I hate to say this and may be I shouldn’t. On the other hand, Azam Tariq was a crazy guy who was a leader of a group which murdered hundreds of Shia in Pakistan. He died the way his followers killed so many others.
Maulana Azam Tariq, chief of the Millat-i-Islamia and MNA, was assassinated by unidentified gunmen on Monday afternoon along with four others as his car drove into the capital. […]The attack occurred at a toll plaza in Golra on the southwestern outskirts of the capital, the police said, and added that the Maulana was returning from his constituency Jhang to attend Monday’s National Assembly session.
According to doctors, who conducted his external postmortem, the Maulana, who had escaped several assassination attempts in the past, received 40 bullet injuries, mostly in the head and cervical region. Islamabad’s Inspector-General of Police, Major(retired) Mohammad Akram, described the incident as sectarian. He refused to accept it as a security lapse by the police or other security agencies.
He said the assailants, who were three in number, intercepted the Maulana’s car and sprayed bullets with AK-47 assault rifles. According to eyewitnesses, the assailants who were in a white Pajero escaped. All five people in the car, including Maulana Azam Tariq, died on the spot.
Maulana Azam Tariq previously headed Anjuman Sipah-i-Sahaba, which was banned by President Musharraf because of allegations of sectarian violence. The Sipah-i-Sahaba had been blamed by police for more than 400 killings in sectarian violence in Pakistan in recent years.
He was elected to the National Assembly during last year’s elections as an independent candidate. Despite being a religious leader, he refused to join Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, a conglomerate of six religious parties.
This is probably part of the Sunni-Shia tensions in Pakistan. There are a number of extremist violent organizations on both sides. Azam Tariq was injured before in such an attack.
This was second attempt on Maulana Azam Tariq’s life. He was seriously wounded in a bomb explosion in Lahore High Court premises on January 18, 1997. Maulana Zia-ur-Rehman Farooqi and 25 others were killed in that incident.
Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have been involved in drive-by shootings of quite a few innocent Shias, including doctors in Karachi, in recent years.
I hope to never celebrate anyone’s death, aside from maybe Ariel Sharon. It’s just damn sad that Muslims feel it’s their obligation to first, insult dead people they’ve never met, and secondly, kill those doing the insulting. Justice is for Allah.
Muslims feel it’s their obligation to first, insult dead people they’ve never met, and secondly, kill those doing the insulting.
huh?
Zack – did this guy have any connection to the IJT or the MSF (the student groups you wrote about in June?)
Andrew: No. Sipah-e-Sahaba (Soldiers of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad) had its origins from some of the extremists in the political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam [JUI] (Association of Scholars of Islam). JUI is currently part of the religious alliance and was also closely related to the Taliban.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (Army of Jhangvi) is a more extremist split-off from Sipah-e-Sahaba. It is named after Jhangvi, a leader of Sipah-e-Sahaba who was assassinated in the mid-90s (?).
Azam Tariq was elected to Parliament from Jhang which has seen some of the worst conflicts between Sunnis and Shias.
PS. Can you use one email address even if it’s fake? If you don’t, you’ll lose your coveted spot on the list of prolific commenters.
The Sipah-e-Sahaba group is the protection of the Sahabe-Karam, or the companions of the prophet. Some Shiites apparently hurl abuse and slander against the Khulafe Rashideen, and groups like the Sipah-e-Sahaba take it upon themselves to defend their honor. I don’t think those Shiites insulting dead companions of the prophet are in the right, but I don’t think that killing them would help at all.
And I just found out the Azam Tariq was killed about five minutes from my house. And the rioting in Islamabad, where one was killed in a fire at the Melody Cinema, is literally a stone’s throw from my office. I was at work at the time and I didn’t hear a thing. I musta been in the editing “zone”.
Whenever I hear of Sunni-Shi’ite clashes I’m reminded of the American diplomat in Tehran during Muharram.
The diplomat, after seeing thousands of young men whipping themselves amidst general mourning weeping, asks his Iranian liason “Ali what the heck is going on here?”
Ali replies that they’re commemorating the death and betrayal of Imam Husayn 1400yrs ago. The Yankee still puzzled finally asks, “so they found out about it yesterday?”
Ultimately to harp over things past will serve none and therefore the Sunni-Shi’ite rivalry is amusing, at the best of times, and disastrous when it spills blood.
Of course in my own weblog I have devoted pages to discussing the respective histories of the Sunni-Shi’ite sects, since it is interesting from a socio-historical perspective.
Finally it is a thing good if the nation is cleared of extremists. For instance my distant Shi’ite relatives have migrated to the United Kingdom because of the targeted attacks in Karachi. Considering that a few generations ago that branch of the family shunned my family to “return to Islam” and assimilate into the Muslim mainstream it is somewhat chilling.
It would be sad if the Shi’ite minority, which is tremendously sucessful, would be forced to emigrate and even more farcical in the light that the founder of our nation, Jinnah, was a Khoja Ismaili (ulitmately a sect of Shi’ism).
The Sipah-e-Sahaba group is the protection of the Sahabe-Karam
Hahahaha! That’s their claim apparently, but my measly little brain tells me they are only nutcases. You do need to get out a bit more, Owl. I have known Sipah-e-Sahaba guys and I can tell you they are no nice guys defending the honor of the companions of the Prophet.
Your argument is also wrong in another respect. It’s not like the Sipah targeted Shias who publicly insulted the companions (that would still be evil in my opinion). They have targeted Shia doctors, Shia worshippers in mosques and just generally Shias.
Azam Tariq was killed about five minutes from my house.
So you do live almost outside Islamabad. That area wasn’t built up at all when I left Pakistan.
Lol Zack…. you really do relish this whole being right thing don’t you.
I was simply talking about what the Sipah-e-Sihaba CLAIMED to be their motivation. I do know that their targetted killings are really just petty tit-for-tats with the Shiite groups. And dude, I do get out, I also read six newspapers a day, and there is a head perched upon my neck.
And yeah, I live in the boonies of Islamabad, practically in a village. It’s interesting though. I don’t like Islamabad proper, it’s like a tacky second world European suburb. Bleh.
I thought that the Shia version of Muslim History had the Khalifa-ur-rashidun being exactly the opposite of Rashidun (they don’t even think much of Abu Bakr — is that right?).
If that’s the case then you can’t really expect Shia Pakistanis to do anything butt say nasty things about the first four Caliphs. That’s their version of history — they’ve been saying it for 1400 years.
When they teach Islamic history in Pakistan, how do they cover events like the affair of the necklace, or the election of Abu Bakr. Is the standard currculum a solidly Sunni line?
Owl: Sorry about that. It just wasn’t clear from your previous comment. And I am usually very postmodern about being right.
Ikram: Shia think that the first 3 caliphs usurped Ali’s (4th) right. So obviously they don’t like them.
In Pakistan, there are separate Islamic studies curriculums for Shias and Sunnis. The major difference I think was that the Shia version covered the histories of the 12 Imams (that would make it the Ithna Ashari creed) instead of the 4 caliphs. Also, Christians, Hindus, etc. could take ethics instead of the compulsory Islamic studies. However, the reality of teaching a few students separately was always a problem in schools. Because of that and probably lack of devoutness on the part of some of my Shia friends in school, they decided to take the Sunni Islamic studies. According to my friends, it was a lot easier to learn about 4 guys as opposed to 12. 🙂
Muslim voices (short version) 5
Zack Ajmal discusses an incident in the ongoing Sunni-Shi’a clashes in Pakistan. Muslim Wake Up presents the thoughts of a…
I can’t beleive that this guy was elected as an MNA. Why any Government would allow him to run for elections. The whole system needs to be cleaned up.
The way I see it from a distance, the conflict is not between Shia’ism or Sunni’ism. It is the ever sickening economy of Pakistan. With millions of young unemployed people (who now have turned 41) don’t have much to do except these kind of things.
Albert: He was elected from jail. However, his detention was just a part of the government crackdown on terrorist groups and nothing much came of it.
I think the economy is definitely part of the problem but not the only one.
Sipah e Sahaba Pakistan (now Milat e Islamia) is not a terrorist movement. Maulana Muhammad Azam Tariq sahib is not a terrorist. The real terrorists are the Shia and Wahabi mullahs who are the ones slaughtering innocent Sunni Muslims. The mainstream majority is being persecuted by the heretic violent minority. I believe that movements such as Sipah e Sahaba a.k.a Milat e Islamia are movements that are devoted to the defense of Sunni Muslims, who represent 95% of Muslims worldwide (tell that to the Shias).
Abdulqadir: I am familiar with Sipah-e-Sahaba and have known a few of its “activists” as well. Their raison d’être is violence against Shias.
The real terrorists are the Shia and Wahabi mullahs who are the ones slaughtering innocent Sunni Muslims.
The violence by Sipah-e-Sahaba and more extremsit groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi etc. against Shias far outnumbers the sectarian violence against Sunnis in Pakistan.
Rasheed: I have disenvoweled your comment since it was extremely bigoted. This is your warning. Any further comments outside the bounds of civil discourse will result in a ban from commenting here.
Dear Sir,
it is a fact and faith of us (Sunnis) that Sahaba Kiram (Companions of hazrat Muhammad PBUH) are the persons who sacrificed their all for Allah, Prophet and islam. So when we see that they are abused by a Shia it becomes unbearable for us.
Other than it, you will be surely aware of the fact that they (Shias) do not believe ine the Lastness of the Holy Prophet (Khatm-e-Nubawwat) which is a basic faith of the Muslim, the faith for which Qadianis (Ahmadis) were declared Non-Muslims by the Consitiution of Pakistan, But it is strange that the Shia Sect have the same belief, but I must say the worse faith in this context, sre being considered Muslims,
Again it is a fact that Shias do not believe in the rightness of the Hloy Quran, so how can they be called Muslims.
Azam tariq was not a terrorist. He was every time ready of table talk but it was the Shia’s Head Sajid Ali Naqvi who fled from table talk,
Again you will be aware and you must keep it in mind that it was Shias, not Sunnis or Sipah-e-Sahaba, who opened this hell of bloddshed by killing Haq Nawaz Jhangvi,
Again you will be aware that a foreign Power of Iran was at the back of Shias.
Agian you will be aware that Azam Tariq never supported Lashkar Jhangvi, I personally know and I can swear that he never supported them.
I think that if you are a real lover of reality you must go deep in this affair, it should not be viewed as a common matter as is done by the press and officials, the matter is not so simple that it will be solved by cursing Azam Tariq after his burial.
Thank You,Waiting for your comments anxiously,
khalid Mahmood
khmnk@hotmail.com
Khalid: Why should you or I have the right to proclaim someone Muslim or non-Muslim? Why do you hate the Shia so much? You are insinuating a lot of stuff about Shia beliefs that I have never heard from a Shia ever.
Your views are offensive to me as a Muslim.
Azam Tariq was a terrorist. His Sipah-e-Sahabah was involved in violent actions against the Shia. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was worse. My knowledge is not just based on press accounts but on personal observation.
I am little confused about the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims. I tried to find something on the internet but they all looked biased to me. Would you please tell me the basic difference?
Mariam: This is probably the simplest explanation. I did notice a few minor errors.
hahaha finally the ************ whose people killed my friend is dead… My friend was sunni, a 15 year old shot dead my SSP for no reason… ********** lil ******* I wish u all die.
[Comment Edited by Site Owner for Language]
I am sorry about your friend.
I edited your comment because you used offensive language.
i am search ur site i am hate ur site
u are insulted the leader of islam azam tariq whos martyred by some terrorist . ..
azam tariq also man in pakistan whos say haqq
they are the defedender of sahabah and ahlebait.
he is our hero hero hero hero hero
azam taiq zida bad
we continued his mission . i am free these days not job…. so this is my work.
bye bye
wali: I hope you are not continuing his mission of killing Shias.
Hey Do you think we will be send to heaven or hell after being asked whether Ali was First or Abubakr ? We are the most stupid people on Earth
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