Majlis-e Ahrar-e Islam (), also known simply as the Ahrar, is a religious Muslim organisation in the Indian subcontinent that was formed during the British Raj (prior to the Partition of India) on 29 December 1929 at Lahore.

The group became composed of Indian Muslims inspired by and supporting the Khilafat Movement, which cleaved closer to the Congress Party. The organisation was based in Punjab and gathered support from the urban lower-middle class. Chaudhry Afzal Haq, Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari Muhammad Ali Jalandhari were the leaders of the organisation.Ahmad, Syed N. Origins of Muslim consciousness in India: a world-system perspective. New York u.a: Greenwood Press, 1991. p. 175

Religious leaders from all sects Barelvi, Deobandi, Ahle Hadith, Shia Progressive and politically Communists were the members of Majlis-e-Ahrar. Chaudhry Afzal Haq, Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, Muhammad Ali Jalandhari, Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, Mazhar Ali Azhar, Zafar Ali Khan and Dawood Ghaznavi were the founders of the organisation. The Ahrar was composed of Indian Muslims disillusioned by the Khilafat Movement, which cleaved closer to the Congress Party.Christophe Jaffrelot. A history of Pakistan and its origins. Anthem Press, 2004. ,

The organisation, being a member of the All India Azad Muslim Conference, is associated with opposition to Muhammad Ali Jinnah and establishment of an independent Pakistan. Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah was the only ahrari leader who actively participated in the Pakistan independence movement.

After 1947, it separated into the Majlis-e-Ahrar Islam Hind (), based in Ludhiana and led by descendants of Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, as well as the Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam (), based in Lahore and led by descendants of Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari.

History and activities Ideology and philosophy Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam or simply called 'Ahrars' had an anti-imperialist, anti-feudal and Indian nationalist ideology. It worked to free India from the British rule. This party, before fading away, was highly active in Punjab Province (British India) and left an impact on major cities of Punjab like Amritsar, Lahore, Sialkot, Multan, Ludhiana and Gurdaspur.

The Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam,Samina Awan, Political islam in colonial Punjab Majlis-e-Ahrar 1929–1949, P.153, Politics of Islamic symbolism, The MAI: Politics of Personalities, Oxford University Press was originally part of the failed Khilafat movement and emerged as a religio-political party after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 and the disintegration of the Khilafat movement in 1922.

Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari presided over the meeting and Maulana Mazhar Ali Azhar delivered the manifesto of an All India Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam. It became first line offending party against Ahmadi Muslims by declaring that their objectives were to guide the Muslims of India on matters of nationalism as well as religion. Ahrar spearheaded the movement to have Ahmadi Muslims officially declared as non-Muslims.Samina Awan, Political Islam in colonial Punjab Majlis-e-Ahrar 1929–1949, P.27, Politics of Islamic symbolism, The MAI: Politics of Personalities, Oxford University Press

By the early 1930s, the Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam (hereafter called Ahrars) had become an important political party of Muslims in the Punjab. The activists' agitation centered on the princely states, and was predicated on mobilisation around socio-religious issues. Besides these campaigns, the Ahrar also participated in the mainstream political developments of British India between 1931 and 1947. Its political career can be divided into two parts; the AHRAR's response to political and constitutional issues, and its performance in electoral politics.Samina Awan, Political Islam in colonial Punjab Majlis-e-Ahrar 1929–1949, P.67, Politics of Islamic symbolism, The MAI: Politics of Personalities, Oxford University Press

The Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam stood strongly against the partition of India, with its leader Afzal Haq stating that the "Partition of India is, in fact, the cry of upper classes …. It is not a communal demand as some people think but a stunt in order that the poor classes may not concentrate their thought and energies on all important questions of social and economic justice." It was a member of the All India Azad Muslim Conference, which gathered to show support for a united India.

Activism in Pakistan Syed Muhammad Kafeel Bukhari is present President Of Majlis Ahrar Islam Pakistan. In November 2012, the Government of Pakistan banned Abdul Latif Khalid Cheema, leader of Tehreek-e-Khatme Nabuwwat and Secretary General of Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam, from delivering a speech in the Chichawatni and district Sahiwal area due to the security situation in Muharram. In Pakistan, the party opposed the Ahmadiyya Movement.The early champions of anti-Ahmadi cause Herald (Dawn Group of Newspapers), Published 3 November 2018, Retrieved 19 December 2018 This culminated in the 1953 Lahore riots; in 1954, Majlis-e-Ahrar was banned. The associated Islamist religious movement Tehreek-e-Khatme Nabuwwat remains.

List of organisation leaders Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, founder, 1st presidentMajlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam, History, Introduction, Achievements, published from Multan edited by Syed Kafeel Bukhari editor of Naqeeb-e-Khatme Nabuwwat Chaudhry Afzal Haq, co-founder, 2nd president, Member of the Legislative Assembly, 1934–1942 Mazhar Ali Azhar, co-founder, secretary General, Member of the Legislative Assembly, 1934–1942 Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, third President, 1942–1944 Syed Muhammad Kafeel Bukhari, President Professor Khalid Shabbir Ahmad, Vice president Abdul Latif Khalid Cheema, vice President. Muhammad Mughira General Secretary Dr Omar Farooq Ahrar, Secretary Information, Master Taj-ud-Din Ansari Sheikh Hissam-ud-Din Agha Shorish Kashmiri Janbaz Mirza, official Ahrar historian

Notable members and leaders

Presidents Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, founder and first President, 1929–1930, 1946–1948 Chaudhry Afzal Haq, second President, 1931–1934 Member of the Legislative Assembly Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, third President, 1935–1939 Sheikh Hissam-ud-Din, 1939–1940, 1942–1946, 1962–1966 Master Taj-ud-Din Ansari, 1948–1952 Ghulam Ghaus Hazarvi, 1958 Ubaid Ullah Ahrar, 1966–1974 Syed Abuzar Bukhari, 1975–1978, 1993–1994 Malik Abdul Ghafur Anwari, 1979–1980 Mirza Muhammad Hassan Chughtai, 1981–1992 Abdul Haq Chauhan, 1995–1997 Syed Ata-ul-Mohsin Bukhari, 1998–1999 Syed Ata-ul-Muhaimin Bukhari, President 1999–2021 president of Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam, PakistanKhatm-e-Nabuwwat oath: Religious parties flay govt for challenging verdict The News International (newspaper), Published 14 July 2018, Retrieved 19 December 2018 Syed Muhammad Kafeel Bukhari, President 2021–present

Secretaries general Maulana Dawood Ghaznavi, founder, 1st Secretary General, 1929–1932 Maulana Mazhar Ali Azhar, founder, 2nd Secretary General, 1932–1933, 1933–1938, 1941–1945 Member of the Legislative Assembly Agha Shorish Kashmiri, 1939–1940, 1945 secretary Ahrar Punjab Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, 1946–1947 Sheikh Hissam-ud-Din, 1948–1953 Syed Abuzar Bukhari, 1962–1963, 1965–1973 Janbaz Mirza, 1964–1965 Chaudhry Sana Ullah Bhutta, 1973–1974 Syed Ata-ul-Mohsin Bukhari, 1975–1983, 1990–1995 Abdul Aleem Raipuri Shaheed, 1984–1986 Syed Ata-ul-Momin Bukhari, 1987–1989 Ishaq Saleemi, 1990–1995 Professor Khalid Shabbir Ahmad, 1998–2008 Abdul Latif Khalid Cheema, 2008–2011, 2012–present

Other Janbaz Mirza, journalist Muhammad Ismail Zabeeh, Secretary, Punjab, 1937 Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah, scholar Haji Abdul Jabar Khan Abbottabad NWFP

See also List of Deobandi organisations References

Further reading