Israr Ahmed

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Israr Ahmed.

Israr Ahmed is a well-known religious figure in Pakistan, India, the Middle East, and the North America. He is the founder of the Tanzeem-e-islami, an off-shoot of the Jamaat-e-Islami. He was born on April 26, 1932 in Hisar District (a district of East Punjab, now a part of Haryana) in India.

1 Education
2 Background
3 Criticisms
4 Books and Magazines
5 External links

[edit] Education

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 Allama Iqbal and Maulana 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 Jami`yat-e-Talaba and then for the Jama`at-e-Islami. Ahmed 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.

[edit] Background

His thinking is influenced by Muhammad Iqbal, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, Amin Ahsan Islahi, Farahi, Rafi-ud-Din, Abul Kalam Azad, Usmani, and Mahmood ul-Hasan and it is said that he has derived most of his ideas from them. He was formerly a part of Jamaat-e-Islami and he left them to form his own group. It is said that he did not like the jamaat-e-islami's methodology of entering politics. He believes in establishing an Islamic political, socio-economic and religious system in Pakistan. Once, re-establishing Pakistan then he envisages to take the movement actively to bordering countries.

[edit] Criticisms

Almost every group among the Muslims have some criticism from their own perspectives. The Salafis say that he advocates the phliosophy of Wahdat al-wujud which was a thought started by Ibn Arabi. The Salafis consider this as a heretical belief which throws a person out of the pale of Islam. They also claim that his Bai'ah (the pledge of allegiance) is a reprehensible Bid'ah (innovation). The Barelvi group on the other hand say that he does not give importance to their rituals and sometimes has spoken against their beliefs.