Abdul Aziz (Pakistani cleric)

Mawlānā Abdul Aziz (Urdu: محمد عبد العزيز) is a Pakistani cleric and sermon preacher at Lal Masjid, Islamabad, which was the site of a siege in 2007 with the Pakistani army. He is also the current Chancellor of Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Faridia, Aziz was released from custody by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2009 and acquitted in 2013.

Mawlānā
Abdul Aziz
2nd Chancellor of Faridia University
Assumed office
1998
Preceded byMuhammad Abdullah
Personal
Born (1960-01-10) January 10, 1960
Basti-Abdullah, Rajanpur, Punjab, Pakistan
ReligionIslam
Children1
Parent
Citizenship Pakistani
DenominationSunni
MovementDeobandi
Alma materJamia Farooqia
Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia
TeachersSaleemullah Khan
RelationsAbdul Rashid Ghazi (brother)

Early life

He is an ethnic Baloch, descending from the Sadwani clan of the Mazari tribe, in the town of Rojhan in Rajanpur, the border district of Punjab province of Pakistan.[1] He first came to Islamabad as a six-year-old boy from his home town in Rajanpur, when his father was appointed Khatib of Lal Masjid in 1966.[2]

He studied for few years in a public school from where he completed his Matriculation and then joined Jamia Farooqia in Karachi, and later completed his Dars-i Nizami from Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia, a Madrasa in Karachi[3]

Aziz later served at The Mujaddiya Mosque in F-8, Islamabad as its Imam, he would also regularly visit his father at the Red Mosque and travel with him to Faridia University.[4]

Father's Assassination

On October 17, 1998, Aziz's father who had a routine every day whereby he would walk to his seminary Faridia University in Sector E-7 Of Islamabad for giving lectures, and return by car at noon. As he got out of the car,  Abdul Aziz approached him and spoke to him, when suddenly a man standing in front of the mosque's door walked towards him and pulled out a gun and fired until the magazine was empty, badly injuring Abdullah. Afterwards, he fired at Abdul Aziz, who barely escaped death. The assassin escaped with the help of an accomplice waiting outside in a car. Abdullah died of his injuries on the way to the hospital[5]

Lal Masjid

Following his father's assassination, Aziz was appointed Cleric of Lal Masjid and succeeded his father as the Chancellor of Faridia University and Jamia Hafsa.[6]

He closely followed the supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, and typically resisted being photographed.[7]

He also warned the government of attacks in the case of a violent police operation launched against the seminary. "If the government fails to eradicate all these moral evils from the society within the specified period of one month the students of the seminary would themselves take actions against all the people involved in such activities," said Abdul Aziz while addressing Friday Prayer congregation at Lal Masjid.[8]

Final Showdown
Main article: Siege of Lal Masjid

On 3 July 2007, the standoff with the government ended in bloody gun battles in which some publications claim that more than 1,000 Students were killed and scores wounded.[9] The official death toll is much lower, at fewer than 300.[10]

On 4 July 2007 at 8:05 AM, Aziz was arrested while leaving the complex disguised in a burqa. Abdul Aziz claims the reason for his cross-dressing escape was that he was called "by a senior official of an intelligence agency with whom he has been in touch for a long time" (Aziz admitted that he and his brother Ghazi had done this many times before when they were declared wanted by the government) and since this man could not enter into the mosque to meet him, he asked Maulana Aziz to come down to Aabpara police station, situated on a walking distance from the mosque and asked him to wear a burqa to avoid identification.[11]

Release

Aziz was released on 16 April 2009 by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as he awaited trial on Alleged charges of murder, incitement, and kidnapping. He was greeted by throngs of supporters.[12] Since then he has worked as an imam in the Red Mosque and runs seminaries including Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa[13]

Since 2001, 27 different cases have been filed unsuccessfully against him.[14][15]

Books
  • Islami nizam ka mujawwiza khaka (Proposed Blueprint Of Islamic System)[1]
  • Allah ki azeem naimat (The Great Blessings Of God)[16]

See also

References
  1. Zafar Imran, "The Religious Godfather of the Punjabi Taliban: Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi", in Militant Leadership Monitor - Jamestown, Volume I, Issue 5 (27 May 2010), pp. 3-4
  2. Lal Masjid : A Brief History.
  3. Nadeem F. Paracha (3 November 2013), "Red handed", Dawn News. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  4. "Lal Masjid: a history". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  5. Lal Masjid : A Brief History.
  6. "Crimson tide". The Express Tribune. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  7. Islam, Benazir Shah,Nazar-ul. "Meeting Pakistan's Maulana Mohammad Abdul Aziz". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 13 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Farooq, Umer (7 April 2007). "Religious Cleric Threatens Suicide Attacks". OhmyNews International. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  9. Walsh, Declan (4 July 2007). "Red Mosque leader attempts to flee in burka". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  10. "Pakistan counts costs of bloody end to mosque siege". Reuters. 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  11. Asia Times
  12. Walsh, Declan (17 April 2009). "Red Mosque siege leader walks free to hero's welcome". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  13. Asad, Malik (8 February 2013). "Lal Masjid cleric's interview in burqa still a mystery". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  14. "یوم مزدور". Nawaiwaqt (in Urdu). 1 May 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  15. Asad, Malik (24 September 2013). "Lal Masjid cleric acquitted in all cases". Dawn News. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  16. "Pakistan Hausbesuch beim Hassprediger". FAZ.NET (in German). 21 August 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
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