How on Earth would Junaid Jamshed Deobandi even have thought of what happened to him last night? A small Barelvi group who landed in Islamabad last night to attend the chehlum of Mumtaz Qadri roughed Junaid Jamshed up at the airport.

Punching and kicking him, they chanted ‘Labaik Ya Rasoolullah’ while abusing Junaid Jamshed in the same breath. “We have been looking for him,” said one of the ‘vigilantes’. Junaid Jamshed was accused of having committed blasphemy against the Prophet’s wife, Aisha last year.

Since he is a Deobandi himself, ‘thaykedaars’ of this cause, Sipah-e-Sahaba or ASWJ remained silent. One of the lead Deobandi cleric Mufti Naeem even publicly acquitted him of any charges and Tariq Jameel pleaded forgiveness for him.

“The ideology of takfir is rooted deep in the Barelvi sect as it dates back to their spiritual founder, Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi. He wrote a book, Hussam al haramain consisting of his fatwas, said to be endorsed by ulema of Mecca and Medina. In this book, he held Deobandis for not giving Prophet Muhammad the due respect and thus accused them of heresy.”

With Dictator Zia backing hardline JI, Deobandi and Ahle Hadith organizations for Afghan Jihad, their influence started spreading in Pakistan as well. The initiation of Sipah-e-Sahaba in 1985 was a clear sign of the Zia government giving a free hand to sectarian Deobandis. The trend continued with Kashmir Jihad as well with Deobandi and Ahle Hadith organizations getting the major funds.

Barelvis, who constitute the majority population of Pakistan felt left out. Ilyas Qadri, with his Dawat-i-Islami resisted the growing influence of SSP in Karachi but didn’t succeed. Salim Qadri, a more radical of Barelvi clerics parted ways with Dawat-i-Islami to form Sunni Tehreek, which he described was formed to resist Deobandi influence and reclaim the mosques which he said were once Barelvis.

Skirmishes with Deobandis became a normal in Karachi and Hyderabad until Salim Qadri’s death by the hands of SSP terrorists which led to full-scale sectarian riots in 2001.

State’s resolve to deal these zealots with iron hand became clear with Qadri’s execution – the moment of fame for all religio-political parties. With Barelvis being the leaders, Deobandis, Ahle Hadith, Jamat-i-Islami and even some sections of Shias followed the lead – protesting his death. To much of their disappointment, media, the staircase to fame, blacked them out. Totally

Source:

http://nation.com.pk/blogs/27-Mar-2016/the-assault-should-give-junaid-jamshed-cause-for-introspection-as-fault-lines-grow-within-sunni

On one hand is the Deobandi-Ahl-e-Hadith-ideology-inspired outright terrorism, on the other is violent extremism based on Barelvi school of thought. There is yet another challenge of non-violent extremism, mainly propagated by the likes of Tableeghi Jamaat, which has strong potential of turning into violence any time.

All such groups ranging from the Deobandi ASWJ to Barelvi Sunni Tahreek to Shia Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen (MWM), have been taking out rallies in support of Army till late. It was not long ago when even the blasphemy law was used against a media house when it had to be taught lesson for going against the army’s policies. One was waiting to see firm action against and complete separation of the state from these groups when both the PM and the COAS repeatedly assured us of their seriousness in curbing all kind of terrorism. Unfortunately, none of them appears to be realising how the thin line between radicalisation and violent extremism is rapidly dissolving. And how violent extremism is creating space for the acceptability of terrorist narrative.

Looking retrospectively, security establishment has been the fountainhead of all kinds of religious zealotries be it Deobandis, Ahl-e-hadith, Tableeghis or Barelvis. These groups were used to ‘balance out’ the undesirable political actors. Both civilians and the security establishment must refrain from using religious zealots for political advantage. Convert your CT plan into a comprehensive program including Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) and Counter Radicalisation (CR). Before that, people would keep dying and Pakistan would keep becoming a laughing stock.

Source:

http://nation.com.pk/columns/29-Mar-2016/extremism-feeding-the-terrorism