, aired an apology for broadcasting lectures by Mr. Ahmed. The channel had taken Ahmed off the air earlier that week for his derogatory comments about Jews. In reply, Ahmed "strongly refuted the impression that he hated the Jews or he held anti-Semitic views," according to the National Post, but a "written statement, issued by his personal secretary in Lahore, went on to explain Mr. Ahmad's belief that the Holocaust was `Divine punishment` and that Jews would one day be `exterminated.`"^[8]

The Post gave several quotes about Jews by Ahmed including

"It is apparent to any careful observer that the Jews have continued to suffer the floggings of Divine punishment in the present century – the Holocaust during the Second World War being a case in point.

[T]he conflict between the Jews and Muslims is going to result, ultimately, in the total extermination of the former, according to the Divine law of 'annihilation of the worse.'"^[8]

Death and funeral[link]

Ahmed died^[9] of a cardiac arrest at his home in Lahore on the morning of 14 April 2010 between 3:00 and 3:30 a.m. According to his son, his health deteriorated at around 1:30 a.m. with pain in the back, he was a long time heart patient.^[10]

His funeral (Namaz-e-Janazah) was held after the Asr (afternoon) prayers at Central Model-town Park (near Barkat Market) in the city of Lahore. It is reported that around twenty thousand people attended his funeral.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• Contemporary Islamic philosophy
• Islamism

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Israr Ahmed

• Official website
• Official website of Quran Academy