Sufi Muhammad
Encyclopedia
Sufi Muhammad bin Alhazrat Hassan, born in Dir
, is the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
(TNSM), a Pakistani militant organisation with Wahabi
and Deobandi
learnings (declared a terrorist outfit and banned in 2002) vying for implementation of Sharia
in Pakistan
. It operates mainly in the Dir
, Swat, and Malakand
districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Sufi Muhammad was jailed for sending thousands of volunteers to Afghanistan to fight the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. However, he was freed in 2008 after he renounced violence. He is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah
, who assumed the leadership of TNSM during Muhammad's imprisonment
During the 1980s Sufi Muhammad actively participated in Jamaat-e-Islami
, a Islamic political party of Pakistan. In 1992 he split from the group to form TNSM. TNSM was backed heavily by the government through Habibullah.
After the Taliban was ousted from power
in Afghanistan in 2001, he organized thousands of militants to fight the Northern Alliance
. When Muhammad returned to Pakistan, he was arrested.
Sufi Muhammad remained in prison until 2008 when he agreed in talks with the Government of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to use his influence to work towards peace in the region.
In early April 2009 Sufi Muhammad ended support for peace negotiations stating that the government was stalling the implementation of sharia courts in the Swat valley. President Asif Ali Zardari
refused to sign any agreement until peace had been restored in the valley but failed to elaborate on how those conditions would be achieved.
However, the president signed the Nizam-e-Adl-Regulation law for Swat, after it was hurriedly pushed through the national parliament a few hours earlier on 13 April 2009.
On April 19, 2009 Sufi Muhammad declared that "democracy was un-Islamic" and that decisions made in the qazi courts could not be appealed in Pakistan's central judicial system. According to the cleric Western-style democracy
had led to divides among Pakistanis and the judicial system had contributed to the factionalism
. He ordered the central government to withdraw all judges from Malakand
within four days and to set up a Darul Qaza, an Islamic supreme court, to hear appeals from local Sharia courts.
against the Taliban, the Pakistani Army arrested senior aides to Sufi Muhammad in the Amandara region in Lower Dir
. Among those aides arrested were Muhammad's deputy, Mohammad Alam, and his spokesperson, Ameer Izzat Khan. Initial reports indicated that Sufi Muhammad himself and possibly two of his sons had also been detained although government sources would not confirm and would only say they knew of his "whereabouts." TNSM sources confirmed that Sufi Muhammad and his sons were missing but suggested that he had gone into hiding.
On 26 July 2009, the government announced the arrest of the cleric for encouraging violence and terrorism. On 2 August 2009, police announced that he had been charged with sedition
, aiding terrorism and conspiracy.
In January 2011, Sufi Muhammad denied to an anti-terrorism court that he had any links to the anti-state Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP) and that he only sought enforcement of sharia in Malakand.
Dir District
Dir District was a district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan between 1970 and 1996. It was part of Malakand Division.Dir District was created in 1970 after the princely state of Dir was abolished the year before. Dir District was 5,280 square kilometres in area and lay along the...
, is the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi is a Pakistani militant group whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in the country. The rebel group took over much of Swat in 2007...
(TNSM), a Pakistani militant organisation with Wahabi
Wahhabism
Wahhabism is a religious movement or a branch of Islam. It was developed by an 18th century Muslim theologian from Najd, Saudi Arabia. Ibn Abdul Al-Wahhab advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations...
and Deobandi
Deobandi
Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on 30 May 1866.-History:...
learnings (declared a terrorist outfit and banned in 2002) vying for implementation of Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It operates mainly in the Dir
Dir District
Dir District was a district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan between 1970 and 1996. It was part of Malakand Division.Dir District was created in 1970 after the princely state of Dir was abolished the year before. Dir District was 5,280 square kilometres in area and lay along the...
, Swat, and Malakand
Malakand District
Malakand District is a district of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.The District was formed in 1970 as a Provincially Administered Tribal Area, It had previously been a Tribal Area known as the Malakand Protected Area, part of the Malakand Agency...
districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Sufi Muhammad was jailed for sending thousands of volunteers to Afghanistan to fight the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. However, he was freed in 2008 after he renounced violence. He is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah
Maulana Fazlullah
Maulana Fazlullah, nicknamed the "Radio Mullah" or "Mullah Radio", is the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a banned Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist militant group allied to the Pakistani Taliban, that aims to enforce Sharia in the country...
, who assumed the leadership of TNSM during Muhammad's imprisonment
Background
Sufi Muhammad, born in Maidan, Dir, received religious education at Panj Pir, Swabi. The madrassah, those son of whose father is none other than Major Amir, famous for attempting an overthrow of Benazir Bhutto in the late 1980s in the infamous operation Midnight Jackal, is well known for running an illegal FM radio station. Other alleged alumni include Mangal Bagh Afridi, Fakir Mohammad, and even (dubiously) Maulana Fazlullah. He is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, his one-time student. It is alleged by some sources that Fazlullah did not seek Sufi Muhammad's permission to marry his daughter, and, as a result, was in hiding in Bajaur agency for many years.During the 1980s Sufi Muhammad actively participated in Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami
This article is about Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. For other organizations of similar name see Jamaat-e-Islami The Jamaat-e-Islami , is a Pro-Muslim political party in Pakistan...
, a Islamic political party of Pakistan. In 1992 he split from the group to form TNSM. TNSM was backed heavily by the government through Habibullah.
After the Taliban was ousted from power
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
in Afghanistan in 2001, he organized thousands of militants to fight the Northern Alliance
United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan
The United Islamic Front , known in the West and Pakistan as the Northern Alliance, was a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996 under the leadership of Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud...
. When Muhammad returned to Pakistan, he was arrested.
Sufi Muhammad remained in prison until 2008 when he agreed in talks with the Government of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to use his influence to work towards peace in the region.
February 2009 Ceasefire
Maulana Sufi Muhammad took part in negotiations with the government that led to the announcement of a temporary ceasefire in the Malakand region on February 16, 2009. The Pakistani government agreed to allow the implementation of Sharia in the region once violence had stopped. Muhammad agreed to travel to Swat to discuss peace with Fazlullah and his followers. He told reporters, "We will soon open dialogue with the Taliban. We will ask them to lay down their weapons. We are hopeful that they will not let us down. We will stay here in the [Swat] valley until peace is restored."In early April 2009 Sufi Muhammad ended support for peace negotiations stating that the government was stalling the implementation of sharia courts in the Swat valley. President Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party . He is also the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served two nonconsecutive terms as Prime Minister....
refused to sign any agreement until peace had been restored in the valley but failed to elaborate on how those conditions would be achieved.
However, the president signed the Nizam-e-Adl-Regulation law for Swat, after it was hurriedly pushed through the national parliament a few hours earlier on 13 April 2009.
On April 19, 2009 Sufi Muhammad declared that "democracy was un-Islamic" and that decisions made in the qazi courts could not be appealed in Pakistan's central judicial system. According to the cleric Western-style democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
had led to divides among Pakistanis and the judicial system had contributed to the factionalism
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
. He ordered the central government to withdraw all judges from Malakand
Malakand District
Malakand District is a district of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.The District was formed in 1970 as a Provincially Administered Tribal Area, It had previously been a Tribal Area known as the Malakand Protected Area, part of the Malakand Agency...
within four days and to set up a Darul Qaza, an Islamic supreme court, to hear appeals from local Sharia courts.
2009 Arrests
On 3 June 2009, while engaging in Operation Black ThunderstormOperation Black Thunderstorm
Operation Black Thunderstorm was an aggressive military operation that commenced on April 26, 2009 conducted by the Pakistan Army, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Taliban after the militants took control of them since the start of the year.- Background...
against the Taliban, the Pakistani Army arrested senior aides to Sufi Muhammad in the Amandara region in Lower Dir
Lower Dir District
Lower Dir is one the 24 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The district was formed in 1996, when the district of Dir was divided into Upper Dir and Lower Dir.- Administration :...
. Among those aides arrested were Muhammad's deputy, Mohammad Alam, and his spokesperson, Ameer Izzat Khan. Initial reports indicated that Sufi Muhammad himself and possibly two of his sons had also been detained although government sources would not confirm and would only say they knew of his "whereabouts." TNSM sources confirmed that Sufi Muhammad and his sons were missing but suggested that he had gone into hiding.
On 26 July 2009, the government announced the arrest of the cleric for encouraging violence and terrorism. On 2 August 2009, police announced that he had been charged with sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
, aiding terrorism and conspiracy.
In January 2011, Sufi Muhammad denied to an anti-terrorism court that he had any links to the anti-state Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan , alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist militant groups based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border in Pakistan. Most, but not all, Pakistani Taliban groups coalesce under the TTP...
(TTP) and that he only sought enforcement of sharia in Malakand.