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Former Muslim political party in the Indian subcontinent From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Majlis-e Ahrar-e Islam (Urdu: مجلس احرارلأسلام), also known as Ahrar for short, is a religious Muslim political party in the Indian subcontinent that was formed during the British Raj (prior to the Partition of India) on 29 December 1929 at Lahore.[3]
Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam مجلسِ احرارِ اسلام | |
---|---|
President | Syed Muhammad Kafeel Bukhari[1] |
Secretary-General | Abdul Latif Khalid Cheema[2] |
Vice President | Syed Ataullah Shah Salis Bukhari[1] |
Historical leaders | Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari Mazhar Ali Azhar Chaudhry Afzal Haq Agha Shorish Kashmiri Sheikh Hissam-ud-Din Master Taj-ud-Din Ansari Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan |
Central & Senior Vice-President | Professor Khalid Shabbir Ahmad Malik Muhammad Yousuf |
Central preacher | Maulana Muhammad Mugheera |
Central Information Secretary | Dr. Umar Farooq Ahrar |
Senior leaders | Mian Muhammad Awais Maulana Tanveer ul Hassan Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahrar Mufti Ata-ur-Rehman Qureshi Maulana Zia Ullah Hashmi Dr. Muhammad Asif |
Founder | Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari |
Founded | 29 December 1929 |
Headquarters | Ahrar Central Secretariat. 69-C, New Muslim Town, Wahdat Road, Lahore, Pakistan |
Student wing | Tehreek-e Talaba-e-Islam, Ahrar Students Federation (ASF) |
Ideology | Finality of Prophethood Hukumat-e Ilahiyya Pakistani nationalism |
Religion | Islam |
Colors | Red |
Slogan | Islam, Khatm-e-Nubuwwat |
Party flag | |
Website | |
ahrarindia www | |
The group became composed of Indian Muslims inspired by and supporting the Khilafat Movement, which cleaved closer to the Congress Party.[4] The party was based in Punjab and gathered support from the urban lower-middle class. Chaudhry Afzal Haq, Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, and Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari were the leaders of the party.[5]
Religious leaders from all sects Sunni Barelvi, Deobandi, Ahle Hadith, Shia Progressive and politically Communists were the members of Majlis-e-Ahrar. Chaudhry Afzal Haq, Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, Mazhar Ali Azhar, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan and Dawood Ghaznavi were the founders of the party.[5] The Ahrar was composed of Indian Muslims disillusioned by the Khilafat Movement, which cleaved closer to the Congress Party.[4]
The party, being a member of the All India Azad Muslim Conference, is associated with opposition to Muhammad Ali Jinnah and establishment of an independent Pakistan.[6][7] Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah was the only ahrari leader who actively participated in the Pakistan independence movement.[citation needed]
After 1947, it separated into the Majlis-E-Ahrar Islam Hind (مجلس احرارلأسلام ہند), based in Ludhiana and led by descendants of Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, as well as the Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam (مجلس احرارلأسلام اسلام), based in Lahore and led by descendants of Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari.[citation needed]
Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam or simply called 'Ahrars' had an anti-imperialist, anti-feudal and Indian nationalist ideology. It worked to free India from the British rule. This party, before fading away, was highly active in Punjab Province (British India) and left an impact on major cities of Punjab like Amritsar, Lahore, Sialkot, Multan, Ludhiana and Gurdaspur.[3]
The Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam,[8] was originally part of the failed Khilafat movement and emerged as a religio-political party after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 and the disintegration of the Khilafat movement in 1922.[3]
Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari presided over the meeting and Maulana Mazhar Ali Azhar delivered the manifesto of an All India Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam. It became first line offending party against Ahmadi Muslims by declaring that their objectives were to guide the Muslims of India on matters of nationalism as well as religion. Ahrar spearheaded the movement to have Ahmadi Muslims officially declared as non-Muslims.[9]
By the early 1930s, the Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam (hereafter called Ahrars) had become an important political party of Muslims in the Punjab. The activists' agitation centered on the princely states, and was predicated on mobilisation around socio-religious issues. Besides these campaigns, the Ahrar also participated in the mainstream political developments of British India between 1931 and 1947. Its political career can be divided into two parts; the AHRAR's response to political and constitutional issues, and its performance in electoral politics.[10]
The Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam stood strongly against the partition of India, with its leader Afzal Haq stating that the "Partition of India is, in fact, the cry of upper classes …. It is not a communal demand as some people think but a stunt in order that the poor classes may not concentrate their thought and energies on all important questions of social and economic justice."[6] It was a member of the All India Azad Muslim Conference, which gathered to show support for a united India.[7]
In November 2012, the Government of Pakistan banned Abdul Latif Khalid Cheema, leader of Tehreek-e-Khatme Nabuwwat and Secretary General of Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam, from delivering a speech in the Chichawatni and district Sahiwal area due to the security situation in Muharram.
The president of Majlis-e-Ahrar Syed Ata-ul-Muhaimin Bukhari was also banned from delivering any speeches for three months in Multan.[citation needed]
In Pakistan, the party opposed the Ahmadiyya Movement.[11][12][13] This culminated in the 1953 Lahore riots; in 1954, Majlis-e-Ahrar was banned. The associated Islamist religious movement Tehreek-e-Khatme Nabuwwat remains.[citation needed]
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