Abdul Rashid Ghazi

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Abdul Rashid
عبدالرشيد
Abdul Rasheed Ghazi.jpg
Ghazi during his JOB in UNESCO representing Pakistan in an international conference
Vice-Chancellor of Faridia University
In office
1998–2007
Personal details
Born(1964-01-29)29 January 1964
Islamabad, Pakistan
Died10 July 2007(2007-07-10) (aged 43)
Lal Masjid, Islamabad, Pakistan
Cause of deathGunshot injury
Resting placeMadrasa Abdullah Bin Ghazi, Punjab 28°32'49"N 69°47'25"E
RelationsMuhammad Abdullah Ghazi (father)
Abdul Aziz (brother)
ChildrenHaroon Rashid Ghazi
Haris Rashid Ghazi
Hamza Rashid Ghazi
Alma materQuaid-i-Azam University
Signature
Military career
Battles/warsSoviet war in Afghanistan
Siege of Lal Masjid †

Abdul Rashid (عبدالرشيد; c. 1964 – 10 July 2007)[1] was a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist, Diplomat for UNESCO and the Vice-Chancellor of Faridia University. He was the son of Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi, and younger brother of Abdul Aziz Ghazi.

Abdul Rashid was killed during Operation Silence after Pakistan Army Special Operations Commandos' teams stormed the madrasah he and his students had been using.

Early life

He was an ethnic Baloch, descending from the Sadwani (Sodvani) clan of the Mazari tribe, in the town of Rojhan in Rajanpur, the border district of Punjab province of Pakistan.[2]

In his youth, Abdul Rashid defied his father's wish that he receive formal Islamic education as he wanted to live a modern life. He completed his Master of Science degree in History from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad in 1987–1988.[3] a photo of him and his classmates still hangs on the history department's wall.[3] According to one of his professors, "He was a normal, modern student and a lively fellow who was well adjusted to a co-educational system."[3] Remembered by his friends as "a bright student and an active member of a progressive student organisation", "He could have been a diplomat in the foreign office or an educationist", his friend once stated in an interview.[4]

He was non-religious during that time, hardly if ever going to the mosque and reading authors like Karl Marx, Max Weber and Henry Kissinger, "his greatest ambition was to become a diplomat at the United Nations", a friend added,[4] to the extent that he stopped talking to his father, who was antagonized by his "Westernized" lifestyle.[4] Declan Walsh also quotes peoples who knew him during this time, saying that he was a secularized student reading the likes of Nietzsche and Rousseau, mingling with women and being fond of singing.[5]

Ghazi completed his Master of Science degree in History from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad in 1987–1988

Diplomatic career

After taking an M.Sc. in history, he obtained a job at the Pakistan National Commission and later joined The Ministry of Education in Islamabad as a Grade-17 officer where he also held a brief stint as the editor of its monthly magazine Diyami,[6]

He then worked with UNESCO, a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) in Paris.[3]

Soviet–Afghan War

Abdul Rasheed Ghazi firing a mortar in Paktia Province of Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War.

During the Soviet–Afghan War, Ghazi's father Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi played a major role in recruiting and training Mujahideen, Ghazi and his Brother also did a brief stint of fighting, According to a friend of ghazi who was with him during the Soviet Afghan War,  They fought multiple times against Russians in the Paktia Province near the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, during this time Ghazi barely survived death when a Land mine next to him exploded after which he assumed the title of Ghazi (warrior) .[7] Declan Walsh quotes a friend of Ghazi who says that Ghazi was more excited by the glamour and adventure of war, than by any strictly religious aspect of it.[5]

Meeting Osama bin Laden

In 1998, Ghazi and his father met Osama bin Laden. Ghazi, when referring to these events, stated: "The meeting inspired me to work for the establishment of Islam." Furthermore, he also recalled that at the end of the meeting, he picked up a glass from which Laden was drinking water and drank it. An amused bin Laden asked Ghazi, "why he did that?" To which Ghazi replied: "I drank from your glass so that Allah would make me a (great) warrior like you." During this visit to bin Laden and Mullah Omar in Kandahar, Ghazi became radicalized and eschewed his former modernist outlook.[8]

Father's assassination

A week after Ghazi and his father returned from Kandahar, on Saturday 17 October 1998, Ghazi's father who had a routine every day whereby he would walk to his seminary Faridia University in Sector E-7 Of Islamabad for giving lectures, At noon when he returned Abdul Aziz, his elder son, approached him and spoke to him. When Maulana approached his house, a man standing in front of the door walked towards him and pulled out a gun and opened fire until the magazine was empty, badly injuring Maulana. Afterwards, he fired at Abdul Aziz, who barely escaped death. The assassin escaped with the help of an accomplice waiting outside in a car. Maulana Abdullah died of his injuries on the way to the hospital.[8]

Abdul Rashid Ghazi lodged the FIR and the police investigated the case. After a relentless effort, a man was arrested and afterwards, during ID Parade, several eyewitnesses identified the assassin. However, he was released the next day without reason. Abdul Rashid Ghazi protested against the release and warned the police of legal action if the suspect was not arrested soon. With Ghazi increasing pressure on police, he was asked to withdraw the case or face the fate of his father. According to his friend, this was turning point in Ghazi's life, and he became disillusioned with the system.[9]

Post-2001

Ghazi adopted the trappings of an Islamist, wearing the Pakol (the wool hat), or a checkered Palestinian keffiyeh over white robes. encouraged by his transformation his brother appointed him as the deputy cleric at Lal Masjid although he rarely led the prayers there. Ghazi however still retained the courteous manner and open-minded curiosity of his student years, He welcomed foreign visitors at his quarters, charming and cajoling them. "Suavely convincing", judged one.[10]

He first came on the political scene in 2001, when the religious parties of the country announced an organization for the defense of Afghanistan against the American invasion. Abdul Rashid Ghazi pledged support for the Taliban against the Americans, criticizing Musharraf for his submissive attitude towards them and openly challenging his authority.[11]

In 2003, He led the funeral of Azam Tariq inside Lal Masjid.[12]

In August 2004, the Pakistan government claimed he was involved in a plot against the president, the army and parliament; however this was later refuted by the government minister for religious affairs, and later by the government.[9]

He was fond of technology and had all the latest communication being an expert of computers, he established a data centre, which had all the necessary equipment including computers, faxes, printers, and scanner. To broadcast his speeches on the Internet, he had been maintaining his own website which was blocked later.[13]

Jamia Faridia

Main article: Jamia Faridia

Ghazi also served as Vice-Chancellor of Faridia University, an Islamic university situated near the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan.[7]

Ghazi is credited with modernization of the institute where alongside the traditional Dars-i Nizami, he introduced new academic programmes including information technology, Islamic Economics and himself taught English and Philosophy.[4]

in 2003, he inaugurated the Al Faridia Model School, a free for all high school offering classes from 7th till matriculation.[7]

Farid Esack recounts to have met Ghazi multiple times at the Faridia University seminary, Ghazi peppered the South African with questions about Mandela's life in prison, and they chatted for hours about revolutionaries like Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. "He certainly saw himself in that mold, as the righteous moral rebel." Esack said, both of them are also said to have debated their conflicting opinions on Islam, "My vision of an inclusive polity influenced by progressive Islamic values is very different than Ghazi's, of course, but his theology should not be reduced to a caricature, as it so often was, especially in the West", Esack recounted.[14]

Activism

Ghazi was a well-known activist against enforced disappearances in Pakistan. In 2004, he founded Defense of Muslim Rights, and in 2006, he co-founded Defence of Human Rights Pakistan, together with human rights activist Amina Masood Janjua and Khalid Khawaja.[15] The Al-Qasim Foundation was also set up by Ghazi immediately after the 2005 Earthquake and delivered relief goods worth Rs100 million to affectees under his supervision.[16][17]

UNICEF

In 2005, Ghazi joined UNICEF, a United Nations led humanitarian organisation, where he was a member of committee formed to raise awareness regarding aids.[18]

In 2006, He joined a delegation of religious leaders alongside United Nations official, Bettina Schunter. that travelled to South Africa to learn about HIV prevention.[7]

Assassination attempt

In early 2005, one morning just after dawn, Ghazi was returning from teaching a class at the Faridia University (which he managed and was the vice-chancellor of). He was driving along a four-lane highway in the shadow of the Margalla Hills when he noticed that someone in a nearby car was waving a gun at him. Ghazi fired warning shots from his licensed pistol, confusing the assassins, after which they sped away. It's the reason why he always carried an AK-47.[19]

Ghazi always traveled around armed with an AK-74 after he survived an assassination attempt

Death and legacy

Pakistanis surround an ambulance carrying the body of cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi during his funeral in Basti-Abdullah, Pakistan

During the Siege of Lal Masjid, Pakistan Army Special Forces (SF), Pakistan Army Rangers, and Special Service Group (SSG) stormed the mosque. Ghazi himself remained inside with a few students. He called for a safe way in which he would not be humiliated like his brother, but officials denied his requests. The Pakistan Ministry of Interior reported that he was killed on 10 July 2007 during Operation Silence.[20]

A few days after his death, his famous saying "We can be martyred but we will not surrender" was featured as quote of the day on Time magazine's website.[21]

On 20 September 2007, bin Laden released a new tape called "Come to Jihad" with his voice over previously released footage of him. In the tape bin Laden called on Pakistanis, especially the soldiers, to overthrow President Pervez Musharraf, promising what he called retaliation for the storming of the Red Mosque, stating that "twenty years after the soil of Pakistan soaked up the blood of one of the greatest jihadi fighters, the Imam Abdallah Azzam, today Pakistan is witness to the death of another great Muslim, Imam Abdul al-Rashid Ghazi."[22]

He is buried at Madrassah Abdullah, Basti-Abdullah near Rojhan Mazari, Pakistan.[23] Ghazi's brother, Abdul Aziz, who was arrested during the eight-day siege, led the funeral with a large number of people from all the provinces of the country coming to the funeral at his native village.[24]

Bibliography

Books by Ghazi

  • Islami nizam ka mujawwiza khaka (Proposed Blueprint of Islamic System)

References

  1. ^ Cameron-Moore, Simon "Pakistan counts costs of bloody end to mosque siege" Reuters, 10 July 2007, retrieved 27 July 2009.
  2. ^ Tadfeen Islamabad mein ki jaey BBCUrdu, 11 July 2007, retrieved 21 July 2009 Archived 8 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d "Islamabad Red Mosque Cleric Killed" Archived 2007-07-12 at the Wayback Machine Pakistan Times, 11 July 2007, retrieved 27 July 2009
  4. ^ a b c d Nadeem F. Paracha (3 November 2013), "Red handed", Dawn News. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b Walsh, Declan (2021). The Nine Lives of Pakistan: Dispatches from a Divided Nation. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 32–33.
  6. ^ Qandeel Siddique, The Red Mosque Operation and Its Impact On the Growth of the Pakistani Taliban, report for Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), p. 13. Link.
  7. ^ a b c d Walsh, Declan (2020). Nine Lives Of Pakistan. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-393-24991-0.
  8. ^ a b Zahid Hussain, The Scorpion's Tail: The Relentless Rise of Islamic Militants in Pakistan-And How It Threatens America, Simon and Schuster (2010), p. 112
  9. ^ a b Farooqui, Asif (10 July 2007). "Obituary: Abdul Rashid Ghazi". BBC News.
  10. ^ Syed, Baqir Sajjad (11 July 2007). "Maulana Abdul Rashid: A Ghazi who died a 'Shaheed'". Dawn. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  11. ^ Michelle Shephard (9 July 2007), "Mosque crisis highlights Pakistan's turmoil", The Star. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Azam Tariq's murder could have huge repercussions". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Ghazi was fond of technology". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Opinion | Lessons From The Lal Masjid Tragedy". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  15. ^ Lal Masjid: A Brief History
  16. ^ "Religious outfits mount massive relief operations". The Express Tribune. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Crimson tide". The Express Tribune. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  18. ^ The Pulse with Jasmeen Manzoor (Maulana Ghazi Interview), retrieved 6 May 2021
  19. ^ Baqir Sajjad Syed (11 July 2007), "Maulana Abdul Rashid: A Ghazi who died a 'Shaheed'", Dawn News. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Pakistan militant cleric killed". BBC News. 10 July 2007.
  21. ^ "Quotes of the Day". Time. 6 July 2007.
  22. ^ N. Elahi, Terrorism in Pakistan: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Challenge to Security, Bloomsbury Publishing (2019), p. 101
  23. ^ Iqbal, Nasir (12 July 2007). "Burial after arrival of relatives:SC". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Rashid Ghazi buried as Aziz vows to continue struggle". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Abdul Rashid Ghazi.
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