Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan

Deobandi Movement
Key figures

Qasim Nanotvi · Rashid Gangohi
Husain Madani · Mehmud Hasan
Shabbir Usmani · Ashraf Ali Thanwi
Anwar Kashmiri · Ilyas Kandhlawi
Ubaidullah Sindhi · Taqi Usmani
Notable Institutions

Darul Uloom Deoband, India
Mazahirul Uloom Saharanpur, India
Hathazari Madrassah, Bangladesh
Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama, India
Darul Uloom Karachi, Pakistan
Jamia Uloom ul Islamia, Pakistan
Jamiah Darul Uloom Zahedan, Iran
Darul Uloom London, England
Darul Uloom New York, United States
Darul Uloom Canada
Madrasah In'aamiyyah, South Africa
Movements

Tablighi Jamaat
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
Tehreek-e-Khatme Nabuwwat
Sipah-e-Sahaba
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Taliban

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) is a militant Sunni Deobandi organization, and a formerly registered Pakistani political party, established in the early 1980s in Jhang by Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi its stated goal is to primarily to deter major Shia influence in Pakistan in the wake of the Iranian Revolution.[1][2]. Although its critics accuse it of being a anti Shia anti Barelvi hate group [3] Formerly known as Anjuman-e-Sipah-e-Sahaba and the Army of the Friends of Sahaba, the organization was banned by President Pervez Musharraf in 2002 as a terrorist organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.[1][2] Many accuse it of being a hate group.

Contents

History

Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, Maulana Zia-ur-Rehman Farooqi, Maulana Eesar-ul-Haq Qasmi and Maulana Azam Tariq formed the SSP in 1985 originally under the name of Anjuman Sipah-e-Sahaba.[4]

When Jhangvi was assassinated in 1990, Maulana Azam Tariq assumed leadership of the group. Tariq led the group until October 2003 when he was killed by gunmen.[2]

An SSP leader was a minister in the Coalition Government in Punjab in 1993 and the group had actively contested elections. The group supported a proclamation to establish Pakistan as a Deobandi republic. In 2003, the organization was reestablished under the Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan but was again banned in November of that year.[2] Sipah-e-Sahaba currently operates openly under the newly adopted name of "Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat".[5]

In April 2006 a grand Barelvi congregation celebrating the birthday of Muhammad on Eid Milad un Nabi was suicide-bombed . Out of the 1,500 that had gathered, 57 died and over 100 were injured. The attackers were identified as members of the hardline Sunni sectarian group, Sipah-e-Sahaba. They believe celebration of the prophet's birthday is a sin . [6]

According to Shahbaz Bhatti, the federal minister for minorities in Pakistan, the August 2009 Gojra riots against Pakistan's Christian minority were organized and perpetrated by Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan.[7] Police arrested more than 65 people for their alleged involvement in the violence. The arrested men include Qari Abdul Khaliq Kashmiri, a leader of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan.[8]

In August 2009 Maulana Ali Sher Hyderi, the fourth chief of SSP, was killed while traveling by car through Khairpur district in Sindh province en route to Hyderabad.[5]

Another leader Abdul Rauf was killed by security officials in February or March 2010.[9]

In June 2010, Sipah-e-Sahaba was linked to sectarian violence in Karachi, where clashes followed a rally held by organizers of the banned group.[10] According to Shiite cleric Allama Abbas Komaili, at least nine Shias were killed within two weeks of unrest, while a local leader of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat was also gunned down.[11]

Links to other groups

See also

References

  1. ^ a b B. Raman, "Musharraf's Ban: An Analysis", South Asia Analysis Group , Paper no. 395, 18 January 2002
  2. ^ a b c d e "Pakistan: The Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), including its activities and status", Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 26 July 2005
  3. ^ http://criticalppp.com/archives/6484
  4. ^ a b c "Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Terrorist Group of Pakistan". South Asia Terrorism Portal. Institute for Conflict Management. http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/terroristoutfits/Ssp.htm. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 
  5. ^ a b Pakistan 'extremist' is shot dead, BBC News Online, 17 August 2009
  6. ^ http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C04%5C13%5Cstory_13-4-2006_pg3_1
  7. ^ 6 Christians Killed in Riots in Pakistan, The New York Times, 2009-08-01
  8. ^ Negligence of officials blamed for Gojra riots, Dawn (newspaper), 2009-08-03
  9. ^ "Forces claim killing two militant commanders". The News International. 2010-03-03. Archived from the original on 2010-03-04. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenews.com.pk%2Fdaily_detail.asp%3Fid%3D226981&date=2010-03-04. Retrieved 2010-03-01. "He along with two other leaders was said to be missing for long time. Officially, nothing could be confirmed about the death of Abdul Rauf." 
  10. ^ "Coalition govt needs to take sectarian issue seriously". The News International. June 14, 2010. http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=244840. Retrieved 2010-06-15. 
  11. ^ "Sectarian violence simmers in city, ASWJ activist gunned down". Daily Times. June 12, 2010. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\06\12\story_12-6-2010_pg12_8. Retrieved 2010-06-15. 
  12. ^ a b "2009: Southern Punjab extremism battle between haves and have-nots". Dawn.com (Dawn Media Group). 2011-05-22. http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/22/2009-southern-punjab-extremism-battle-between-haves-and-have-nots.html. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 

Further reading