Mufti Mehmood Explained

Mehmood
Honorific-Prefix:Mufti
Office:Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province
Order:8th
Term Start:1 March 1972
Term End:15 February 1973
Predecessor:Sardar Bahadur Khan
Successor:Inayatullah Khan Gandapur
Alma Mater:Madrasa Shahi, Moradabad
Office1:Ameer of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
Term Start1:1968
Term End1:1980
Predecessor1:Maulana Abdullah Darkhawasti
Successor1:
Office2:President of Wafaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia, Pakistan
Term Start2:15 May 1978
Term End2:14 October 1980
Predecessor2:Muhammad Yousuf Banuri
Successor2:Muhammad Idrees Mirti
Office4:Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Termstart4:26 March 1977
Termend4:5 July 1977
Constituency4:NA-18 (D.I.Khan)
Termstart5:14 April 1972
Termend5:10 January 1977
Constituency5:NW-13 (D.I.Khan)
Termstart6:8 June 1962
Termend6:7 June 1965
Constituency6:NW-6 (D.I.Khan-I)
Party:Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
Office7:Muhtamim of Jamia Qasim-ul-Uloom
Term Start7:1974
Term End7:1980
Predecessor7:Maulana Muhammad Shafi Multani
Successor7:Maulana Faiz Ahmed
Birth Date:8 January 1919 (6 Rabi Us Sani 1337)
Birth Place:Kulachi, NWFP, British Raj
Death Place:Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan

Mufti Mehmood (Urdu: {{Nastaliq|مفتی محمود; 1919 - 1980) was a Pakistani statesman and Islamic scholar who was one of the founding members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI); widely regarded as one of the greatest politicians in the history of Pakistan - known for his political acumen. He served as the first elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and later on as the Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly.[1] [2] [3] He led the opposition movement Pakistan National Alliance against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, which eventually led to Bhutto's downfall. He was among the principal architects of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan.

Early life and career

Born in January 1919, he was an ethnic Marwat Pashtun from Abdul Khel, Dera Ismail Khan District, colonial India (now Pakistan). His father was a pir or Sufi spiritual leader.[4] He received his religious education at Madrasa Shahi, Moradabad, UP and graduated from the Darul Uloom Deoband.[5] In 1941, he worked as a teacher in Isakhel, Mianwali.[2]

At the time of the Indian independence movement Mufti Mahmud opposed the partition of colonial India and opposed the creation of Pakistan. In 1971, on the separation of Bangladesh he said "Thank God, we are not involved in the sin of breaking Pakistan. ”[6] [7] [8]

In Pakistan

He served as a Muhtamim at Jamia Qasim-ul-Uloom in Multan and later in his career, he also held the positions of Chief Mudarras in charge of education, Chief Mufti, and Sheikh al-Hadith. He issued at least 25,000 Fatwas in his lifetime and his students included Maulana Abdullah Ghazi, Abdul Majeed Ludhianvi and Noor Muhammad.[9]

Mufti Mahmud was a critic of family planning programme of Ayub Khan's government. He participated in the elections for the National Assembly for the first time under Ayub Khan's 'Basic Democracy Program' and defeated all his opponents in 1962. He also opposed the 'One Unit Scheme'.On 8 January 1968, in Dacca, then in East Pakistan, Mufti Mahmud was one of the key leaders of Jamhoori Majlis-e-Amal that opposed Ayub Khan's regime. In the 1970 general election, Mufti Mahmud had a landslide victory against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the Dera Ismail Khan constituency.

After the 1970 general election in Pakistan, he became the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam founded by Maulana Shabir Ahmed Usmani. His party went into a coalition with the National Awami Party for the 1970 Pakistani general election. In the 1970s, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam received significant funding from Saudi Arabia.[10]

On 1 March 1972, he was elected as the chief minister of the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa during the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto government in Pakistan.

During his tenure as chief minister, he instituted many reforms, such as prohibition against alcohol, making Urdu as the official language in government offices, ban on interest in financial transactions and declared Friday as the official holiday in his province.

Mufti Mahmud played a vital role in Tehreek-e-Khatme Nabuwwat, a religious movement which has highlighted the beliefs of the followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Pakistan, in 1953 and again in 1974. He led a team of Islamic scholars which worked for the declaration of Ahmadis as non-Muslims in 1974.

He and his cabinet resigned in protest at the dismissal of the NAP–JUI coalition government in Balochistan on 14 February 1973. He vowed to launch an anti-government movement, and first formed the UDF (United Democratic Front), and later on Pakistan National Alliance: the largest opposition movement in the history of Pakistan against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In 1977,the Pakistan National Alliance launched nationwide street agitation against the rigging of Bhutto in 1977 General Elections. The same year Bhutto was removed in a Coup d'etat by Zia ul Haq. [11]

Towards the end of his life, he continued his endeavours for democracy, and in 1980 had started negotiations with his arch-rival PPP, for a joint struggle against dictatorship.

He supported the Afghan jihad against the USSR in 1979 (see also Soviet–Afghan War).

Death and legacy

He died on 14 October 1980, in Karachi, Sindh at the age of 61. He was buried in his hometown Abdul Khel, Paniala, Dera Ismail Khan District. His son Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman is a politician who leads the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) party in Pakistan.[12]

Bibliography

Books by him

Books about him

See also

Bibliography

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Assembly of Pakistan . 2024-04-03 . na.gov.pk.
  2. Web site: Profile of Mufti Mahmud. Storyofpakistan.com website. 5 January 2009. 14 April 2023. dead. 26 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140626125205/http://storyofpakistan.com/mufti-mehmood/.
  3. Web site:
  4. Book: Ullah, Haroon . Vying for Allah's Vote: Understanding Islamic Parties, Political Violence, and Extremism in Pakistan . . 2013 . 92.
  5. Book: Syed Mehboob Rizwi . Syed Mehboob Rizwi . Prof. Murtaz Husain F. Quraishi . History of The Dar al-Ulum Deoband (Volume 2) . 124 . . 7 June 2019.
  6. News: Don't trust Maulana Fazlur Rahman . 14 October 2019. Yasser Latif Hamdani. Daily Times (newspaper). 14 April 2023.
  7. Book: Pirzada . Sayyid A. S. . Pirzada . Syed Sharifuddin . The Politics of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Pakistan: 1971-1977 . 2000 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-579302-4 . 115. Mufti Mahmud, in his speech on the occasion, pointed out that "the JUI was against a division of the country". He said that since the party had opposed the partition of India (linking with the stance of ....
  8. Web site: Raza . Atrooba . 20 Muslim Leaders who opposed Pakistan Movement & Quaid-e-Azam . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/w1ver5Tbg-U . 2021-12-21 . live. Election Box . 9 June 2020 . Urdu . 21 March 2020.
  9. Web site: 5 January 2009 . Profile of Mufti Mahmud . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140626125205/http://storyofpakistan.com/mufti-mehmood/ . 26 June 2014 . 14 April 2023 . Storyofpakistan.com website.
  10. Book: Halverson, Jeffry R. . Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism . 2010 . Palgrave Macmillan . 9781137473578 . 118 . By the 1970s, the JUI, under the leadership of Mawlana Mufti Mahmud (d. 1980) was a chief recipient of the aforementioned Wahhabite-Athari support from the Gulf monarchies, chiefly Saudi Arabia. . limited.
  11. Web site: A JOURNEY TO DISILLUSIONMENT Sherbaz Khan Mazari . 2024-06-10 . sanipanhwar.com.
  12. https://tribune.com.pk/story/792378/in-defence-of-taliban-fazls-remarks-spark-furore-in-afghanistan/ In defence of Taliban: Fazl's remarks spark furor in Afghanistan