Sunni Tehreek

Sunni Tehreek is religious and political party of the Barelwi Sunni Movement in Pakistan. Sunni Tehreek is Religious, Social and Political Party of AHL-E-SUNNAH of Pakistan that believes in Practical Struggle for securing the aims rather than raising wain Slogans.

History

In the late 1990s, Sunni Tehreek arose in Karachi under the charismatic leadership of Riaz Hussain Shah of Multan. Because of its aggressive claim on the refugee population in the city it fell foul of the MQM which delayed the spread of its influence for some time. Maulana Saleem Qadri , Maulana Abbas Qadri, Akram Qadri and Dr Qadeer were Some of the Central Leaders Who were assassinated by the terrorists in order to decrease its impact.

After the split and decline in the MQM ranks, it has arisen as an opposite pole to the Deobandi headquarters of Banuri Mosque headed by Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai with direct links to the jehad and its two leaders, Mullah Umar in Afghanistan and Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman of the JUI in Pakistan. The Sunni Tehreek has shown aggression in its protest against the giving of important religious posts to Deobandis. Its branch in Lahore has become quite outspoken and has publicly declared its opposition to the appointment of a Deobandi cleric as khateeb of Badshahi Mosque and other similar appointments..

In the Late 1990s Sunni Tehreek was established by Maulana Saleem Qadri to secure the rights of Sunnis which were on stake at the hands of so called Davebandi, Wahabi Jihadis extremists who belive in killings of innocent people in suicide bombings as Jihaad. He was martyred with his 5 Companions on 18 May 2001 in Karachi. After that Mualana Abbas qadri took the great task. But he tto along 3 other top leaders was martyred in a suicide blast in a Milad sharif rally at Nishtar Park at April 11, 2006. The party is working hard remaining peaceful and we are hopeful that state driven aggressions will not pull it back.

Leading the Movements

The Sunni Tehreek is reviving the Khatm-e-Nabuwwat movement against the Qadiani sect which was wrested from the Barelvis in the 1980s by the Deobandi s in Punjab. The first Khatm-e-Nabuwwat movement was led by Maulana Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi of the Barelvi Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) but it is today led by a Deobandi cleric, Manzur Chinioti.

Victim of Terrorism

At least 57 people were killed and over 200 injured when a bomb ripped through a religious congregation in Karachi on April 11, 2006. Called to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, the congregation had been organised by the Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat, a Barelvi sectarian organisation that is opposed to Islamist groups affiliated to the Deobandi and Salafi traditions, such as the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the Tablighi Jamaat and the Jamaat Ahl-e-Hadis.

Experts believe that the bombers targeted Abbas Qadri, Amir or supreme leader of the Sunni Tehreek, a Barelwi organisation fighting since 1992 to regain mosques which it claims were usurped by the sect's opponents. Sunni Tehreek leaders claim to have seized at least 62 Deobandi and Salafi mosques between 1992 and 2002 in ways that have on occasion sparked violence.

In May 2001, murderous sectarian riots broke out after Sunni Tehreek leader Saleem Qadri was assassinated by the Sipah Sahaba Pakistan(SSP), a Deoband-affiliated terrorist group. His successor, Abbas Qadri, charged President Pervez Musharraf's regime with "patronising terrorists" and "standing between us and the murderers.

When the SSP’s Karachi finance secretary was arrested after the murder of Sunni Tehreek chief Saleem Qadri , he revealed that his organisation received 32 lakh rupees a year from Karachi for the purposes of posting bail, assisting its imprisoned activists and the families of deceased activists. This entire amount was reportedly kept as “amanat” (safe custody) with one Maulvi Saadur Rehman, head of a religious school in Karachi and the withdrawals were made through written messages.

Pakistani Politics

While banning the strongly Deobandi SSP, Musharraf has refrained from banning the strongly Barelwi Sunni Tehreek and the Tanzeem. The Deobandis became quite powerful under Zia, himself a devout Deobandi, but numerically they are in a minority in Pakistan's Sunni community. By sparing the Barelvi organisations, Musharraf has sought to ensure that the majority Barelvis would not create trouble for him.

Fund Raising and MQM

While the Sunni Tehrik and the MQM have been countering the activities of the Deobandis, Wahabis and Salafis and their attempts to Arabise and Wahabise the Indian Muslim migrants (Mohajirs) to Pakistan, they have at the same time been quarreling with each other over the collection of funds from the Mohajir s for their respective political activities.

Politically, while the Urdu-speaking Indian Muslim migrants to Pakistan from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh support the MQM, the Gujarati speaking migrants (Bohras and Memons) support the Sunni Tehrik with funds. The migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh came from a poor or middle class background---landless labourers, petty traders, money-lenders, bureaucrats--- but the migrants from Gujarat came from a rich background (businessmen). It is said that Karachi's economy is largely controlled by the Memons and other Gujarati-speaking Muslims. They give more funds to the Sunni Tehreek than to the MQM.