Wahhabism in the Northwest Frontier

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا خاتم النبيين

Salutations and peace upon 

you, Seal of the Prophets

The fitnah of terrorism including suicide bombing appeared from the northwestern areas of Pakistan in the aftermath of the Lal Masjid incident in 2007. A terrorist faction called the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan, or TTP for short, led by members of the Mehsud tribe, launched an insurgency against the State in Pakistan that may be described as neo-Kharijite. I want to reveal the fact that the seeds for such militancy and terrorism in the region, which sadly has been resurrected at present (the 2020s) were sown by Sayyid Ahmad of Raebareli and Shah Isma’il of Delhi in the early 19th century. The combination of rigid Wahhabism with Pashtun zealotry and tribalistic fanaticism created a breeding ground for the kind of terrorism and religious extremism we see in that region today. After the movement of Sayyid Ahmad of Raebareli, which essentially introduced Wahhabism to the Subcontinent, especially the Northwest Frontier, an offshoot of the Deobandi school founded by a certain Husain Ali Alwani (1867-1944) helped to solidify it there. This individual, a Deobandi cleric, was a self-styled mufassir. Somewhat influenced by Mu’tazilite theology, Husain Ali Alwani used the slogan of Tawhid to cause division and controversy among the Muslims, and wrote Tafsir of the Holy Quran for that purpose. This is why his followers call him Ra’is ul-Mufassirin “chief of the Mufassirin”. I have explained on this blog that deviant and even heretical groups often use the slogan of Tawhid to cause dissension and spread misguidance in the Ummah. This is because the Muslim Ummah is necessarily already upon Tawhid, through the affirmation of La ilaha Illa Allah “there is no god except Allah”. Hence, groups that call the Muslims to Tawhid are necessarily implying that the generality of the Muslims are ignorant of the very foundation of Islam and are not free of shirk (polytheism and idolatry). The Mu’tazilites used the slogan of Tawhid, and called themselves Ahl al-Tawhid wal-Adl “people of monotheism and justice” to differentiate themselves from mainstream (Sunni) Muslims. Likewise, the heretical Druze call themselves al-Muwahhidin “the monotheists”, and the Wahhabis initially called themselves al-Muwahhidin too. The followers of Husain Ali Alwani, and his students like Ghulamullah Khan (1905-1980), formed a new sect which calls itself Jami’at Isha’at al-Tawhid wal-Sunnah “association for the propagation of monotheism and Sunnah”. This group is a strange mixture of Wahhabism and Mu’tazilism. They are known as Panjpiris, because their madrassah called Dar al-Quran is based in a town called Panjpir, Swabi District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They are also known as Mamatis because, in opposition to the creed of mainstream Sunni Muslims, they do not believe the Prophets are literally alive in their graves. Together with the other Deobandis, and the Salafis or Ahl al-Hadith movement, the Panjpiris/Mamatis have created a dangerous and hostile environment in many districts and parts of the northwestern region (the frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan) for mainstream Sunni Muslims (commonly called “Barelawis”). At best, they consider mainstream Sunni Muslims to be innovators and misguided, and at worst they consider us polytheists and unbelievers who should all be killed. Thereafter added to this already toxic broth was the poison of political “Islamist” ideas first introduced by the Jama’at Islami of Mawdudi. Sufi Muhammad (1933-2019) was initially an active member of the Jama’at Islami in the 1980s, before he broke away and formed the militant Tehrik Nifaz Shari’at Muhammadi (TNSM). As I understand it, this group had connections with and essentially became absorbed into the aforementioned terrorist TTP, founded by Baitullah Mehsud (1970-2009). At present, the TTP is wreaking havoc in the northwestern region of Pakistan with a bloody campaign of terrorism that often involves suicide bombing targeting ordinary Muslim civilians. It is undoubtedly aided and covertly funded by Hindu India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), but also sheltered by the Afghan Taliban. Although the Afghan Taliban were initially very conservative Sunni Muslims from Kandahar, in the south of Afghanistan, many elements within that broad movement are now neo-Kharijite. Whereas the founder of the Taliban, Mulla Muhammad Umar (1959-2013), may Allah have mercy on him, was always pro-Pakistan, the current Taliban leadership, or at least a major element within it, has openly allied with Hindu India with the aim of harming Islamic Pakistan. The original Taliban were orthodox Sunnis and tended to be attached to the prestigious Naqshbandi Sufi order. However, the venomous influence of Wahhabism, Salafism and especially the Panjpiri brand of Deobandism has degenerated elements of the current Taliban regime and motivated them to shelter terrorist, anti-Pakistani groups like the TTP and even Baluch separatists like the BLA. The latter are totally secular and even Marxist in orientation! Here you can see how the contempt schismatic sects have for mainstream Sunni Muslims naturally develops into anti-State militancy.