Younus AlGohar
Encyclopedia
Younus AlGohar is the leader of Messiah Foundation International
(also known as Kalki Avatar Foundation and Mehdi Foundation International), a spiritual organisation claiming that Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi
is the Messiah (Mahdi) and which also claims to advocate Shahi's spiritual teachings.
He is also the managing director of the Interfaith Institute of Divine Love.
He has authored the books Mysterious Horizons - Beyond God (2007), and Nisāb-e-Mehdi
(2010).
AlGohar was interviewed by Sri Lankan newspaper Island in 2008, and was featured by the Your Local Guardian website in 2009 as the "leader of an obscure religious organisation living in Croydon
".
Mehdi Foundation was mentioned by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in a February 2008 addendum to her report as “a multi-faith institution utilizing mystical principles of Mr. Ra Gohar Shahi”.
, Pakistan
, AlGohar grew up practicing Islamic Sufism
. He met Gohar Shahi at the age of 15 and spent 24 years as his disciple, until Shahi's disappearance in 2001.
AlGohar was named an "Ambassador for Peace" by the Universal Peace Federation
in 2005. He studied at Karachi University.
(MFI), previously known as RAGS International. It was renamed in 2002. The first centre for MFI was established in London
, which is also the headquarters of MFI. Today, the organization has grown to include centres in Canada
, USA, South Korea
, Sri Lanka
, Japan
, Australia
, India
, Greece
, Thailand
, Bangladesh
, Taiwan
and Pakistan
.
s, the Messengers
and the saints no matter what religion they come from. He says that he does not hate or reject any religion, but asserts that the religions have been modified with the passage of time, and this alteration in the religions have caused them to fade from their original glory, which helped humanity find God
.
According to him, his goals include preaching spirituality irrespective of religious or cultural boundaries, revolutionizing humanity by reviving spiritual insight, establishing inner and outer peace and eliminating hatred in society, enlightening hearts with divine energy, and heralding the second coming of Jesus Christ and Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi.
against AlGohar, though the details on how he blasphemed have not been specified. The penalty for blasphemy under the laws of Pakistan is death. According to AlGohar, if he were to return to Pakistan he would face a life sentence for blasphemy. In addition, the belief that AlGohar is the only appointed representative of Shahi is not held by Anjuman-e-Serfroshan-e-Islam.
He has openly challenged the Islamic Scholars to have “a healthy debate on this topic should it arise a theological reservation among the minds of petty scholars.”
In particular, AlGohar has challenged Tahir-ul-Qadri
to debates on spirituality, saints, and Islam.
AlGohar also controversially declares that the world is in the end times
.
Messiah Foundation International
- Shahi's claimed meeting with Jesus :The movement claims that Shahi met with Jesus Christ on the 29th of May, 1997 in Taos, New Mexico. Shahi claimed that Jesus could speak many languages and did not live in a particular home. When asked about what was discussed between himself and Jesus, Shahi...
(also known as Kalki Avatar Foundation and Mehdi Foundation International), a spiritual organisation claiming that Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi
Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi
Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi is a spiritual leader, founder of the spiritual movements RAGS International and Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam ....
is the Messiah (Mahdi) and which also claims to advocate Shahi's spiritual teachings.
He is also the managing director of the Interfaith Institute of Divine Love.
He has authored the books Mysterious Horizons - Beyond God (2007), and Nisāb-e-Mehdi
(2010).
AlGohar was interviewed by Sri Lankan newspaper Island in 2008, and was featured by the Your Local Guardian website in 2009 as the "leader of an obscure religious organisation living in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
".
Mehdi Foundation was mentioned by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in a February 2008 addendum to her report as “a multi-faith institution utilizing mystical principles of Mr. Ra Gohar Shahi”.
Biography
Born in KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, 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...
, AlGohar grew up practicing Islamic Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
. He met Gohar Shahi at the age of 15 and spent 24 years as his disciple, until Shahi's disappearance in 2001.
AlGohar was named an "Ambassador for Peace" by the Universal Peace Federation
Universal Peace Federation
There are a number of organizations founded, run, or supported by Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church. Commentators have mentioned Moon's belief in a literal Kingdom of God on earth to be brought about by human effort as a motivation for his establishment of groups that are not...
in 2005. He studied at Karachi University.
Messiah Foundation International
After the disappearance of Gohar Shahi, AlGohar gathered a portion of the following of Gohar Shahi under the platform of Messiah Foundation InternationalMessiah Foundation International
- Shahi's claimed meeting with Jesus :The movement claims that Shahi met with Jesus Christ on the 29th of May, 1997 in Taos, New Mexico. Shahi claimed that Jesus could speak many languages and did not live in a particular home. When asked about what was discussed between himself and Jesus, Shahi...
(MFI), previously known as RAGS International. It was renamed in 2002. The first centre for MFI was established in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, which is also the headquarters of MFI. Today, the organization has grown to include centres in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, USA, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and 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...
.
Beliefs and views
AlGohar states that he is a "devout servant" of Gohar Shahi, and he practises what he considers the latest religion, "the Religion of God", which AlGohar says Gohar Shahi has introduced to the whole of humanity. He says that he does not reject any religion but believes that the spiritual system in all the religions has diminished now, and that humanity needs fresh guidance. According to AlGohar, he believes in all the ProphetProphet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s, the Messengers
Apostle (Islam)
In Islam, an Apostle or Messenger is a prophet sent by God.According to the Qur'an, God sent many prophets to mankind. The five universally acknowledged messengers in Islam are Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad, as each is believed to have been sent with a scripture...
and the saints no matter what religion they come from. He says that he does not hate or reject any religion, but asserts that the religions have been modified with the passage of time, and this alteration in the religions have caused them to fade from their original glory, which helped humanity find God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
According to him, his goals include preaching spirituality irrespective of religious or cultural boundaries, revolutionizing humanity by reviving spiritual insight, establishing inner and outer peace and eliminating hatred in society, enlightening hearts with divine energy, and heralding the second coming of Jesus Christ and Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi.
Legal persecution
The Pakistani government has instigated cases of blasphemyBlasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
against AlGohar, though the details on how he blasphemed have not been specified. The penalty for blasphemy under the laws of Pakistan is death. According to AlGohar, if he were to return to Pakistan he would face a life sentence for blasphemy. In addition, the belief that AlGohar is the only appointed representative of Shahi is not held by Anjuman-e-Serfroshan-e-Islam.
He has openly challenged the Islamic Scholars to have “a healthy debate on this topic should it arise a theological reservation among the minds of petty scholars.”
In particular, AlGohar has challenged Tahir-ul-Qadri
Tahir-ul-Qadri
Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri is a Pakistani Sufi scholar and former professor of international constitutional law at the University of the Punjab....
to debates on spirituality, saints, and Islam.
AlGohar also controversially declares that the world is in the end times
End times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
.