The Barelvi movement, is a Sunni revivalist movement that generally adheres to the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of jurisprudence, the Maturidi and Ash'ari creeds, a variety of Sufi orders, including the Qadiri, Chishti, Naqshbandi and Suhrawardi orders, as well as many other orders of Sufism, and has hundreds of millions of followers across the world. They consider themselves to be the continuation of Sunni Islamic orthodoxy before the rise of Salafism and the Deobandi movement.
The Barelvi movement is spread across the globe with millions of followers, thousands of mosques, institutions, and organizations in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, South Africa and other parts of Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the United States.
As of 2000, the movement had around 200 million followers globally but mainly located in Pakistan and India.
The movement claims to revive the Sunnah as embodied in the Qur'an, literature of traditions (hadith) and the way of the scholars, as the people had lapsed from the Prophetic traditions. Consequently, scholars took the duty of reminding Muslims to go back to the 'ideal' way of Islam. The movement drew inspiration from the Sunni doctrines of Shah Abdur Rahim (1644-1719) founder of Madrasah-i Rahimiyah and one of the compilers of Fatawa-e-Alamgiri. Shah Abdur Rahim is the father of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi. The movement also drew inspiration from Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlavi (1746 –1824) and Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (1796–1861) founder of the Khairabad School. Fazle Haq Khairabadi Islamic scholar and leader of 1857 rebellion issued fatwas against Wahhabi Ismail Dehlvi for his doctrine of God's alleged ability to lie () from Delhi in 1825. Ismail is considered as an intellectual ancestor of Deobandis.
The movement emphasizes personal devotion and adherence to Sīrah of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, sharia and , following the four Islamic schools of thought, the usage of and Sufi practices such as veneration of and seeking help from saints among other things associated with Sufism. The movement defines itself as an authentic representative of Sunni Islam, (The people who adhere to the Prophetic Tradition and preserve the unity of the community).
Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi (1856–1921), who was a Sunni Sufi scholar and reformer in north India, wrote extensively, including the , in defense of the status of Muhammad in Islam and popular Sufi practices, and became the leader of the Barelvi movement.
Terminology The Barelvi movement is also known as the . According to Oxford Reference, or Barelvi is movement developed on the basis of writings of Mawlana Ahmed Raza Khan Barelwi. The Database of Religious History refers the movement as the Ahl-e-Sunnat wa Jamaat (often, Ahl-e-Sunnat) which has a very strong presence in South Asia.
Professor Usha Sanyal, an expert on 'Ahl-i Sunnat Movement', referred the movement as Ahl-i Sunnat. She wrote that the movement refer to themselves as 'Sunnis' in their literature and prefer to be known by the title of Ahle Sunnat wa Jama'at a reference to the perception of them, as forming an international majority amongst Sunnis, although Barelvi is the term used by section of media to refer to this specific movement arising from Sunni Islam.Illustrated Dictionary of the Muslim World, pg. 113. Marshall Cavendish, 2011. Globalisation, Religion & Development, pg. 53. Eds. Farhang Morady and İsmail Şiriner. London: International Journal of Politics and Economics, 2011.Elizabeth Sirriyeh, Sufis and Anti-Sufis: The Defense, Rethinking and Rejection of Sufism in the Modern World, pg. 49. London: Routledge, 1999. .Rowena Robinson, Tremors of Violence: Muslim Survivors of Ethnic Strife in Western India, pg. 191. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2005. Usha Sanyal. Generational Changes in the Leadership of the Ahl-e Sunnat Movement in North India during the Twentieth Century . Modern Asian Studies (1998), Cambridge University Press.
Main leaders of Ahle Sunnat movement Imam Ahmad Raza Khan and other scholars never used the term 'Barelvi' to identify themselves or their movement; they saw themselves as Sunni Muslims defending traditional Sunni beliefs from deviations. Only later was the term 'Barelvi' used by the section of media and by opposition groups on the basis of the hometown Bareilly, of its main leader Imam Ahmed Raza Khan Qadri (1856–1921). The Barelvis are also called Sunni Sufis.
History Islamic scholar and teacher of Ahmed Raza Khan Qadri, Maulana Naqi Ali Khan (1830-1880) had refuted the ideas of Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi (d. 1831), who was a founder of Wahhabism in India. Naqi Ali Khan declared Sayyid Ahmad Rae Barelwi, a 'Wahhabi' due to his support for Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's ideology. Similarly, founder of Khairabad school, Allama Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi in 1825 in his book 'Tahqîqul-Fatâwâ' and Allama Fazle-Rasûl Badayûnî in his book 'Saiful-Jabbâr' issued Fatwas against the founders of Ahl-i Hadith and Deobandi movements Fazle Haq Khairabadi Islamic scholar and leader of 1857 rebellion issued fatwas against Wahhabi Ismail Dehlvi for his doctrine of God's alleged ability to lie (Imkan-i-Kizb) from Delhi in 1825. Ismail is considered as an intellectual ancestor of Deobandis.Introduction of Ahle Sunnat wal Jama'at (Sawad E Azam Ahl E Sunnat Wal Jama'at Aqaed W Mamulat) by Yaseen Akhtar Misbahi, published by Darul Qalam, Delhi 2014 This refutation of traditional scholars against newly emerging Wahabi sect influenced Sunni scholars such as Ahmed Raza Khan Qadri and paved the way for more organised movement which later came to be known as Ahle-Sunnat movement in South Asia. The movement formed as a defense of the traditional mystic practices of South Asia, which it sought to prove and support.
The Ahl-i Sunnat or Sunni Barelwi movement began in the 1880s under the leadership of Ahmad Raza Khan (1856-1921), who spent his lifetime writing fatwas (judicial opinion) and later established Islamic schools in 1904 with the Manzar-e-Islam in the Bareilly and other madrasas in Pilibhit and Lahore cities.: "...were advanced by Imam Ahmad Reza Khan of Bareilly in 1906 as the original form of Islam and as the alternative to the austere path of the Deobandis."Barbara Daly Metcalf, Islamic revival in British India: Deoband, 1860–1900, pg. 312. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Roshen Dalal, The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths, pg. 51. Revised edition. City of Westminster: Penguin Books, 2010. Barbara D. Metcalf, Islam in South Asia in Practice, pg. 342. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. "...as distinct from the reformist construction of Deoband."Gregory C. Doxlowski. Devotional Islam and Politics in British India: Ahmad Raza Khan Barelwi and His Movement, 1870–1920. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Oct–Dec 1999. The Barelvi movement formed as a defense of the traditional mystic practices of South Asia, which it sought to prove and support.
The movement views themselves as Sunni or Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat and according to it main leaders of the movement including Imam Ahmad Riza Khan, did not invent new sect but defended traditional Sunni Islam. According to Ahle Sunnat scholars, Deobandis have created a new sect.A subcontinent's Sunni schism: The Deobandi-Barelvi dynamic and the creation of modern south AsiaA subcontinent's Sunni schism: The Deobandi-Barelvi dynamic and the creation of modern south AsiaJackson, W. Kesler .Syracuse University. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2013. 3597234. The Sunni madrasas of this movement have rarely, if ever, been involved in extremist politics and militancy.
Propagation against the Shuddhi (Arya Samaj conversion) Movement Hindu Arya Samaj, through its founder Swami Dayanand SaraswatiDayanand and the Shuddhi Movement Indian Political Tradition, by D.K Mohanty. Published by Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. . Page 116. initiated converting Muslims back in to Hinduism specially in North India, and Punjab in the early 1900s. They became active in Bharatpur State and they also preached to the neo-Muslim Malkanas, in Etawah, Kanpur, Shahajahnpur, Hardoi, Meerut and Mainpuri in the western United Provinces, exhorting them to return to what they believed was their 'ancestral religion'. As a result, the movement became controversial and it also antagonized the Muslims populace untouchable assertion The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-century India, by Nandini Gooptu. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2001. . Page 157. To counter this movement Indian Muslims started Islamic Dawa work among the Muslim population and challenged the Arya Samaj leaders for debates. Mufti Naeemuddin Moradabadi, Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri and Hamid Raza Khan along with a team of Ahle Sunnat scholars through Jama'at Raza-e-Mustafa worked in north Indian towns and villages against the Shuddhi movement.The Fundamentalism Project, by Martin E. Marty, R. Scott Appleby, American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Published by University of Chicago Press, 1991.. Page 564. The Jama'at Raza-e-Mustafa prevented around four hundred thousand conversions to Hinduism in eastern U.P and Rajasthan during its activities under anti-Shuddhi movement.Jackson, William Kesler, "A Subcontinent's Sunni Schism: The Deobandi-Barelvi Rivalry and the Creation of Modern South Asia" (2013). History - Dissertations.page 188 & 189. https://surface.syr.edu/hst_etd/102 In 1917, Islamic scholar Mufti Naeem-ud-Deen Muradabadi organized the historical Jama'at Raza-e-Mustafa conference at Jamia Naeemia Moradabad U.P, with a mission to curb, and if possible reverse, the tide of re-conversions threatening the Muslim community in the wake of the Shuddhi movement.Jackson, William Kesler (2013), page 188 & 189
Shaheed Ganj Mosque Movement
Shaheed Ganj Mosque was commissioned in 1722 during the reign of Mughal Emperor Alamgir II and built by Abdullah Khan. The construction was completed in 1753. It was located in Naulakha Bazaar area of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In 1762, the Bhangi misl Sikh army conquered Lahore and occupied the mosque. The Muslims were not allowed to enter and pray, although Sikhs were given the right to pray. The Sikhs built a gurdwara in the courtyard while the Mosque building was used as a residence for the Sikh priest. On 17 April 1850, a case was in Punjab High Court. Several suits were filed between 1853 and 1883 to recover the Shaheed Ganj Mosque, but courts maintained the status quo. On 29 June 1935, the Sikhs announced that they would demolish the Shaheed Ganj Mosque. Several thousand Muslims assembled in front of the mosque to protect it. But, on the night of 7 July 1935 the Sikhs demolished the mosque, leading to riots and disorder in Lahore. Ahle Sunnat scholar and Sufi Peer Jamaat Ali Shah of Sialkot, Pakistan, led the Shaheed Ganj Mosque movement.The Religious And Reformative Services Of Renowned Sufis Of Silsila-E-Naqshbandia Mujadidia (1841-2000) Hussain, Mehrban (2008) PhD thesis, University of Karachi, Karachi Muslims held a public meeting on 19–20 July 1935 at the Badshahi mosque, and marched directly on the Shaheedganj mosque. Police opened fire on the crowd to kill more than a dozen.
Peer Jamaat Ali Shah presided over the first session of the Conference to organize protests against the demolition. He was appointed the Chief of the protests. "Shaheedganj Day" was observed on 20 September 1935 under his leadership. His appointment as leader of this movement garnered support from other Sunni scholars. Fazal Shah of Jalalpur and Ghulam Mohiuddin of Golra Sharif, Zainulabedin Shah of the Gilani family from Multan and Anjuman Hizb-ul-Ahnaf from Lahore offered support to Shah's leadership. This consensus created a religious and political base which reduced urban-rural differences. The struggle continued for several years.
All India Sunni Conference