{{Short description|Sunni revivalist movement in South Asia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}<!--Do NOT add citations to the lead, except for material likely to be challenged, per MOS:LEADCITE (Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section#Citations). Move unneeded citations to the body.--> {{Infobox Religious group | group = Deobandi Movement | image = {{multiple image | border = infobox | total_width = 270 | image_style = border:1; | perrow = 1/2/2/1 | image1 = Darul Uloom Deoband.jpg | image2 = Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (cropped).jpg | image3 = Hussain Ahmad Madani (cropped).jpg | image4 = Sabbir Ahmad Usmani (cropped).jpg | image5 = Taqi Usmani (cropped).jpg | image6 = Shah Ahmad Shafi.jpg }} | caption = Clockwise from top: Darul Uloom Deoband, Hussain Ahmad Madani, Taqi Usmani, Shah Ahmad Shafi, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Mahmud Hasan Deobandi }} {{CS1 config|mode=cs1}} {{Islam}}{{Sunni Islam}}{{Islamism sidebar}} The '''Deobandi movement''' or '''Deobandism'''<ref>{{citation |last1=Ahmad |first1=Ishtiaq |author-link1=Ishtiaq Ahmad (political scientist) |last2=Bashir |first2=Aamir |title=India and Pakistan: Charting a Path to Peace |publisher=Society for Tolerance and Education, Pakistan (STEP) |year=2004 |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_gpuAAAAMAAJ |quote=Deobandism had originated in British-ruled India during the mid-nineteenth century as a reformist ideology that aimed to regenerate Muslim society as it struggled to live within the confines of a colonized state.}}</ref>{{efn|It is also referred to as the '''Deobandi school''' (of Islam),<ref>{{cite book |author=Tahir Abbas |date=March 2011 |title=Islamic Radicalism and Multicultural Politics: The British Experience |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-95960-8 |page=34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JdC90uc8PfQC&pg=PA34}}</ref> and the '''Deobandi sect'''.<ref>Kamran Bokhari, [https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ The Long Shadow of Deobandism in South Asia], New Lines Magazine, 23 November 2021.</ref> The practitioners of Deobandism however deny that it is a sect.<ref>[https://mcb.org.uk/british-muslims-reject-trial-by-media-of-the-deobandi-movement/ British Muslims Reject Trial by Media of the Deobandi Movement], Muslim Council of Britain, 7 September 2007.</ref>}} is a Sunni Islamic revivalist movement that traces its origins to the founding of the Darul Uloom madrasa in Deoband, British India, in the late 19th century. The Deobandi movement's Indian clerical wing, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, was founded in 1919 and played a major role in the Indian independence movement through its participation in the pan-Islamist ''Khilafat'' movement and propagation of the doctrine of composite nationalism.
Deobandis are adherents of Sufism and the movement encompasses a variety of Sufi orders. They oppose folklore-based practices which they regard as superstitious and advocate for reform within Sufism. In terms of jurisprudence, the Deobandis uphold the doctrine of {{Transliteration|ar|taqlid}} and adhere to one of the four Sunni {{Transliteration|ar|madhahib}} (schools) – {{Transliteration|ar|Hanafi}}, {{Transliteration|ar|Maliki}}, {{Transliteration|ar|Shafi'i}}, and {{Transliteration|ar|Hanbali}}. Deobandis opposed the influence of non-Muslim cultures on the Muslims living in South Asia. The movement also contributed immensely to the revival of hadith studies, and many Deobandi hadith scholars wrote numerous authoritative and comprehensive commentaries.
The founders of the Deobandi school drew inspiration from the Sunni scholarly tradition of {{Transliteration|ar|Madrasah-i Rahimiyya}} and were influenced by the teachings of the South Asian Sufi refomer and Islamic scholar Shah Waliullah Dehlawi. The movement pioneered religious education through the {{Transliteration|ar|Dars-i Nizami}} associated with the Lucknow-based {{Transliteration|ar|ulama}} of Firangi Mahal with the goal of preserving traditional Islamic teachings from the influx of modernist and secular ideas during British colonial rule. Politically, Deobandis were deeply connected to the pan-Islamist movements of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi's {{Transliteration|ar|Tariqat-i Muhammadiyya}}, and the Silk Letter Movement in the subcontinent. The contemporary strands of the Deobandi movement are highly diverse, with many engaged in peaceful preaching and educational efforts, while others are militant. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, several Deobandis volunteered to fight the Soviet military forces in Afghanistan and joined the Afghan ''mujahideen''.
In its early years, Deobandi scholars engaged in theological debates with Christian and Hindu scholars with the objective of defending Islamic faith and advocating for the overthrow of British colonialism. Deobandi theologians of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, in particular, discussed multiculturalism and opposition to the partition of India, with a view to safeguarding the religious freedom of Muslims in India. On the other hand, Deobandi scholars of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, led by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, played a leading role in the Pakistan Movement. Today, the movement has spread from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to various parts of the world.
== Foundation and expansion ==
{{Deobandi}}British colonialism in India<ref name="Luv Puri">{{cite journal |last=Puri |first=Luv |date=3 November 2009 |title=The Past and Future of Deobandi Islam |url=https://ctc.usma.edu/the-past-and-future-of-deobandi-islam/ |journal=CTC Sentinel |location=West Point, New York |publisher=Combating Terrorism Center |volume=2 |issue=11 |pages=19–22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121211544/https://www.ctc.usma.edu/the-past-and-future-of-deobandi-islam/ |archive-date=21 January 2022 }}</ref> was seen by a group of Indian scholars—consisting of Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, Muhammad Yaqub Nanawtawi, Rafiuddin Deobandi, Sayyid Muhammad Abid, Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi, Fazlur Rahman Usmani and Muhammad Qasim Nanawtawi—to be corrupting Islam.<ref> {{cite web |title=The Six Great Ones |publisher=Darul Uloom Deoband |url=http://www.darululoom-deoband.com/english/introulema/founders1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308214818/http://www.darululoom-deoband.com/english/introulema/founders1.htm |archive-date=8 March 2016}} </ref> The group founded an Islamic seminary (''madrassa'') known as Darul Uloom Deoband,<ref name="Luv Puri" /><ref name="Hashmi"> {{cite book |last=Hashmi |first=Arshi Saleem |chapter=Historical Roots of the Deobandi Version of Jihadism and Its Implications for Violence in Pakistan |editor1=Jawad Syed |editor2=Edwina Pio |editor3=Tahir Kamran |editor4=Abbas Zaidi |title=Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-349-94965-6 |location=Basingstoke |page=139 |doi=10.1057/978-1-349-94966-3 |lccn=2016951736 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Mx5DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA139 |quote=Some prominent founders of the Darul Uloom Deoband, such as Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, drew further inspiration from the religiopoliticial concept of Shah Waliullah and they set up an Islamic seminary at Deoband in UP on 30 May 1866}}</ref><ref name="Lapidus">{{citation |title=A History of Islamic Societies |first=Ira Marvin |last=Lapidus |edition=revised |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |isbn=0521779332 |page=626 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I3mVUEzm8xMC&pg=PA626}}</ref><ref name="Urban Terrorism">{{cite book |last1=Asthana |first1=N. C. |last2=Nirmal |first2=Anjali |title=Urban Terrorism: Myths and Realities |publisher=Shashi Jain for Pointer Publishers |location=Jaipur |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-7132-598-6 |page=66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8EqWnqdsgZMC&pg=PA66}}</ref> where the Islamic revivalist and anti-imperialist ideology of the Deobandis began to develop. In time, the Darul Uloom Deoband became the second largest focal point of Islamic teaching and research after the Al-Azhar University, Cairo. Towards the time of the Indian independence movement and afterward in post-colonial India, the Deobandis advocated a notion of composite nationalism by which Muslims and Hindus were seen as one nation who were asked to be united in the struggle against the British rule.<ref name="Asghar Ali"/>
In 1919, a large group of Deobandi scholars formed the political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and opposed the partition of India.<ref name="Asghar Ali" /> Deobandi scholar Hussain Ahmad Madani helped to spread these ideas through his text ''Muttahida Qaumiyat Aur Islam''.<ref name="Asghar Ali">{{cite web |last1=Ali |first1=Asghar |title=Islamic identity in secular India |url=http://www.milligazette.com/news/900-islamic-identity-in-secular-india-part-i |work=The Milli Gazette |date=9 April 2011 |quote=The Ulama of Deoband opposed partition and stood by united nationalism. Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, then chief of Jami’at-ul-Ulama-i-Hind, wrote a tract ''Muttahida Qaumiyyat aur Islam'' i.e., the Composite Nationalism and Islam justifying composite nationalism in the light of Qur’an and hadith and opposing Muslim League’s separate nationalism. While the educated elite were aspiring for power and hence wanted their exclusive domain; the Ulama’s priority was an independent India where they could practice Islam without fear or hindrance.}}</ref> A group later dissented from this position and joined Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Muslim League, including Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Zafar Ahmad Usmani and Muhammad Shafi, who formed the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in 1945.<ref>''A History of Pakistan and Its Origins'', Christophe Jaffrelot, p. 224</ref>
Through the organisations such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and Tablighi Jamaat,<ref name="Asghar Ali" /><ref name="Burki Tablighi Jamaat">{{cite journal |last=Burki |first=Shireen Khan |date=2013 |title=The Tablighi Jama'at: Proselytizing Missionaries or Trojan Horse? |journal=Journal of Applied Security Research|location=London |publisher=Routledge |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=98–117 |doi=10.1080/19361610.2013.738407 |s2cid=144466130 |issn=1936-1629}}</ref><ref name="Kuiper Tablighi Tamaat">{{cite web |last=Kuiper |first=Matthew J. |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0250.xml |title=Tablighi Jamaʿat—Oxford Islamic Studies Online |date=22 February 2018 |website=www.oxfordbibliographies.com |publisher=Oxford University Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303040002/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0250.xml |archive-date=3 March 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> the Deobandi movement began to spread.<ref>Lloyd Ridgeon (2015). ''Sufis and Salafis in the Contemporary Age''. Bloomsbury Publishing. {{ISBN|978-1472532237}}. p. 191.</ref><ref>Youssef Aboul-Enein ''Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat'' Naval Institute Press, 2011, {{ISBN|978-1612510156}} p. 223.</ref> Graduates of Darul Uloom Deoband in India from countries such as South Africa, China, and Malaysia opened thousands of ''madaaris'' throughout the world.<ref name="Abbas">{{cite book |last=Abbas |first=Tahir |title=Islamic Radicalism and Multicultural Politics: The British Experience |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-415-57224-8 |location=London |pages=33–34 |chapter=Islamic political radicalism: origins and destinations |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JdC90uc8PfQC&pg=PA33}}</ref>
=== India === The Deobandi movement in India is managed and spread by Darul Uloom Deoband<ref name="Luv Puri" /><ref name="Hashmi" /><ref name="Lapidus" /><ref name="Urban Terrorism" /> and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.<ref name="Asghar Ali" /><ref name="Burki Tablighi Jamaat" /><ref name="Kuiper Tablighi Tamaat" />
=== Pakistan === {{further|Islamism in Pakistan|Sectarian violence in Pakistan}} Of Pakistan's estimated 230 million Muslims, some 15-30% consider themselves Deobandi.<ref name="Rohan Bedi">{{citation|first1=Rohan |last1=Bedi |title=Have Pakistanis Forgotten Their Sufi Traditions? |place=Singapore |publisher=International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University |date=April 2006 |page=3 |url=http://www.pvtr.org/pdf/RegionalAnalysis/SouthAsia/Madrassa%20_IDSS%20_%20_FINAL_.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102091018/http://www.pvtr.org/pdf/RegionalAnalysis/SouthAsia/Madrassa%20_IDSS%20_%20_FINAL_.pdf |archive-date=2 November 2013 }} This estimates that 15% of Pakistani Muslims are Deobandi and 20% Shia, which equates to about 19% of Pakistan's Sunni Muslims being Deobandi.</ref> According to Heritage Online, nearly 65% of the total seminaries (Madrasah) in Pakistan are run by Deobandis, whereas 25% are run by Barelvis, 6% by Ahl-i Hadith and 3% by various Shia organisations. The Deobandi movement in Pakistan was a major recipient of funding from Saudi Arabia from the early 1980s up until the early 2000s, where after this funding was diverted to the rival Ahl-i Hadith movement.<ref name="Sareen">{{cite book |first=Sushant |last=Sareen |title=The Jihad Factory: Pakistan's Islamic Revolution in the Making |page=282 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Har Anand Publications |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSxZhFenUusC|isbn=978-8124110751 }}</ref> Having seen Deoband as a counterbalance to Iranian influence in the region, Saudi funding is now strictly reserved for the Ahl-i Hadith.<ref name="Sareen" />
Deobandi-affiliated groups such as the TTP, SSP, Let, etc. have a militant character<ref name="Gugler p.371">{{cite book |last=Gugler |first=Thomas K. |chapter=Islamization and Barelvis in Pakistan |editor1=Jawad Syed |editor2=Edwina Pio |editor3=Tahir Kamran |editor4=Abbas Zaidi |title=Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=London |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-349-94965-6 |page=371 |doi=10.1057/978-1-349-94966-3 |lccn=2016951736 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Mx5DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA371}}</ref> and have attacked and destroyed Sufi sites holy to Sunni Muslims of the Barelvi movement, such as Data Darbar in Lahore, Abdullah Shah Ghazi's tomb in Karachi, Khal Magasi in Balochistan, and Rahman Baba's tomb in Peshawar.<ref name="Gugler p.371"/>
=== Afghanistan === {{seealso|Taliban}} Deobandi is the most popular Islamic movement in the Pashtun belt on both sides of the Durand Line that separates Afghanistan and Pakistan.<ref name="Sareen" /><ref name="Luv Puri" /> Moreover, prominent Afghan and Pakistani Taliban leaders have studied in Deobandi seminaries.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ctc.usma.edu/the-past-and-future-of-deobandi-islam/ |title=The Past and Future of Deobandi Islam |date=3 November 2009 |website=Combating Terrorism Center at West Point |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121211544/https://www.ctc.usma.edu/the-past-and-future-of-deobandi-islam/ }}</ref>
=== South Africa === {{Main|Deobandi movement in South Africa}}
The Deobandi Movement has an international presence today, with its full-fledged manifestation in South Africa, a country where the movement was initiated through the Indian Gujarati merchant class.<ref>{{Citation |last=Moosa |first=Ebrahim |title=Deobandīs in Africa |date=2015 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/deobandis-in-africa-COM_27718?s.num=1&s.au=%22Moosa,+Ebrahim%22 |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE |publisher=Brill }}</ref> The Islamic education system of the Deobandi movement, as well as the necessary components of social and political organisations such as the Tablighi Jamat and Jamiatul Ulama South Africa are fully functioning effectively in South Africa, as they do in India. Madrasas in South Africa provide Islamic higher education and are now centers for Islamic education for foreigners who are interested in receiving a Deobandi-style education. Many of their graduates, especially from Western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, are Western students. Some of South African madrasas are recognised globally, providing fatwa services. South Africa is now known for producing exceptional Islamic literature through translation and compilation. Similarly, the Tabligh Jamaat is a hub in South Africa that spreads throughout South and East Africa. Graduates of South African madrassas spend their time in service of the Tablighi Jamaat, among them are Zakariyya Kandhlawi, Masihullah Khan, Mahmood Hasan Gangohi<ref name="Hashmi" /> and Asad Madni. South African Deobandi Muslims have many important and influential educational and socio-political organisations that educate the people and play an important role in religious and social activities. Among them are Jamiatul Ulama South Africa and the Muslim Judicial Council.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Khalili |first=Muhammadullah |author-link=Muhammadullah Khalili Qasmi |date=2016 |title=Influence of Deoband School of Thought In South Africa |url=https://www.academia.edu/34768122 |url-status=live |journal=University of KwaZulu-Natal |page=15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029023652/https://www.academia.edu/34768122/Influence_of_Deoband_School_of_Thought_In_South_Africa |archive-date=29 October 2022 }}</ref>
=== Iran === {{Main|Deobandi movement in Iran}}
Students from various regions, including Sistan and Baluchestan in Iran, attended Deoband, which led to the spread of its founders ideas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Durani |first=Abdul Gufur |date=2013 |title=Advent of Deobandi Thinking in India and Its Impact on Iranian Baluchistan |url=https://jsr.usb.ac.ir/article_848.html?lang=en |journal=Journal of Subcontinent Researches |volume=4 |pages=22 |doi=10.22111/jsr.2013.848|doi-broken-date=11 July 2025 }}</ref> This movement had a significant impact on some of the new generation of Iranian intellectuals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref>{{Encyclopædia Iranica Online|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/islam-in-iran-xiii-islamic-political-movements-in-20th-century-iran|title=Islam In Iran Xiii. Islamic Political Movements In 20th Century Iran|first=Ashraf|last=Ahmad|year=2000}}</ref> After entering Iran, the students of this school continued to expand this thinking and with the formation of missionary groups. These thoughts have been strengthened on one hand due to the cultural relationships between the Baloch tribes and on the other hand due to the connection of Sistan and Baluchestan's Iran and India's Hanafi religious leaders in Iran.{{Sfn|Durani|2013|p=22}} Today, Deobandi thinking is one of the intellectual currents in Sistan and Baluchestan and preaching groups are active in different cities and villages. Its playing a crucial role in Iran's political landscape. The Deobandis aimed to homogenise religious schools and were opposed to certain popular practices. The Naqshbandi order played an important role for the Deobandi movement in the Persian-speaking world.<ref name=":dawn">{{Cite news |last=Salman |first=Peerzada |date=21 May 2015 |title=The role of Deobandi school of thought in Iran discussed |work=Dawn |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1183212}}</ref>
=== United Kingdom === {{further|Islamism in the United Kingdom}} In the 1970s, Deobandis opened the first British-based Muslim religious seminaries (Darul-Ulooms), educating imams and religious scholars.<ref name=Who/> Deobandis "have been quietly meeting the religious and spiritual needs of a significant proportion of British Muslims, and are perhaps the most influential British Muslim group."<ref name=Who>{{citation |url=http://www.onreligion.co.uk/who-are-britains-muslims/ |title=Who are Britain's Muslims? |date=12 August 2016 |work=On Religion magazine |first1=Abdul-Azim |last1=Ahmed |archive-date=9 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809154515/http://www.onreligion.co.uk/who-are-britains-muslims/ }}</ref> In 2007, the Deobandis ran 17 seminaries (out of a total of 26 in the UK) and were producing 80 percent of home-trained Muslim clerics. They also ran 600 of Britain's nearly 1,500 mosques.<ref name="Hardline">{{cite news |last1=Norfolk |first1=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Norfolk |date=7 September 2007 |title=Hardline takeover of British Masjid |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/hardline-takeover-of-british-mosques-khdjz2cjpnc |newspaper=The Times}}</ref> In 2014 it was reported that 45 per cent of Britain's mosques and nearly all the UK-based training of Islamic scholars were controlled by the Deobandis.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bowen |first1=Innes |date=14 June 2014 |title=Who runs our mosques? |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2014/06/who-runs-our-mosques/ |newspaper=The Spectator}}</ref>
Journalist Andrew Norfolk found that the leading Deobandi preacher loathed western values, called on Muslims to "shed blood" for Allah and preached contempt for Jews, Christians and Hindus.<ref name="Hardline" /> In 2015 Ofsted highlighted the Deobandi seminary in Holcombe as a good example of a school "promoting British values, preventing radicalisation and protecting children".<ref name="Ofsted201415">{{citation |title=The Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills 2014/15 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/483347/Ofsted_annual_report_education_and_skills.pdf |date=1 December 2015 |publisher=House of Commons |pages=95–96}} [https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/24830/2/Ofsted_annual_report_education_and_skills_Redacted.pdf Alternative URL].</ref> Norfolk disagreed with the assessment.<ref name="AndrewNorfolk19April2016">{{citation |title=Prisons chief praises extreme Islamic sect |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/religion/article/prisons-chief-praises-islamic-sect-that-warns-of-repulsive-christian-women-srjb6cdc6 |newspaper=The Times |date=19 April 2016 |first1=Andrew |last1=Norfolk |author-link =Andrew Norfolk}}</ref>
==Beliefs== With its roots in Islamic scholastic traditions of Mughal India and pre-modern Afghanistan, the Deobandi movement traces its lineage to the Sunni revivalist movements of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi and his successors, including Shah Abdul Aziz, Shah Muhammad Ishaq, and Shah Ismail Dehlvi.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bokhari |first=Kamran |date=23 November 2021 |title=The Long Shadow of Deobandism in South Asia |url=https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123222852/https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |archive-date=23 November 2021 |website=Newslines Magazine}}</ref><ref name="newageislam Ismail Dehlawi">{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Rehan |date=3 February 2020 |title=Shah Ismail Dehlawi, a Grandson of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Represented a Fusion of Sufism with Salafism |url=https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/rehan-khan/shah-ismail-dehlawi-grandson-shah-waliullah-dehlawi-represented-fusion-sufism-with-salafism/d/121025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509084123/https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/rehan-khan/shah-ismail-dehlawi-grandson-shah-waliullah-dehlawi-represented-fusion-sufism-with-salafism/d/121025 |archive-date=9 May 2021 |website=New Age Islam}}</ref><ref name="britannica">[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ranjit-Singh-Sikh-maharaja Profile of Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh on Encyclopedia Britannica] Retrieved 16 August 2018</ref><ref name="GoogleBooks">[https://books.google.com/books?id=LFaIp-8BEDoC&dq=shah+ismail+shaheed&pg=PT4 Profile of Dehlvi on books.google.com website] Retrieved 16 August 2018</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sinan Siyech |first=Mohammed |date=4 February 2020 |title=What Makes a Movement Violent: Comparing the Ahle Hadith (Salafists) in India and Pakistan |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/what-makes-movement-violent-comparing-ahle-hadith-salafists-india-and-pakistan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418223600/https://www.mei.edu/publications/what-makes-movement-violent-comparing-ahle-hadith-salafists-india-and-pakistan |archive-date=18 April 2021 |website=MEI}}</ref><ref name="Ulama-e-Deoband">{{cite web |title=Maslak of Ulama-e-Deoband – Darul Uloom Deoband – India |url=https://darululoom-deoband.com/en/the-track/}}</ref> Scholars of the Deobandi movement view themselves as the spiritual heirs of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, with early Deobandi leaders actively reviving his Sufi reformist teachings.<ref name="Kozlowski"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Roy |first1=Olivier |title=Islam and Resistance in Afghanistan |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1990 |isbn=9780521397001 |page=57|edition=Second}}</ref> Shah Waliullah Dehlawi was a contemporary of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, and they studied in Medina under some of the same teachers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bokhari |first=Kamran |date=23 November 2021 |title=The Long Shadow of Deobandism in South Asia |url=https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123222852/https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |archive-date=23 November 2021 |website=Newslines Magazine}}</ref> Muhammad Iqbal said: "The Deobandi movement is neither a creed (Aqidah) nor a denomination (Tayifa) – terms by which its antagonists try to incite the masses against it – but it is a comprehensive picture and a complete edition of the tack of the Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah in which all the offshoots of the Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah are seen joined with their root."<ref>"History of Darul Uloom Deoband", Vol.1, 1980</ref>
=== Theology === Deobandis follow the Maturidi school of Sunni Islamic theology.<ref name="Spevack 2014 49"/><ref>David Emmanuel Singh, Islamization in Modern South Asia: Deobandi Reform and the Gujjar Response, p 167.</ref><ref name="deoband.org">{{cite web |author=ibnummabd |url=http://www.deoband.org/about-2/ |title=About |publisher=Deoband.org |date=2009-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060851/http://www.deoband.org/about-2/ |archive-date=21 September 2013}}</ref> Their schools teach a short text on beliefs known as ''al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya'' by the Hanafi-Maturidi scholar Najm al-Din 'Umar al-Nasafi.<ref name="Bruinessen, Stefano Allievi p 100">Martin van Bruinessen, Stefano Allievi, Producing Islamic Knowledge: Transmission and Dissemination in Western Europe, p 100. {{ISBN|1136932860}}</ref>
The official Deobandi book, ''al-Muhannad 'ala al-Mufannad'' (The Sword on the Disproved), also known as: ''al-Tasdiqat li-Daf' al-Talbisat'' (Endorsements Repelling Deceits), is a work that summarises the beliefs generally held by the Deobandis. It was authored by Khalil Ahmad al-Saharanpuri (d. 1346/1927) in order to defend and remit the Deobandis from the charge of kufr (unbelief or blasphemy) levied against them by their opponents.<ref>{{cite book |first=Brannon D. |last=Ingram |title=Revival from Below: The Deoband Movement and Global Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkFyDwAAQBAJ |date=2018 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520970137 |page=254}}</ref>
According to Brannon D. Ingram, Deobandis differ from Barelvis on three theological positions.<ref name="kizb3">{{citation |last1=Ingram |first1=Brannon D. |title=Revival from Below: The Deoband Movement and Global Islam |pages=7, 64, 100, 241 |year=2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOVvDwAAQBAJ&q=Imkan-i+Kizb |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520298002}}</ref> Gangohi stated that God has the ability to lie.<ref name="rag2">{{citation |last1=Ingram |first1=Brannon D. |title=Sufis, Scholars and Scapegoats: Rashid Ahmad Gangohi(d. 1905) and the Deobandi Critique of Sufism |journal=The Muslim World |volume=99 |issue=3 |page=484 |year=2009 |url=https://www.academia.edu/282790 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2009.01281.x}}</ref> This doctrine is called ''Imkan-i Kizb''.<ref name="kizb3" /><ref name="rag2" /> According to this doctrine, because God is omnipotent, God is capable of lying.<ref name="kizb3" /> Gangohi also supported the doctrine that God has the ability to make additional prophets after Muhammad (''Imkan-i Nazir'') and other prophets equal to Muhammad.<ref name="kizb3" /><ref name="rag2" /> Gangohi clarifies that although God has the ability to make prophets on "par" with Muhammad, he "would never do so".<ref name="kizb3" />
Some Deobandis, known as ''Mamati'' Deobandis, believe that the Prophet is not alive in his grave. This contrasts with the ''Hayati'' Deobandis and Barelvis who believe that he is alive in his grave.<ref>Rana, M.A., 2011. Evolution of militant groups in Pakistan. ''Conflict and Peace Studies,'' 4(2), p.137.</ref>
===Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence)=== {{Main|Deobandi fiqh}}
Deobandis are strong proponents of the doctrine of ''Taqlid''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Metcalf |first=Barbara Daly |title=Islamic revival in British India: Deoband, 1860–1900 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-19-566049-8 |edition=3rd impression. |location=New Delhi |page=141}}</ref><ref> {{citation |last=Commins |first=David |title=The Mission and the Kingdom: Wahhabi Power behind the Saudi throne |page=144 |year=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQN6q16dIjAC |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=9781838609528 |quote=That tendency [of reviving the community of believers] emerged in a town north of Delhi called Deoband and it is therefore known as the Deobandi movement. While they shared the Wahhabis' dedication to ritual correctness, their scrupulous adherence to the Hanafi legal school clearly set them apart from the Arabian Hanbalis. |orig-year=2006}}</ref><ref name="Ingram 2018">{{cite book |last=Ingram |first=Brannon D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOVvDwAAQBAJ |title=Revival from Below: The Deoband Movement and Global Islam |publisher=University of California Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0520298002 |location=Oakland |lccn=2018014045}}</ref> In other words, they believe that a Deobandi must adhere to one of the four schools (madhhabs) of Sunni Islamic Law and discourage inter-school eclecticism.<ref>Martin Van Bruinessen, Julia Day Howell, Sufism and the 'Modern' in Islam, p 130, {{ISBN|1850438544}}</ref> They themselves claim to be the followers of the Hanafi school.<ref name="Spevack 2014 49">{{cite book |first=Aaron |last=Spevack |title=The Archetypal Sunni Scholar: Law, Theology, and Mysticism in the Synthesis of Al-Bajuri |page=49 |publisher=State University of New York Press |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-4384-5370-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htx8BAAAQBAJ&q=Hanafi}}</ref><ref>[http://essays.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/metcalf.htm Metcalf, Barabara. ''"Traditionalist" Islamic Activism: Deoband, Tablighis, and Talibs''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901024438/http://essays.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/metcalf.htm |date=1 September 2009 }}. "These orientations – "Deobandi," "Barelvi" or "Ahl-i Hadith" – would come to define sectarian divisions among Sunni Muslims of South Asian background to the present."</ref> Students at madrasas affiliated with the Deobandi movement study the classic books of Hanafi Law such as ''Nur al-Idah'', ''Mukhtasar al-Quduri'', ''Sharh al-Wiqayah'', and ''Kanz al-Daqa’iq'', culminating their study of the madhhab with the ''Hidayah'' of ''al-Marghinani''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Haque |first=Ziaul |title=Muslim Religious Education in Indo-Pakistan |journal=Islamic Studies |year=1975 |volume=14 |issue=4 |page=284 |publisher=Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad |quote=The following books and subjects are studied ... Fiqh: Hidayah, Quduri, Nur al-Idah, Sharh-i Waqayah, Kanz al-Daqa'iq}}</ref>
With regard to views on ''Taqlid'', one of their main opposing reformist groups are the Ahl-i-Hadith, also known as the ''Ghair Muqallid'', the nonconformists, because they eschewed ''taqlid'' in favor of the direct use of Quran and Hadith.<ref>{{cite book |last=Metcalf |first=Barbara Daly |title=Islamic revival in British India : Deoband, 1860–1900 |year=2002 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |location=New Delhi |isbn=0-19-566049-8 |page=141 |edition=3rd impression.}}</ref> They often accuse those who adhere to the rulings of one scholar or legal school of blind imitation'','' and frequently demand scriptural evidence for every argument and legal ruling.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Khan |first=Fareeha |title=Traditionalist Approaches to Shari'ah Reform: Mawlana Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi's Fatwa on Women's Right to Divorce |year=2008 |page=59 |publisher=University of Michigan |quote=Polemicists from among the Ahl-i Hadith were especially being targeted in Thanawi's explanation, since they accused those who adhered to the rulings of one scholar or legal school of "blind imitation". It was the practice of the Ahl-i Hadith to demand and provide proofs for every argument and legal ruling.}}</ref> Almost since the very beginnings of the movement, Deobandi scholars have generated a copious amount of scholarly output in an attempt to defend their adherence to a ''madhhab'' in general. In particular, Deobandis have penned much literature in defense of their argument that the Hanafi madhhab is in complete accordance with the ''Quran'' and ''Hadith''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zaman |first=Muhammad Qasim |title=The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change |year=2002 |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=24 |quote=The Deobandi sensitivity to the Ahl-i Hadith challenge is indicated by the polemics they engaged in with the Ahl-i Hadith and by the large commentaries on classical works of hadith written specifically to refute them}}</ref>
=== Hadith === {{See also|Hadith studies}} In response to this need to defend their ''madhhab'' in the light of scripture, Deobandis became particularly distinguished for their unprecedented salience to the study of ''Hadith'' in their madrasas. Their ''madrasa'' curriculum incorporates a feature unique among the global arena of Islamic scholarship, the ''Daura-e Hadis'', the capstone year of a student's advanced madrasa training, in which all six canonical collections of the Sunni Hadith (the ''Sihah Sittah'') are reviewed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zaman |first=Muhammad Qasim |title=The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change |year=2002 |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=39 |quote=...gave a new and, in the Indian context, unprecedented salience to the study of hadith in their madrasas. Hadith had, of course, been studied in precolonial Indian madrasas, but the Deobandis instituted the practice of studying (or, more exactly, "reviewing") all six of the Sunni canonical collections of hadith in the course of a single year; this practice has come to serve in Indian and Pakistani madrasas as the capstone of a student’s advanced madrasa}}</ref>
In a Deobandi madrasa, the position of ''Shaykh al-Hadith'', or the resident professor of Sahih Bukhari, is held in much reverence. Their views were widely shared by a broad range of Islamic reform movements of the colonial period.<ref name="Luv Puri" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Metcalf |first=B.D. |date=2002 |title=Traditionalist' Islamic Activism:Deoband, Tablighis, and Talibs |url=https://hdl.handle.net/1887/10068 |journal=International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World |pages=5–6 |hdl=1887/10068 |via=Leiden University Scholarly Publications}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=L. Esposito |first=John |title=The Oxford encyclopedia of the modern Islamic world Volume 1 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1995 |isbn=0-19-509612-6 |location=New York |pages=362 |quote="DEOBANDIS... It was a pioneer effort to transmit the religious sciences, specifically the dars-i-nizami identified with the Lucknow-based 'ulama' of Farangi Mahal.. The goal of the school was to preserve the teachings of the faith in a period of non-Muslim rule and considerable social change..."}}</ref>
=== Sufism === {{see also|Persecution of Sufis|Salafi–Sufi relations}} Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri outlined the creedal beliefs of Deobandis in his ''Al-Muhannad ala al-Mufannad'':
{{Quote frame|Our way is following the greatest Imam, Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man – Allah Exalted is He be pleased with him – in the peripherals; and followers of the noble Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari and the noble Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (Allah be pleased with them) in creed and the fundamentals; and that we are adherents to the following Sufi ways: the most distinguished way of the Naqshbandi masters, the most pure way of the Chishti masters, the most glorious way of the Qadiri masters, and the most radiant way of the Suhrawardi masters (Allah be pleased with them all). — Al-Muhannad 'ala al-Mufannad (Questions One and Two)}}
The founding leaders of the Deobandi movement drew on and popularized Shah Waliullah Dehlawi's criticism of certain folk rituals and practices that had crept into Sufi circles during the preceding century.<ref name="Kozlowski"/> Inspired by Shah Waliullah Dehlawi's Sufi reformist teachings,<ref name="Kozlowski"/> Deobandis are strictly opposed to excessive celebratory rituals during the Mawlid (celebration of the birthday of Muhammad), elaborate festivities during the urs (annual remembrance of the date of death of notable religious figures), and mourning of Muharram.<ref name="Deoband unity">{{Cite web |last=Deoband.org |date=2010-07-18 |title=A call to Deobandi-Barelwi unity? Fatwas from two leading Deobandi institutes |url=https://www.deoband.org/2010/07/theology-rulings/a-call-to-deobandi-barelwi-unity-fatwas-from-two-leading-deobandi-institutes/ |website=Deoband.org }}</ref><ref name="Gugler p.377" /><ref name="Kozlowski" /><ref name="Ingram" /><ref name="Sirriyeh" /> Deobandis also reject the construction of maqams (structures over graves) and ziyarat (pilgrimage) to them. They further oppose certain practices associated with dervishes such as the singing of qawwalis, and performing sama, which are used to achieve wajd (religious ecstacy), as they believe these are bid'ah ("forbidden religious innovations").<ref name="Deoband unity" /><ref name="Gugler p.377"> {{cite book |last=Gugler |first=Thomas K. |chapter=Islamization and Barelvis in Pakistan |editor1=Jawad Syed |editor2=Edwina Pio |editor3=Tahir Kamran |editor4=Abbas Zaidi |title=Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=London |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-349-94965-6 |page=377 |doi=10.1057/978-1-349-94966-3 |lccn=2016951736 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Mx5DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA377}} </ref><ref name="Kozlowski"> {{citation |author=Gregory C. Kozlowski |title=Muslim Endowments and Society in British India |date=21 November 1985 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CuWLhmn4JmYC&pg=PA76 |page=76 |publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=978-0521259866}} </ref><ref name="Ingram"> {{citation |last1=Ingram |first1=Brannon D. |title=Sufis, Scholars and Scapegoats: Rashid Ahmad Gangohi(d. 1905) and the Deobandi Critique of Sufism |url=https://www.academia.edu/282790 |journal=The Muslim World |volume=99 |issue=3 |page=480 |year=2009 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2009.01281.x}} </ref><ref name="Sirriyeh"> {{citation |first=Elizabeth |last=Sirriyeh |title=Sufis and Anti-Sufis: The Defence, Rethinking and Rejection of Sufism in the Modern World |publisher=Routledge Curzon |year=2014 |isbn=978-1136812767 |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U8BmAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA49}} </ref> Deobandis also oppose certain forms of istighatha practices.
Deoband's curriculum combined the study of Islamic holy books (the Quran, hadith and religious law) with rational subjects (logic, philosophy and science). At the same time, it was strongly Sufi in orientation and affiliated with the Chishti Order.<ref name="Lapidus" /> Taqi Usmani, the most famous Deobandi scholar, was trained as a Chishti, as were the four founders of the Deoband madrasa. Mahmood Ashraf Usmani, the former head of Darul Ulum Karachi, defended the concept of tariqa and bay'ah based on the incident of the Pledge of the Tree.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-09-20 |title=The Silsilahs of Tasawwuf and the Reality of Bay'ah |publisher=IlmGate |url=https://www.ilmgate.org/the-silsilahs-of-tasawwuf-and-the-reality-of-bayah/ }}</ref> Ashraf Ali Thanwi graduated from Darul Uloom Deoband and was widely considered a preeminent Sufi of modern India.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-01 |title=Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi's Conception of Islamic Mysticism |work=IlmGate | A Digital Archive of Islamic Knowledge |publisher=IlmGate |url=https://www.ilmgate.org/ashraf-ali-thanawi%e2%80%99s-conception-of-islamic-mysticism/ }}</ref>
The founders of the Deobandi school, Qasim Nanawtawi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, were inspired by the doctrine of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi<ref name="Hashmi" /> and other sources. Gangohi studied under the Sufi shaykh Imdadullah Muhajir Makki, although he differed with him on many points.<ref name="BrannonIngram479">{{citation |last1=Ingram |first1=Brannon D. |title=Sufis, Scholars and Scapegoats: Rashid Ahmad Gangohi(d. 1905) and the Deobandi Critique of Sufism |url=https://www.academia.edu/282790 |journal=The Muslim World |volume=99 |issue=3 |page=479 |year=2009 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2009.01281.x}}</ref> However Gangohi's ''Fatawa-yi Rashidiyya'' rejected Sufi practices.<ref name="Ingram" />
Gangohi opposed the Sufi doctrine that Muhammad has knowledge of the unseen (''ilm-e Ghayb'').<ref name="Ingram p.484">{{citation |last1=Ingram |first1=Brannon D. |title=Sufis, Scholars and Scapegoats: Rashid Ahmad Gangohi(d. 1905) and the Deobandi Critique of Sufism |journal=The Muslim World |volume=99 |issue=3 |page=484 |year=2009 |url=https://www.academia.edu/282790 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2009.01281.x}}</ref><ref name="kizb">{{citation |last1=Ingram |first1=Brannon D. |title=Revival from Below: The Deoband Movement and Global Islam |pages=7, 64, 100, 241 |year=2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOVvDwAAQBAJ&q=Imkan-i+Kizb |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520298002}}</ref> This belief of the Deobandis conflicts with traditional Sufi views of Muhammad having unparalleled and unequal knowledge that encompasses the unseen realm.<ref name="Ingram p.484" /><ref name="kizb" /> Gangohi also issued multiple fatwas against Mawlid and stated it is bidʿah,<ref name="kizb2">{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOVvDwAAQBAJ&q=Imkan-i+Kizb |title=Revival from Below: The Deoband Movement and Global Islam |pages=66 |first1=Brannon D. |last1=Ingram |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520298002 |year=2018}}</ref> and opposed the practice of standing up in honour of Muhammad during the day of Mawlid.<ref name="kizb2" />
Zakariyya Kandhlawi, noted hadith scholar and Deobandi shaykh, stated, {{blockquote|The reality of "tasawwuf" is merely correction of intention. It begins with "actions are only according to intentions" and ends with "that you worship Him as if you see Him."<ref name="aamir">{{cite journal |author1=Amir Bashir |editor1-last=Muhammad Anwar Khan Qasmi |title=Deobandi Sūfi Doctrine: Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Tasawwuf within the Context of Tawhīd and Sunnah |journal=Islamic Literature Review |date=December 2015 |volume=2 |issue=2 |page=2 |publisher=Deoband Institute of Islamic Thought |location=Deoband |issn=2349-1795}}</ref>}}
== Scholarship == === Deobandi fiqh === {{Main|Deobandi fiqh}}
[[File:Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband.jpg|thumb|188x188px|Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband]] Deobandi fiqh, originating from the Hanafi school of Islamic law, is a distinctive school of Islamic jurisprudence that highly values the strict adherence to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, also known as Taqlid.<ref name=":MKM">{{Cite thesis |last=Mas’ūd |first=Muḥammad Khālid |url=https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/ng451k789 |title=Trends in the interpretation of Islamic law as reflected in the Fatāwá literature of Deoband School: a study of the attitudes of the 'Ulamā' of Deoband to certain social problems and inventions |publisher=McGill University |year=1969 |location=Canada |degree=MA |page=25 |archive-date=1 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101071755/https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/ng451k789 |url-status=live }}</ref> Deobandi scholars view Taqlid as a crucial means of ensuring the proper interpretation and application of Islamic law, especially for individuals without the necessary knowledge and expertise to engage in Ijtihad. However, Ijtihad is also recognised as necessary for the evolution of Islamic law, but it should be approached with caution and respect for Islamic scholarship traditions.{{Sfn|Mas’ūd|1969|p=25}} Darul Uloom Deoband established the first Department of Fatwa, or Darul Ifta, in 1892, followed by other Deobandi madrasas and organisations such as the Islamic Fiqh Academy (India), which constitute the bedrock for the development of the Deobandi fiqh.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Wani |first=Bilal Ahmad |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/159343947.pdf |title=Contribution of Darul 'Ulum Deoband to the Development of Tafsir |date=2012 |isbn=978-3-659-56556-4 |edition= |location=India |oclc=892098479 |degree=M.Phil. |pages=53–54 |publisher=Shah-i-Hamadan Institute of Islamic Studies, University of Kashmir}}</ref> Rashid Ahmad Gangohi is considered the founder of Deobandi fiqh, with Ashraf Ali Thanwi and Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani regarded as key figures.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Ullah |first=Mohammed |title=The Contribution of Deoband School to Hanafi Fiqh A Study of Its Response to Modern Issues and Challenges |publisher=Centre for Federal Studies, Jamia Hamdard |year=2018 |page= |location=India |hdl=10603/326073 |degree=PhD |pages=152}}</ref> The earliest text of Deobandi fiqh is ''Fatawa-e-Rashidiya'', with other important texts including ''Imdad-ul-Fatawa'' and ''Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband''.{{Sfn|Ullah|2018|p=104, 152}} Deobandi fiqh plays a vital role in Afghanistan's judiciary system,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ibrahim |first=Arwa |date=23 August 2021 |title=Explainer: The Taliban and Islamic law in Afghanistan |work=Al Jazeera English |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/23/hold-the-taliban-and-sharia-law-in-afghanistan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129083909/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/23/hold-the-taliban-and-sharia-law-in-afghanistan |archive-date=29 January 2023}}</ref> with Taqi Usmani and Khalid Saifullah Rahmani recognised as prominent contemporary faqihs of the Deobandi school.{{Sfn|Ullah|2018|p=166, 169}} Digital initiatives such as Darulifta-Deoband.com and Askimam demonstrate the digitisation of Deobandi fiqh.{{Sfn|Ullah|2018|p=105–106}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Questioning guidelines at Askimam |url=https://askimam.org/page/ask-question |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421014917/http://www.askimam.org/page/ask-question |archive-date=21 April 2015 |website=askimam.org}}</ref> A significant fatwa in Deobandi fiqh is the ''Fatwa of Peace for Humanity'', issued by Farid Uddin Masood in 2016, endorsed by over 100,000 Islamic scholars from Bangladesh, declaring terrorism as haram or forbidden, based on Islamic scripture and tradition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hussain |first=Maaz |date=21 June 2016 |title=Anti-Terror Fatwa Endorsed by 100,000 Bangladeshi Islamic Scholars |work=Voice of America |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/fatwa-endorsed-by-bangladeshi-islamic-scholars-aims-to-curb-terrorism/3384976.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022202905/https://www.voanews.com/amp/fatwa-endorsed-by-bangladeshi-islamic-scholars-aims-to-curb-terrorism/3384976.html |archive-date=22 October 2021}}</ref>
== Politics == {{Main|Deobandi politics}}
Deobandi politics is deeply influenced by the doctrines of the pan-Islamist movements of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Syed Ahmad Barelvi's ''Tariqa-i Muhammadiyyah'', and the Silk Letter Movement in the subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moj |first1=Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Crg1DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |title=The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies |date=March 2015 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-78308-390-9 |language=en}}</ref> The clerical movements led by Shah Waliullah Dehlawi and his followers viewed the decline of Muslim political power in India as a consequence of spiritual and moral degeneration, which they attributed to the corrupting influences of polytheistic practices from non-Muslim locals and foreign philosophical ideas. These scholars maintained that the ''ulema'' should take the vanguard role in actively organizing efforts to re-establish Islamic political power and issued ''fatawa'' independently of governmental institutions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bokhari |first=Kamran |date=23 November 2021 |title=The Long Shadow of Deobandism in South Asia |url=https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123222852/https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |archive-date=23 November 2021 |website=Newslines Magazine}}</ref>
By the mid-19th century, Shah Muhammad Ishaq had trained a circle of influential students, including Mamluk Ali Nanautawi and Imdadullah Muhajir Makki, who mentored Muhammad Qasim Nanawtawi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. Their movement waged armed uprisings against the British and established an Islamic emirate in Thana Bhawan, but their forces were defeated at the Battle of Shamli. Hajji Imdadullah fled to Mecca and Gangohi was arrested by the British; Qasim Nanawtwi, however, managed to retreat to the town of Deoband where he was sheltered by his relatives.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bokhari |first=Kamran |date=23 November 2021 |title=The Long Shadow of Deobandism in South Asia |url=https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123222852/https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |archive-date=23 November 2021 |website=Newslines Magazine}}</ref>
Nanawtwi regarded British Christian rule as a decisive rupture in the Indian political system which was long dominated by Muslims. He envisioned the establishment of a seminary in Deoband as a means of cultivating a religious elite capable of restoring Islamic rule and enhancing the influence of the ''ulema'' in South Asia. Following Gangohi’s release from imprisonment, the seminary of Darul Uloom Deoband was established in 1866. It emerged as the epicenter of an extensive network of affiliated ''madaris'' across the subcontinent.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bokhari |first=Kamran |date=23 November 2021 |title=The Long Shadow of Deobandism in South Asia |url=https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123222852/https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-long-shadow-of-deobandism-in-south-asia/ |archive-date=23 November 2021 |website=Newslines Magazine}}</ref>
=== Deobandi jihadism === [[File:Sami-ul-Haq.jpg|left|thumb|203x203px|Sami-ul-Haq]]{{Main|Deobandi jihadism}}
Deobandi jihadism pertains to a militant interpretation of Islam that draws upon the teachings of the Deobandi movement. The Deobandi movement underwent three waves of armed conflict. The first wave resulted in the establishment of an Islamic territory centered on Thana Bhawan by the movement's elders during the Indian Rebellion of 1857,<ref name="Luv Puri" /><ref name="Urban Terrorism" /><ref name="Ingram 2009">{{cite journal |last=Ingram |first=Brannon D. |date=June 2009 |title=Sufis, Scholars, and Scapegoats: Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (d. 1905) and the Deobandi Critique of Sufism |url=https://www.academia.edu/282790 |journal=The Muslim World |location=Chichester, West Sussex |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |volume=99 |issue=3 |pages=478–501 |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2009.01281.x |via=Academia.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam |publisher=Brill Publishers |year=1991 |isbn=90-04-07026-5 |editor1-last=Lewis |editor1-first=B. |edition=2nd |volume=2 |location=Leiden |page=205 |editor2-last=Pellat |editor2-first=Ch. |editor3-last=Schacht |editor3-first=J. |editor3-link=Joseph Schacht |orig-year=1965}}</ref> prior to the founding of Darul Uloom Deoband.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Muhammad Yahya |first=Abul Fatah |url=https://archive.org/download/IslamiBoi/Deoband_Andolon.pdf |title=দেওবন্দ আন্দোলন: ইতিহাস ঐতিহ্য অবদান |publisher=Al-Amin Research Academy Bangladesh |year=1998 |location=Dhaka |pages=156 |language=bn |trans-title=Deoband Movement: History, Tradition and Contribution}}</ref> Imdadullah Muhajir Makki served as the Amir al-Mu'minin of this Islamic territory, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi as the Chief justice, and Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi as the Commander-in-chief.{{Sfn|Muhammad Yahya|1998|p=156}} However, following the British victory over the Deobandi forces in the Battle of Shamli, the territory fell. After the establishment of Darul Uloom Deoband, Mahmud Hasan Deobandi initiated the second wave. He attempted to mobilise an armed resistance against the British through various initiatives, including the formation of the Samratut Tarbiat. When the British uncovered his Silk Letter Movement, they arrested him and held him captive in Malta. Following his release, he and his followers entered mainstream politics and actively participated in the democratic process. In the late 1970s, the Pakistan–Afghan border became the epicenter of the Deobandi jihadist movement's third wave, which was fueled by the Soviet–Afghan War.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moj |first1=Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Crg1DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |title=The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies |date=March 2015 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-78308-390-9 }}</ref><ref name="Luv Puri" /> Under the auspices of President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, its expansion occurred through various madrasas, such as Darul Uloom Haqqania and Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia, with political support provided by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S).
Trained militants from the Pakistan–Afghan border participated in the Afghan jihad and later formed various organisations. Deobandis were the most committed volunteers and enthusiastic participants in the Afghan Jihad against Soviets. Most of the traditional ''madaris'' in Pakistan that actively supported the Afghan Mujahideen were affiliated with the Deobandi school.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moj |first1=Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Crg1DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |title=The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies |date=March 2015 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-78308-390-9 |language=en}}</ref> The most prominent example of Deobandi jihadism is the Taliban, who established Islamic rule in Afghanistan. Sami-ul-Haq, the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S), is regarded as the "father of the Taliban."
==Organisations== {{main|List of Deobandi organisations}}
===Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind=== {{Main article|Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind}}
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind is one of the leading Deobandi organisations in India. It was founded in British India in 1919 by Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi, Sanaullah Amritsari and several other scholars including Kifayatullah Dehlawi who was elected its first interim president.{{Sfn|Wasif Dehlavi|1970|p=45}} The Jamiat has propounded a theological basis for its nationalistic philosophy. Their thesis is that Muslims and non-Muslims have entered upon a mutual contract in India since independence, to establish a secular state.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Understanding the Attraction of Salafi and Wahhabi Movements |publisher=Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies |url=https://www.ipcs.org/comm_select.php?articleNo=4755 |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=www.ipcs.org}}</ref> The Constitution of India represents this contract.<ref>{{citation |last=Smith |first=Donald Eugene |title=India as a Secular State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8zXWCgAAQBAJ |year=1963 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-7778-2 |at=p. 144, note 7}}</ref>
===Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam=== Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) is a Deobandi organisation, part of the Deobandi movement.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2411683.stm |work=BBC News |title=Profile: Maulana Fazlur Rahman |date=2002-11-06 |first=Haroon |last=Rashid}}</ref> The '''JUI''' formed when members broke from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in 1945 after that organisation backed the Indian National Congress against the Muslim League's lobby for a separate Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jam?iyat-e ?Ulama-e Islam | url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/jamiyat-e-ulama-e-islam | publisher=Encyclopedia.com | access-date=2026-05-13}}</ref> The first president of the JUI was Shabbir Ahmad Usmani.
===Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam=== Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam ({{langx|ur|مجلس احرارلأسلام}}), also known in short as '''Ahrar''', was a conservative Deobandi political party in the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj (prior to the independence of Pakistan) founded 29 December 1929 at Lahore. Chaudhry Afzal Haq, Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, Mazhar Ali Azhar, Zafar Ali Khan and Dawood Ghaznavi were the founders of the party.<ref>Ahmad, Syed N. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=wzm36rEol3sC Origins of Muslim consciousness in India: a world-system perspective]''. New York u.a: Greenwood Press, 1991. p. 175</ref> The Ahrar was composed of Indian Muslims disillusioned by the Khilafat Movement,<ref name="Barbhuiya2020">{{cite book |last1=Barbhuiya |first1=Atiqur Rahman |title=Indigenous People of Barak Valley |publisher=Notion Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-64678-800-2 |quote=Muslim politics in India opened a new chapter after the formation of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in 1919 A.D. under the initiative of Ulema of Deoband. It was founded by the dedicated freedom fighter Sheikh-Ul-Hindi Maulana Mahmudul Hasan of Darul-Uloom, Deoband. Jamiat played a very active role in India's freedom struggle.}}</ref><ref name="McDermottGordonEmbreeDalton2014">{{cite book |title=Sources of Indian Traditions: Modern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-231-13830-7 |editor1-last=McDermott |editor1-first=Rachel Fell |edition=3rd |series=Introduction to Asian Civilizations |volume=2 |location=New York |page=457 |chapter=To Independence and Partition |jstor=10.7312/mcde13830.15 |editor2-last=Gordon |editor2-first=Leonard A. |editor3-last=Embree |editor3-first=Ainslie T. |editor4-last=Pritchett |editor4-first=Frances W. |editor5-last=Dalton |editor5-first=Dennis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8qJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA457}}</ref><ref name="Asghar Ali" /> which cleaved closer to the Congress Party.<ref name="Jaffrelot">Christophe Jaffrelot. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9sI_Y2CKAcC&q=militia&pg=PA243 A history of Pakistan and its origins]''. Anthem Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-1-84331-149-2}}</ref>{{page needed |date=August 2014}} The party was associated with opposition to Muhammad Ali Jinnah and against establishment of an independent Pakistan as well as criticism of the Ahmadiyya movement.<ref>{{cite book |first=Kalim |last=Bahadur |title=Democracy in Pakistan: crises and conflicts |page=176 |publisher=Har Anand Publications |year=1998}}</ref> After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Majlis-e-Ahrar divided in two parts. Now, Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam is working for the sake of Muhammad{{vague|date=February 2014}}, nifaaz '''Hakomat-e-illahiyya''' and Khidmat-e-Khalq. In Pakistan, Ahrar secretariat is in Lahore and in India it is based in Ludhiana.
=== Tablighi Jamaat === Tablighi Jamaat, a non-political Deobandi missionary organisation, began as an offshoot of the Deobandi movement.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Political Islam: a Critical Reader |last=Volpi |first=Frederic |year=2001 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134722075 |oclc=862611173}}{{Page needed|date=February 2018}}</ref> Its inception is believed to be a response to Hindu reform movements, which were considered a threat to vulnerable and non-practising Deobandi Muslims. It gradually expanded from a local to a national organisation, and finally to a transnational movement with followers in over 200 countries. Although its beginnings were from the Deobandi movement, it has now established an independent identity though it still maintains close ties with Deobandi ulema in many countries with large South Asian Muslim populations such as the UK.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Timol |first1=Riyaz |title=Structures of Organisation and Loci of Authority in a Glocal Islamic Movement: The Tablighi Jama'at in Britain |journal=Religions |date=14 October 2019 |volume=10 |issue=10 |page=573 |doi=10.3390/rel10100573 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Associated organisations=== * Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind * Jamiatul Ulama South Africa * Jamiat Ulama-e-Britain * Jam'iyyatul Ulama Canada * Jamiat-Ul-Ulama of Mauritius * Majlisul Ulama Zimbabwe * Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam * Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh * Jamiat Ulama-Nepal * Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam * Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan * Islami Andolan Bangladesh * Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh * Muslim Union Party * All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama * Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat
===Associated militant organisations===
====Lashkar-e-Jhangvi==== Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) (Army of Jhangvi) was a Deobandi militant organisation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Templin |first=James D. |date=June 2015 |title=Religious Education of Pakistan's Deobandi Madaris and Radicalisation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26351354 |journal=Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses |location=Nanyang Technological University, Singapore |publisher=International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=15–21 |jstor=26351354 |jstor-access=free}}</ref> Formed in 1996, it operated in Pakistan as an offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP). Riaz Basra broke away from the SSP over differences with his seniors.<ref name="roul20050602">{{Cite journal |last=Roul |first=Animesh |title=Lashkar-e-Jhangvi: Sectarian Violence in Pakistan and Ties to International Terrorism |journal=Terrorism Monitor |volume=3 |issue=11 |publisher=Jamestown Foundation |date=2 June 2005 |url=http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=497&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=180&no_cache=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903120850/http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=497&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=180&no_cache=1 |archive-date=3 September 2014}}</ref> The group, now practically defunct since the unsuccessful Operation Zarb-e-Azab, is considered a terrorist group by Pakistan and the United States,<ref name=bbc20030130>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2711239.stm |title=Pakistani group joins US terror list |publisher=BBC News South Asia |date=30 January 2003}}</ref> It was involved in attacks on civilians and protectors of them.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ahmad, Tufail |date=21 March 2012 |url=http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6208.htm |title=Using Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Other Internet Tools, Pakistani Terrorist Group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Incites Violence against Shi'ite Muslims and Engenders Antisemitism |publisher=The Middle East Media Research Insititue, memri.org }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-quetta-bombing-idUSBRE91I0Q420130219 |title=Pakistani Shi'ites call off protests after Quetta bombing arrests |date=19 February 2013 |work=Reuters}}</ref> Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is predominantly Punjabi.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pakistan Shias killed in Gilgit sectarian attack |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19280339 |work=BBC News |date=16 August 2012 |quote=A predominantly Punjabi group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is linked with the 2002 murder of US reporter Daniel Pearl and other militant attacks, particularly in the southern city of Karachi.}}</ref> The group has been labelled by intelligence officials in Pakistan as a major security threat.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/105710-iran-condemns-terrorist-attacks-in-pakistan |title=Iran condemns terrorist attacks in Pakistan |newspaper=Tehran Times |date=17 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904022747/http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/105710-iran-condemns-terrorist-attacks-in-pakistan |archive-date=4 September 2014}}</ref>
====Taliban==== The Taliban ("students"), alternative spelling Taleban,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/144382.stm |title=Analysis: Who are the Taleban? |date=2000-12-20 |work=BBC News}}</ref> is an Islamic fundamentalist political and militant movement in Afghanistan. It spread into Afghanistan and formed a government, ruling as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from September 1996 until December 2001, with Kandahar as the capital. While in power, it enforced its strict interpretation of Sharia law.<ref name=Abrams>{{cite book |last=Abrams |first=Dennis |title=Hamid Karzai |year=2007 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-7910-9267-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/hamidkarzai0000abra/page/14 14] |quote=As soon as it took power though, the Taliban imposed its strict interpretation of Islamic law on the country |url=https://archive.org/details/hamidkarzai0000abra/page/14 }}</ref> While many leading Muslims and Islamic scholars have been highly critical of the Taliban's interpretations of Islamic law,<ref name=Skain>{{cite book |last=Skain |first=Rosemarie |title=The women of Afghanistan under the Taliban |year=2002 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1090-3 |page=41}}</ref> the Darul Uloom Deoband has consistently supported the Taliban in Afghanistan, including their 2001 destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan,<ref name="Abbas"/> and the majority of the Taliban's leaders were influenced by Deobandi fundamentalism.<ref name=Maley2>{{cite book |last=Maley |first=William |title=Fundamentalism Reborn? Afghanistan and the Taliban |year=2001 |publisher=C Hurst & Co |isbn=978-1-85065-360-8 |page=14}}</ref> Pashtunwali, the Pashtun tribal code, also played a significant role in the Taliban's legislation.<ref name=Shaffer>{{cite book |last=Shaffer |first=Brenda |title=The limits of culture: Islam and foreign policy |year=2006 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-69321-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/limitsofculturei0000unse/page/277 277] |edition=illustrated |quote=The Taliban's mindset is, however, equally if not more deaned by Pashtunwali |url=https://archive.org/details/limitsofculturei0000unse/page/277 }}</ref> The Taliban were condemned internationally for their brutal treatment of women.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-18-mn-5602-story.html |date=18 November 2001 |author1=James Gerstenzan |author2=Lisa Getter |title=Laura Bush Addresses State of Afghan Women |work=Los Angeles Times }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/uncategorized/a-woman-among-warlords-womens-rights-in-the-taliban-and-post-taliban-eras/66/ |date=11 September 2007 |title=Women's Rights in the Taliban and Post-Taliban Eras |work=A Woman Among Warlords |publisher=PBS }}</ref>
====Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan==== Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (the TTP), alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organisation of various Islamist militant groups based in the northwestern Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border in Pakistan. In December 2007 about 13 groups united under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud to form the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.<ref name=Bajoria/><ref name=abbash/> Among the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan's stated objectives are resistance against the Pakistani state, enforcement of their interpretation of sharia and a plan to unite against NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.<ref name=Bajoria>{{cite web |last=Bajoria |first=Jayshree |title=Pakistan's New Generation of Terrorists |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations |date=6 February 2008 |url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/15422/pakistans_new_generation_of_terrorists.html?breadcrumb=%2Fbios%2F13611%2Fjayshree_bajoria%3Fgroupby%3D1%26hide%3D1%26id%3D13611%26filter%3D456 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514060717/http://www.cfr.org/publication/15422/pakistans_new_generation_of_terrorists.html?breadcrumb=%2Fbios%2F13611%2Fjayshree_bajoria%3Fgroupby%3D1&hide=1&id=13611&filter=456 |archive-date=14 May 2009}}</ref><ref name=abbash>{{cite journal |last=Abbas |first=Hassan |title=A Profile of Tehrik-I-Taliban Pakistan |journal=CTC Sentinel |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=1–4 |publisher=Combating Terrorism Center |location=West Point, NY |date=January 2008 |url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/17868/profile_of_tehrikitaliban_pakistan.html |archive-date=1 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101073222/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/17868/profile_of_tehrikitaliban_pakistan.html }}</ref><ref name=gall2009327>{{cite news |author=Carlotta Gall |author2=Ismail Khan |author3-link=Pir Zubair Shah |author3=Pir Zubair Shah |author4=Taimoor Shah |title=Pakistani and Afghan Taliban Unify in Face of U.S. Influx |work=The New York Times |date=26 March 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/world/asia/27taliban.html |author-link=Carlotta Gall }}</ref>
The TTP is not directly affiliated with the Afghan Taliban movement led by Mullah Omar, with both groups differing greatly in their histories, strategic goals and interests although they both share a primarily Deobandi interpretation of Islam and are predominantly Pashtun.<ref name=gall2009327/><ref name=scott>{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Shane |title=Insurgents Share a Name, but Pursue Different Goals |date=2009-10-22 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/world/asia/23taliban.html |work=The New York Times }}</ref>
====Sipah-e-Sahaba==== Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) is a banned Pakistani militant organisation, and a formerly registered Pakistani political party. Established in the early 1980s in Jhang by the militant leader Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, its stated goal is primarily to deter major Shiite influence in Pakistan in the wake of the Iranian Revolution.<ref name="Raman"/><ref name="UNHCR"/> The organisation was banned by President Pervez Musharraf in 2002 as being a terrorist group under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.<ref name="Raman">B. Raman, [http://isianalysis.blogspot.com/2009/04/musharrafs-ban-analysis-18-1-2002.html "Musharraf's Ban: An Analysis"], ''South Asia Analysis Group '', Paper no. 395, 18 January 2002</ref><ref name="UNHCR">[http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,IRBC,,PAK,,440ed73f34,0.html "Pakistan: The Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), including its activities and status"], Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 26 July 2005</ref> In October 2000 Masood Azhar, another militant leader, and founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), was quoted as saying that "Sipah-e-Sahaba stands shoulder to shoulder with Jaish-e-Muhammad in Jehad."<ref name=satp>{{Cite web |url=https://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/terroristoutfits/Ssp.htm |title=Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Terrorist Group of Pakistan |website=www.satp.org}}</ref> A leaked U.S. diplomatic cable described JeM as "another SSP breakaway Deobandi organisation."<ref name=cable>{{cite news |title=2009: Southern Punjab extremism battle between haves and have-nots |date=2011-05-22 |work=Dawn |location=Pakistan |url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/22/2009-southern-punjab-extremism-battle-between-haves-and-have-nots.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524053737/http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/22/2009-southern-punjab-extremism-battle-between-haves-and-have-nots.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2011 }}</ref>
==Institutions== {{main|List of Deobandi madrasas}}
Right after Darul Uloom Deoband, the main center of Deobandism throughout the world, Mazahir Uloom, Saharanpur is the second known Deobandi madrassa in India, which produced the scholars like Zakariyya Kandhlawi. Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi's established Madrasa Shahi, Moradabad, the alma of scholars like Mufti Mahmud and Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi has its position. Darul Uloom Karachi, founded by Muhammad Shafi, Jamia Binoria and Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia in Pakistani are top Deobandi institutions there. Darul Uloom Bury, Holcombe, established by Yusuf Motala during 1970s is the first Deobandi madrassa of the West<ref>{{cite book |last=Mahmood |first=Hamid |title=The Dars-e-Nizami and the Transnational Traditionalist Madaris in Britain |year=2012 |pages=7, 17 |url=http://hamidmahmood.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/the-dissertation.pdf |quote=In the UK the Dār al-'Ulūm al-'Arabiyyah al-Islāmiyyah (Bury madrasa) and Jāmi’at ta’līm al-Islām (Dewsbury madrasa) are considered the 'Oxbridge' of the traditional madrasa world....The need for leadership and imams increased alongside the increasing number of Mosques and in 1975 the first madrasa was established in a village called Holcombe situated near Bury – known as Dār al-'Ulūm Bury or Bury Madrasa.}}</ref> In South Africa,<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Reetz |author-first=Dietrich |title=Muslim Schools and Education in Europe and South Africa |publisher=Waxmann Verlag |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-8309-7554-0 |editor1-last=Tayob |editor1-first=Abdulkader |location=Münster |pages=85–88 |chapter=The Tablīghī Madrassas in Lenasia and Azaadville: Local Players in the Global 'Islamic Field' |editor2-last=Niehaus |editor2-first=Inga |editor3-last=Weisse |editor3-first=Wolfram |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RWqjAoRGxUcC&pg=PA85}}</ref><ref name="Timol 2019">{{cite journal |last1=Timol |first1=Riyaz |date=14 October 2019 |title=Structures of Organisation and Loci of Authority in a Glocal Islamic Movement: The Tablighi Jama'at in Britain |journal=Religions |publisher=MDPI |volume=10 |issue=10 |page=573 |doi=10.3390/rel10100573 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Darul Ulum Newcastle, was founded in 1971 by Cassim Mohammed Sema<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mohamed |first=Yasien |journal=ISIM Newsletter |year=2002 |volume=9 |page=30 |url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/17556/ISIM_9_Islamic_Education_in_South_Africa.pdf?sequence=1 |quote=opportunities for studies were created locally when in 1971 the first Darul-Ulum was established in Newcastle, Kwazulu Natal. This Darul-Ulum was based on the Darsi-Nizami course from Deoband, India. |title=Islamic Education in South Africa }}</ref> and Dar al-Ulum Zakariyya in Lenasia,<ref name="Eds. 85, 101">{{cite book |display-editors=etal |editor=Abdulkader Tayob |title=Muslim schools and education in Europe and South Africa |year=2011 |publisher=Waxmann |location=Münster; München [u.a.] |isbn=978-3-8309-2554-5 |pages=85, 101 |url=http://www.zmo.de/dietrich/Reetz%202011%20South%20Africa.pdf |quote=It became clear through field research by the author that Deobandi schools in several countries increasingly rely on graduates from Azaadville and Lenasia. The two schools and their graduates are functioning as network multiplicators between Deobandi schools worldwide. |archive-date=16 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116105719/http://www.zmo.de/dietrich/Reetz%202011%20South%20Africa.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |display-editors=etal |editor=Abdulkader Tayob |title=Muslim schools and education in Europe and South Africa |year=2011 |publisher=Waxmann |location=Münster; München [u.a.] |isbn=978-3-8309-2554-5 |pages=85, 101 |url=http://www.zmo.de/dietrich/Reetz%202011%20South%20Africa.pdf |quote=The Islamic schools in Lenasia and Azaadville in South Africa represent prominent examples of schools that provide religious education in a format which is firmly rooted in traditions and interpretations of Islam originating outside South Africa. Established by the Muslim minority community of the country, the schools follow the Deobandi interpretation of Islam from South Asia. |archive-date=16 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116105719/http://www.zmo.de/dietrich/Reetz%202011%20South%20Africa.pdf }}</ref><ref name="zmo.de">{{cite book |display-editors=etal |editor=Abdulkader Tayob |title=Muslim schools and education in Europe and South Africa |year=2011 |publisher=Waxmann |location=Münster; München [u.a.] |isbn=978-3-8309-2554-5 |pages=85, 101 |url=http://www.zmo.de/dietrich/Reetz%202011%20South%20Africa.pdf |quote=For the Tablighi Jama’at, the two schools are important switchboards for their preaching activities in South Africa, in Africa proper and around the world. |archive-date=16 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116105719/http://www.zmo.de/dietrich/Reetz%202011%20South%20Africa.pdf }}</ref> Madrasah In'aamiyyah, Camperdown is known for its Dar al-Iftaa (Department of Fatwa Research and Training) which runs the popular online fatwa service, Askimam.org.<ref name="themuslim500.com 2012">{{cite book |url=http://www.themuslim500.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TheMuslim500-2012-low.pdf |title=The 500 Most Influential Muslims |publisher=Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding |year=2012 |edition=4th |isbn=978-9957-428-37-2 |editor-last=Schleifer |editor-first=S. Abdallah |editor-link=Abdallah Schleifer |location=Jordan |page=110 |editor-last2=Al-Meheid |editor-first2=Minwer |editor-link2=:de:Minwer al-Meheid |editor-last3=Al-Rawadieh |editor-first3=AlMahdi |editor-last4=Ahmed |editor-first4=Aftab |editor-last5=Asfour |editor-first5=Zeinab |department=Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913223248/http://www.themuslim500.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TheMuslim500-2012-low.pdf |archive-date=13 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam is the first established Deobandi madrassa in Bangladesh, which produced the scholars like Shah Ahmad Shafi, Junaid Babunagari. Al-Rashid Islamic Institute, Ontario, Canada, Darul Uloom Al-Madania in Buffalo, New York, Jamiah Darul Uloom Zahedan in Iran and Darul Uloom Raheemiyyah are some top Deobandi institutions.
==Notable members== {{Main page|List of Deobandis}}
* Mahmud Deobandi (died 1886) – First teacher of Darul Uloom Deoband.<ref name="david">{{citation |author1=David Emmanuel Singh |title=The Independent Madrasas of India: Dar al-'Ulum, Deoband and Nadvat al-'Ulama, Lucknow |url=http://www.ocms.ac.uk/docs/madrasas_deoband.pdf |publisher=Oxford Centre for Mission Studies |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124071539/http://www.ocms.ac.uk/docs/madrasas_deoband.pdf }}</ref> * Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (1851–1920) – Popularly known as "Shaykh al-Hind".<ref>{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Shoayb |title=Muslim Scholars of the 20th Century |year=2006 |publisher=Al-Kawthar Publications |pages=35–37 |quote=He began teaching the basic subjects and was regularly promoted until he became the head-teacher and the Shaykh al-Hadith. He served the Darul Uloom until 1914 (1333)...The Shaykh was very active politically as well. A movement known as Reshmi Roomal was formed in India to remove the British. He played a major role in advancing this movement.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Abu Ghuddah |first=Abd al-Fattah |script-title=ar:تراجم ستة من فقهاء العالم الإسلامي في القرن الرابع عشر وآشارهم الفقهية |year=1997 |publisher=Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah |location=Beirut |page=15 |language=ar |quote=وكان أكبر كبارها وشيخ شيوخها الشيخ محمود حسن الديوبندي الملقب بشيخ العالم، والمعروف بشيخ الهند، وكان في الحديث الشريف مسند الوقت ورحلة الأقطار الهندية. (Trans. And the greatest of its [Dar al-Ulum Deoband's] great ones, and the shaykh of its shaykhs was Shaykh Mahmud Hasan al-Deobandi, who is entitled (al-mulaqqab) Shaykh al-'Aalam, and popularly known (al-ma'ruf bi) as Shaykh al-Hind. In regards to the noble Hadith, he was the authority of his time (musnid al-waqt), whom students traveled from all parts of India [to study with].)}}</ref> * Ashraf Ali Thanwi (1863–1943)<ref>{{cite book |last=Metcalf |first=Barbara Daly |title=Perfecting women : Maulana Ashraf ọAlī Thanawi's Bihishti zewar : a partial translation with commentary |year=1992 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=0-520-08093-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/perfectingwomenm00ashr/page/3 3–4] |quote=The Bihishti Zewar was written by Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi (1864–1943), a leader of the Deobandi reform movement that crystallized in north India in the late nineteenth century...Maulana Thanawi was an extraordinary successful exponent of reform. |url=https://archive.org/details/perfectingwomenm00ashr/page/3 }}</ref> * Ubaidullah Sindhi (1863–1943) – Indian independence activist and Life Member of Jamia Millia Islamia. * Anwar Shah Kashmiri (1875–1933)<ref>{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Shoayb |title=Muslim Scholars of the 20th Century |year=2006 |publisher=Al-Kawthar Publications |pages=68–70 |quote=This great Hafiz of Hadith, excellent Hanafi jurist, legist, historian, linguist, poet, researcher and critic, Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri...He went to the biggest Islamic University inIndia, the Darul Uloom al-Islamiyah in Deoband...He contributed greatly to the Hanafi Madhab...He wrote many books, approximately 40...Many renowned and erudite scholars praised him and acknowledged his brilliance...Many accomplished scholars benefited from his vast knowledge.}}</ref> * Hussain Ahmad Madani (1879–1957)<ref>{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Shoayb |title=Muslim Scholars of the 20th Century |year=2006 |publisher=Al-Kawthar Publications |pages=215–216 |quote=After Shaykh al-Hind's demise, he was unanimously acknowledged as his successor. ..He was the President of the Jamiat Al-Ulama-Hind for about twenty years...He taught Sahih Al-Bukhari for about thirty years. During his deanship, the strength of the students academically impred...About 4483 students graduated and obtained a continuous chain of transmission (sanad) in Hadith during his period.}}</ref> * Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi (1884–1944) – Founder of Tablighi Jamaat.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Reetz |first=Dietrich |title=Keeping Busy on the Path of Allah: The Self-Organisation (Intizam) of the Tablighi Jama'at |journal=Oriente Moderno |year=2004 |volume=84 |issue=1 |pages=295–305 |quote=In recent years, the Islamic missionary movement of the Tablighi Jama'at has attracted increasing attention, not only in South Asia, but around the globe...The Tablighi movement came into being in 1926 when Muhammad Ilyas (1885–1944) started preaching correct religious practices and observance of rituals...Starting with Ilyas' personal association with the Dar al-Ulum of Deoband, the movement has been supported by religious scholars, 'ulama', propagating the purist teachings of this seminary located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. |doi=10.1163/22138617-08401018 }}</ref> * Shabbir Ahmad Usmani (1887–1949)<ref>{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Shoayb |title=Muslim Scholars of the 20th Century |year=2006 |publisher=Al-Kawthar Publications |pages=167–170 |quote=He completed his formal education [from Deoband] in 1907 (1325) with specialization in Hadith. Thereafter he taught for some time at the Dar al-Uloom Deoband...He supported the resolution for the independence of Pakistan and assisted Muhammad Ali Jinnah...He was given the task of hoisting the flag of Pakistan...Due to his tremendous effort, the first constitution of Pakistan was based on the Quraan and Sunnah...Fath Al-Mulhim bi Sharh Sahih Muslim. Even though he passed away before being able to complete the book it was accepted and praised by many renowned scholars. These include Shaykh Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari and Shaykh Anwar Shah Kashmiri.}}</ref> * Uzair Gul Peshawari (1886–1989), Indian independence activist and former head of Madrasa Rahmania in Roorkee. * Muhammad Shafi (1897–1976)<ref>{{cite web |last=Usmani |first=Muhammad Taqi |title=Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Shafi': The Grand Mufti of Pakistan |url=http://www.deoband.org/2011/12/history/biographies-of-scholars/shaykh-muhammad-shafi%E2%80%98-the-mufti-of-pakistan/ |work=Deoband.org |translator-first=Zameelur |translator-last=Rahman |date=December 2011 |quote=The scholar of great learning, Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Shafi' (Allah Almighty have mercy on him), is counted amongst the leading 'ulama of India and Pakistan...He completed his studies in the year 1325 H, and because he was from the advanced students in the period of his studies, the teachers of the Dar al-'Ulum selected him to become a teacher there...the teachers appointed him as the head of the Fatwa Department at Dar al-'Ulum...Ma‘arif al-Qur’an. This is a valuable exegesis of the Noble Qur’an which Shaykh [Muhammad Shafi'] compiled in the Urdu language in 8 large volumes.}}</ref> *Majid Ali Jaunpuri (died 1935), He was regarded as an authority in logic and philosophy and authored marginal notes on major hadith collections.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rizwi |first=Syed Mehboob |title=Tārīkh Dārul ʿUlūm Deoband |publisher=Idāra-e-Ehtemām, Dārul ʿUlūm Deoband |year=1979}}</ref> * Zakariyya Kandhlawi (1898–1982)<ref>{{cite book |last=Bashir |first=Aamir |title=Shari'at and Tariqat: A Study of the Deobandi Understanding and Practice of Tasawwuf |year=2013 |publisher=Dar al-Sa'adah Publications |page=117 |url=http://ilmresources.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/shariat-tariqat-study-of-deobandi-understanding-practice-of-tasawwuf.pdf |quote=Muhammad Zakariyya can be termed as the "Reviver of Deobandi tasawwuf." He is the last in the long line of prominent scholar Sufis who epitomized Deobandi characteristics. |archive-date=16 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116105809/https://ilmresources.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/shariat-tariqat-study-of-deobandi-understanding-practice-of-tasawwuf.pdf }}</ref> * Zayn al-Abidin Sajjad Meerthi (1910–1991), former head of the Islamic studies department of Jamia Millia Islamia. * Abdul Matin Chowdhury (1915–1990)<ref>{{Cite book |last1=al-Mahmud |first1=A.H. |last2=Hasan |first2=Syed Mahmudul |title=সননাতে নববীর মরত পরতীক: মাওলানা আবদল মতিন চৌধরী শাযখে ফলবাডী রাহ |year=2008 |pages=78–81 |url=https://archive.org/details/AllamaFulbari/page/n79 }}</ref> * Fazlul Karim (1935–2006)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-05 |title=পীর সাহেব চরমোনাই |trans-title=Pir Saheb Charmonai |url=http://www.pirsahebcharmonai.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305225117/http://www.pirsahebcharmonai.com/ |archive-date=5 March 2016 }}</ref> * Shah Ahmad Shafi (1916–2020), former Chief of Hefajat-e-Islam Bangladesh, rector of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam Hathazari and also the chairman of Bangladesh Qawmi Madrasah Education Board.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Shah Ahmed Shafi, chief of Bangladesh Islamist group Hifazat-e Islam, dies |url=https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2020/09/18/shah-ahmed-shafi-chief-of-bangladesh-islamist-group-hifazat-e-islam-dies |work=bdnews24.com}}</ref> * Abdur Rahman Bangladeshi (1920–2015) – ''He was the founder director of Islamic Research Center Bangladesh, Dhaka & Many Deobandi school.'' Ex chairman of the ''Shariah Council'' of Many Islamic Bank.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Noted Islamic scholar Mufti Abdur Rahman passes away |work=BD Chronicle |url=http://www.bdchronicle.com/detail/news/32/25208 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112173257/http://www.bdchronicle.com/detail/news/32/25208 |archive-date=12 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> * Muhammad Abdul Wahhab (1923–2018) – former Amir of the Tablighi Jamaat Pakistan Chapter.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims |year=2012 |publisher=The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre |location=Amman |isbn=<!--978-9975-428-37-2 ISBN is invalid--> |page=69 |editor=S. Abdallah Schleifer |quote=Leader of the Pakistan chapter of the Tablighi Jamaat [...] Hajji Abd al-Wahhab is a prominent Pakistani scholar with a significant following in South Asia and the United Kingdom...Abd al-Wahhab's work[...] stems from the prominent Islamic institution Darul Uloom Deoband, in India, where the latter studied before establishing a following in Pakistan.}}</ref> * Nur Uddin Gohorpuri (1924–2005)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Limited |first1=Shabaka Soft |script-title=bn:আললামা গহরপরী পরিচিতি |language=bn |url=http://jamiagohorpur.com/%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80-%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%83%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%9A/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190817162703/http://jamiagohorpur.com/%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80-%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%83%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%9A/ |website=jamiagohorpur.com |date=2 October 2011 |archive-date=17 August 2019}}</ref> * Khalid Mahmood (1925–2020) – UK. He was the founder and Director of The Islamic Academy of Manchester.<ref>[http://www.islamicacademy.eu Islamic Academy of Manchester] The Islamic Academy of Manchester</ref> which was established in 1974. He served formerly as a Professor at Murray College Sialkot and also at MAO College Lahore. He obtained a PhD in Comparative Religion from University of Birmingham in 1970. He has authored over 50 books, and has served as the Justice of Supreme court of Pakistan (Shariat Appellate Bench).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_3-12-2003_pg7_27 |title=SC Shariat Bench to hear appeal on presidential remissions today |last=Kamran |first=Mohammad |date=3 December 2003 |work=Daily Times |location=Pakistan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020155016/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_3-12-2003_pg7_27 |archive-date=20 October 2012 }}</ref> * Muhammad Yunus Jownpuri (1937-2017) – Senior Hadith Scholar and former Shaykh al-Hadith of Mazahir Uloom, Saharanpur. He was among the senior students and disciples of Zakariyya Kandhlawi. * Usman Mansoorpuri (1944-2021) – First National President of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind's Mahmood faction. * Yusuf Motala (1946–2019) – UK; Founder and senior lecturer at Dar al-Ulum Bury, one of the oldest Deobandi Madrasas in the West; "He is a scholar's scholar – many of the United Kingdom's young Deobandi scholars have studied under his patronage."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims |year=2012 |publisher=The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre |location=Amman |isbn=<!--978-9975-428-37-2 ISBN is invalid--> |page=114 |editor=S. Abdallah Schleifer}}</ref> * Nur Hossain Kasemi (1945–2020) – Former Secretary General of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-12-14 |title=Nur Hossain Kasemi passes away at 75 |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/nur-hossain-kasemi-passes-away-75-2010981 |work=The Daily Star }}</ref> * Ebrahim Desai, South Africa – Mufti and founder of Askimam fatwa portal (1963–2021).<ref name="themuslim500.com 2012" /> * Taha Karaan, South African scholar and jurist (1969–2021).
===Contemporary Deobandis=== * Mahmudul Hasan, Bangladesh – President of Al-Haiatul Ulya Lil-Jamiatil Qawmia Bangladesh and Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh, Chancellor of Jamia Islamia Darul Uloom Madania, Amir of Majlis-e-Dawatul Haq Bangladesh.<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |date=2020-10-03 |title=Mahmudul Hasan new chairman of Qawmi Madrasa Education Board |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/mahmudul-hasan-new-chairman-qawmi-madrasa-education-board-1971733 |work=The Daily Star }}</ref> * Syed Rezaul Karim Vice President of Al-Haiatul Ulya Lil-Jamiatil Qawmia Bangladesh and Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh, Amir of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, President of the Bangladesh Mujahid Committee and Bangladesh Quran Education Board. * A F M Khalid Hossain – Bangladeshi Islamic Scholar. * Abdul Halim Bukhari, Bangladesh – Chancellor of Al Jamia Al Islamia Patiya. * Hibatullah Akhundzada, supreme leader of Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Siddique |first1=Abubakar |title=Who Is Haibatullah Akhundzada, The Taliban's 'Supreme Leader' Of Afghanistan? |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/akhundzada-taliban-supreme-leader/31448314.html |access-date=22 April 2022 |work=Gandhara |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=7 September 2021 |archive-date=7 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007085037/https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/akhundzada-taliban-supreme-leader/31448314.html |url-status=live }}</ref> * Junaid Babunagari, Bangladeshi Islamic Scholar, He is serving as the assistant director of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam Hathazari, and secretary general of Hefajat-e-Islam Bangladesh.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Babunagari denounces government's claim of no death in Hefazat's 2013 protest |work=Dhaka Tribune |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/politics/2018/11/05/babunagari-denounces-government-s-claim-of-no-death-in-hefazat-s-2013-protest |date= 5 November 2018 }}</ref> * Syed Faizul Karim Senior Vice President of Islami Andolan Bangladesh. He is also the Vice President of Bangladesh Mujahid Committee and Bangladesh Quran Education Board and Central Member of Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh * Mamunul Haque – Secretary General of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish and President of Bangladesh Khelafat Youth Majlish.<ref>{{Cite news |script-title=bn:বাংলাদেশ খেলাফত মজলিসের নতন কমিটি গঠন |trans-title=Formation of new committee of Bangladesh Khilafah Majlis |url=https://www.dailynayadiganta.com/politics/385310/বাংলাদেশ-খেলাফত-মজলিসের-নতন-কমিটি-গঠন |website=Daily Naya Diganta |language=bn}}</ref> * Muhibbullah Babunagari, Chief advisor of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh (born 1935) * Rafi Usmani, Pakistan – Former President and senior lecturer of Darul Uloom Karachi.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rahman |first=Azizur- |title=Introducing Darul-'Uloom Karachi |publisher=Public Information Department: Darul Uloom Karachi |page=21 |url=http://www.darululoomkarachi.edu.pk/ucms/books/Taaruf/(03)%20Taaruf%20English.pdf |editor=(Translated by Muhammad Shameem) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124133538/http://www.darululoomkarachi.edu.pk/ucms/books/Taaruf/(03)%20Taaruf%20English.pdf |archive-date=24 January 2014 }}</ref> * Taqi Usmani, Pakistan – Vice-president of Dar al-Ulum Karachi, Former judge on the Shariah Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Fiqh Academy of the OIC, leading scholar of Islamic Finance,<ref>{{cite web |title=Mufti Taqi Usmani |url=http://www.albalagh.net/taqi.shtml |work=Albalagh |access-date=6 November 2013}}</ref> and often considered to be a leading scholar and figurehead of the Deobandi movement.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims |year=2012 |publisher=The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre |location=Amman |isbn=<!--978-9975-428-37-2 ISBN is invalid--> |page=89 |editor=S. Abdallah Schleifer |quote=Leading scholar for the Deobandis...Usmani is very important as a figurehead in the Deobandi movement}}</ref> * Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Pakistan – President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F). * Nurul Islam Jihadi, Secretary General of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh. (born 1948) * Allama Nurul Islam Olipuri – Mufassir from Bangladesh.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sylhet: Renowned Islamic scholar Allama Nurul Islam Olipuri speaking at the first day of the three daylong Tafsirul Quran Mahfil as Chief Guest in Sylhet organised by Khademul Quran Parishad, Sylhet recently. |work=The New Nation |url=http://thedailynewnation.com/news/46221/sylhet---renowned--islamic-scholar-allama-nurul-islam-olipuri-speaking-at-the--first-day-of-the-three-daylong-tafsirul-quran-mahfil-as-chief-guest-in-sylhet--organised-by-khademul-quran-parishad-sylhet-recently.html |archive-date=1 December 2017 |access-date=18 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032610/http://thedailynewnation.com/news/46221/sylhet---renowned--islamic-scholar-allama-nurul-islam-olipuri-speaking-at-the--first-day-of-the-three-daylong-tafsirul-quran-mahfil-as-chief-guest-in-sylhet--organised-by-khademul-quran-parishad-sylhet-recently.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> * Tariq Jameel, Pakistan – Prominent scholar and preacher in the Tablighi Jama'at.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims |year=2012 |publisher=The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre |location=Amman |isbn=<!--978-9975-428-37-2 ISBN is invalid--> |page=134 |editor=S. Abdallah Schleifer |quote=He has been very effective in influencing all types of the communities ranging from businessmen and landlords to ministers and sports celebrities.}}</ref> * Ismail ibn Musa Menk, Zimbabwean scholar.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Chimp Corps |date=28 April 2021 |title=Kyankwanzi: President Museveni, Mufti Menk Discuss 'Unity in Diversity' |url=https://chimpreports.com/kyankwanzi-president-museveni-mufti-menk-discuss-unity-in-diversity/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428073826/https://chimpreports.com/kyankwanzi-president-museveni-mufti-menk-discuss-unity-in-diversity/ |archive-date=28 April 2021 |website=ChimpReports}}</ref> * Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera, Mufti and founder of Whitethread Institute and Zamzam Academy. * Muhammad Sufyan Qasmi, current rector of Darul Uloom Waqf, Deoband. * Rahmatullah Mir Qasmi, founder and rector of Darul Uloom Raheemiyyah. * Mahfuzul Haque, secretary general of Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh. * Muhammad ibn Adam Al-Kawthari, founder and chief-Mufti of Darul Ifta Leicester. * Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi, Iraninan Sunni Scholar who is regarded as a "spiritual leader for Iran’s Sunni Muslim population".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-08-06 |title=Iranian Sunni cleric says executions may inflame regional tensions |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-executions-idUSKCN10H0A8 }}</ref> * Yasir Nadeem al Wajidi, Chicago-based Indian Scholar and the founder of Darul Uloom Online. * Zulfiqar Ahmad, Pakistani Islamic scholar and Sufi Shaykh.<ref name="deoband2">{{cite web |date=9 April 2011 |title=Pir Zulfiqar Naqshbandi Visits Darul Uloom Deoband |url=http://www.deoband.net/blogs/pir-zulfiqar-naqdhbandi-to-visit-deoband-in-april |website=deoband.net}}</ref>
== Bibliography of the movement == {{Main|Bibliography of Deobandi Movement}}
* ''Islamic Revival in British India'' * ''Revival from Below'' * ''The Deoband School And The Demand For Pakistan'' * ''A Special Issue on The Deoband Madrasa'', The Muslim World<ref>{{Cite web |title=Special Issue:A Special Issue on The Deoband Madrasa |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14781913/2009/99/3}}</ref>
== See also == * Index of Deobandi movement–related articles
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== ===General citations=== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
===Bibliography=== * {{cite book |last1=Wasif Dehlavi |first1=Hafizur Rahman |author1-link=Hafizur Rahman Wasif Dehlavi |title=Jamī'at-i Ulamā par ek tārīk̲h̲ī tabṣirah |trans-title= A Historical Review the Jamiat Ulama|date=1970 |language=ur|oclc=16907808}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} {{Deobandi movement}} {{Darul Uloom Deoband}} {{Islam topics}} {{Islamism}} {{Maturidi}} {{Islamic theology|state=collapsed}}
Category:Deobandi movement Category:Hanafis Category:Maturidis Category:Islam in India Category:Islam in Pakistan Category:Sunni Islamic movements Category:Sunni Islamic branches Category:1866 establishments in India Category:State ideologies