Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat

Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat ("The Assembly to Protect the End of Prophethood") is the programmatic name of a Pakistani Barelvi organization and Islamic religious movement in Pakistan aiming to protect the belief in the finality of prophethood of Muhammad based on their concept of Khatam an-Nabiyyin. The political party opposes any change in the blasphemy law of Pakistan and also claims the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri was unjustifiable. They demand that Sharia law be established as law of Pakistan through a gradual legal and political process.[1] This is a Sunni majority group and most of its members belong to Barelvi school of thought.[2]

Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat
Secretary-General	Pir Afzal Qadri
Leader	Sahibzada Hamid Raza
Founder	Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi
Founded	1950
Ideology	Khatam an-Nabiyyin
Colors	Green
Website
http://www.khatm-e-nubuwwat.org

It was founded by Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi in 1950 with Zafar Ali Khan, Abdul Hamid Qadri Badayuni, Khwaja Qamar ul Din Sialvi, Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah, Ahmad Saeed Kazmi, Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi, Pir of Manki Sharif Amin ul-Hasanat, Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari, Sardar Ahmad Qadri and Muhammad Hussain Naeemi. Later on the prominent Barelvi leaders Shah Ahmad Noorani, Shaikh ul Quran Allama Ghulam Ali Okarvi, Muhammad Shafee Okarvi, Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri, Iftikharul Hasan Shah and Khalid Hasan Shah also joined them to oppose the Ahmadiyya Movement.

After Independence of Pakistan

The roots of Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat can be traced back to the 1880s when Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian proclaimed himself to be a prophet in Islam. The organization gained momentum during the 1953 riots against Ahmadi Muslims. The Court of enquiry report on the disturbances explains the real reasons for this violent uprising against Ahmadiyya. Main reasons being criticism of Ahmadi was due to the theological differences and using the Ahmadiyya issues by Muslim conservatives to gain political mileage. The rioters had three major demands:

1. Removal of Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan from the foreign ministry
2. Removal of Ahmadi Muslims from top government offices;
3. Declaration of Ahmadis as non-Muslims.

The movement launched countrywide campaigns and protests to persecute Ahmadis across the nation. Majlis, along with many religious leaders, spearheaded this movement to declare Ahmadis as non-Muslims.[3]

Ahmadis declared Non-Muslims in 1974

Many Islamist theologians Pakistan particularly Ulama-I-Ahle-Sunnat under the leadership of Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqui started a successful campaign against the Ahmadis and compelled the members of the National Assembly to declare Ahmadis as non-Muslims. And such a clause was inserted in the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan declaring that followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed are non-Muslims by Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan. After meeting the first agenda, Khatme-Nabuwat started the next phase of their campaign – to force Ahmadis to comply with the new law. They started demanding legal sanctions on Ahmadis barring them from using the title of Muslim. This campaign was at its peak when Shah Ahmad Noorani and Punjab-based Khalid Hasan Shah were leading the Kul Jamaati Majlis-e-Amal Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat in 1984 and 1985. The then president General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq passed an ordinance in 1984 amending the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that called for punitive sanctions on Ahmadis in 1984, commonly known as Ordinance XX.[4]

Activism of Khatme Nabuwwat leaders

As early as 2011 and later in 2015, Jalali was leading anti-government protests in support of Barelvi militant Mumtaz Qadri, who had assassinated governor Salmaan Taseer.[5][6] In 2016, Jalali was one of several leaders of mostly unknown Barelvi groups which engaged in a disorganized anti-government protest that led to the arrest of a large number of protestors.[2][7] Jalali, who founded a Barelvi sectarian group after Qadri's execution for the assassination of Taseer,[7] refused to comment on the motive for the 2016 protests, claiming that he wanted it to remain a "mystery."[2] Jalali later claimed that the government of Pakistan had given in to a list of demands the protesters had written, but the Interior Ministry denied Jalali's claim. Despite the denial, the protestors vacated the capital, though not before causing twelve million rupees worth of damage to the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus.[8] Later that year, Jalali called for anti-government protests and sermons in Chakwal when the police attempted to institute a curfew after mob violence against religious minorities; fear of the protests and sermons led to an evacuation of Ahmadis from the region.[9]

Starting in 2017, Jalali organized multiple separate rallies alongside other Barelvi groups to celebrate Taseer's assassination.[10] During the early 2017 protests, protesters and other clerics from led by Jalali and members of the Sunni Tehreek Barelvi militant group vandalized the Karachi Press Club and defaced paintings of women's rights activists.[11] Consequent to further planned protests, authorities in the Islamabad Capital Territory banned Jalali and other Barelvi leaders it described as sectarian agitators from entering the capital for two months.[12][13][14]

Restoration of Khatm e Nabuwat Bill

The government of Pakistan uses the word "oath". This word was changed to "declaration" in "Elections Bill 2017", by government authorities. Country wide objections arose about this change, Minister of Law Zahid Hamid said "The statement of objects and reasons of the amended in order to avoid controversy, there is a consensus among the political parties in the National Assembly that the original text of ‘Declaration and oath by the person nominated”, included in original form-1A should be restored in toto'. [15] Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan, being a pro-Muslim party, went on to protests. The protests occurred in whole country including federal capital, Islamabad.[16][17]

Khadim Hussain Rizvi declared to continue the protests until their demands were met.[18] In November 2017, government restored the previous version of the blasphemy law and Khatm e Nabuwat.[15] They continued their protests even after restoration of words for Khatm-e-Nabuwat for elections bill. According to this Tehreek, it was a plan to weaken Khatm-e-Nabuwat. The Tehreek demanded resignations of Zahid Hamid for he was held responsible for the change of words and Rana Sanaullah Khan for his pro-Ahmadiyya speeches. The government cut off food and water supply to participants of sit-in but they declared to continue the protests until all of their demands were fulfilled.[19] The political unrest caused economic damage to the country.[8] Sheikh Rasheed member of parliament was the first person to recognize this and made everyone realize what dirty game is going on.

Khatm-e-Nubuwwat Conference

Annual Khatm-e-Nubuwwat Conference is held every year at Jamia Masjid Ahrar Rabwah under the aegis of Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat and Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam.

See also

• Meher Ali Shah
• Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi
• Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam
• Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari
• 1953 Lahore riots
• 1974 Anti-Ahmadiyya riots
• Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqi
• Khatme Nubuwwat Academy
• Ordinance XX
• 2017 Faizabad sit-in

References

1. The rise and rise of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan Today (newspaper), Updated 31 July 2018, Retrieved 10 April 2019
2. Kalbe Ali, Who is leading this sit-in? Dawn (newspaper), 29 March 2016, Accessed 10 April 2019
3. Profile of Mufti Mahmood on storyofpakistan.com website Retrieved 9 April 2019
4. Pakistan and Ahmadis (Government of Pakistan - Law for Ahmadis) on The Gazette of Pakistan - a government website Published 26 April 1984, Retrieved 10 April 2019
5. Rana Tanveer, Qadri supporters stage Mall sit-in The Express Tribune (newspaper), 4 October 2011. Accessed 10 April 2019
6. Rally against SC (Supreme Court) decision on Mumtaz Qadri The Nation (newspaper), 29 October 2015, Accessed 10 April 2019
7. Samiullah Randhawa, Religious activists’ sit-in on Mall Road paralyses City Pakistan Today (newspaper), 17 July 2016. Accessed 10 April 2019
8. Islamabad Metro bus station resumes service after bearing damage of Rs12m. Pakistan Today (newspaper), 31 March 2016, Accessed 10 April 2019
9. Nabeel Anwar Dhakku, Section 144 imposed in Chakwal Dawn (newspaper), 16 December 2016, Accessed 10 April 2019
10. Mahmood Idrees, Police arrest more than 110 protestors gathered to celebrate assassination of Salmaan Taseer. Daily Pakistan (newspaper), 4 January 2017, Accessed 10 April 2019
11. Sunni Tehreek defaces Karachi Press Club wall honouring female activists. Pakistan Today, 5 January 2017, Accessed 10 April 2019
12. Arsalan Altaf, Firebrand clerics banned from entering capital during Muharram. The Express Tribune, 22 September 2017, Accessed 10 April 2019
13. Tahir Niaz, Entry of 16 Ulema in capital during Muharram banned The Nation (newspaper), 27 September 2017. Accessed 10 April 2019.
14. Israr Ahmed and Tahir Niaz, Police, Rangers hold flag march. The Nation (newspaper), 28 September 2017. Accessed 10 April 2019
15. "National Assembly passes bill to restore Khatm-e-Nabuwat oath". The Nation (newspaper). 6 October 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
16. Asad Hashim (6 July 2018). "Tehreek-e-Labbaik: New far right campaigns against 'blasphemy'". Aljazeera News website. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
17. Abu Bakar (10 January 2017). "Short Introduction to Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi". www.worldprss.com. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
18. "Tehreek Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (SAW) protest continue". Times of Islamabad. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
19. Pakistan army called on to stop 'blasphemy' clashes in Islamabad bbc.co.uk website, Retrieved 10 April 2019