Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia

Jamia Uloom-e-Islamia
جامعۃ العلوم الاسلامیہ، بنوری تاون، کراتشی ; Jame'at Ul-uloom ul Islamia, Banoori town, Karachi
Type	Islamic University
Established	1954 (1374 Hijri)
Affiliation	Darul Uloom Deoband
Chancellor	Maulana Dr. Abdur-Razzaq Iskander
Vice-Chancellor	Maulana Sayyid Sulaiman Yousuf Banuri
Students	12,000 (Total)
Address	Jamia Uloom-e-Islamia Banuri Town Karachi 5 ,Pakistan, Karachi, Pakistan
Campus	Urban
Affiliations	Wifaq ul Madaris
Website	www.banuri.edu.pk

Jamia Uloom-e-Islamia (Urdu: جامعہ علوم اسلامیہ, Jāmi‘ah ‘Ulūm-i Islāmīyah / جامعۃ العلوم الاسلامیہ, Jāmi‘atul-‘Ulūmul-Islāmīyah) is an Islamic School situated in Banoori Town, Karachi, Pakistan. The school continues the tradition of the Darul Uloom system initiated by Darul Uloom Deoband. As of 2007^[update], there are about twelve thousand students in different departments of the Jamiah and its branches, including a number of foreign students from over sixty countries all over the world.^[2]

It has been described by the International Crisis Group as the fountainhead of Deobandi militancy in Pakistan, due to the madrasa playing a major role in helping establish and sustain a number of jihadi organisations, including Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP).^[3]

Foundation

The Jamiah was founded by Muhadith Ul Asar Allama Syed Muhammad Yousuf Jan Banoori (1908–1977); he was born in a village Mahabatabad near Peshawar, son of Maulana Syed Muhammad Zakariya, who was in turn the son of a khalifa of Mujaddid Alf e Sani. He was educated in Peshawar and Kabul before being sent to Darul Uloom Deoband, where he was the pupil of Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. He founded the Jamiah Arabiya Islamiya (now Jamia Uloom-e Islamia) in Karachi in 1953.

Mission and Objectives

The stated objectives of the Jamiah are:^[4]

To prepare such Ulama and preachers of Islam who are, on one hand, highly qualified in their fields of education and on the other hand, are equipped with the qualities of piety, sincerity and dedication. It should be their sole purpose to safeguard the fundamental tenets of religion, to propagate it and to lead people to the straight path.

To establish contacts with other religious universities, madrasahs and educational centers and to co-operate with them in the field of knowledge, experience and teaching.

To acquaint the new generation with Islam, Islamic values, etiquette and Islamic culture.

To publish literature against false and heretic ideologies for the rectification and guidance of the Muslim Ummah.

To arrange translation and publication of important and useful Arabic books into Urdu and vice versa.

Departments and Divisions

Nazirah-e- Qur'an ( Reading the Qur'an)
Tahfeez-ul-Qur'an (Memorizing the Noble Qur'an)
Tajweed (Quranic Phonetics)
Dars-e-Nizaami (Aalamiyya, equivalent to Masters)
Takhassus Fil Hadith (Specialization in Hadith Studies)
Daar ul–Iftaa (Department of Fatwa)
Department of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)
Daar-ut-Tasneef Department
Madrasa-tul-Banat (Female Section)
Majlis–e-Da'wat–o-Tahqeeq-e-Islaami

The Academic Council

The Jamiah has an Academic Committee composed of experienced teachers of the Jamiah. It reviews the syllabus, introduces useful changes and supervises the examinations and other educational affairs.

Scholarly Research Works

Muhammad Yousuf Jan Banoori not only devoted himself to the exemplary teaching and training of the students but also preoccupied himself with scholarly research works on different subjects, particularly Hadith and jurisprudence and, at the same time, commissioned other scholars to do it. He also wrote many articles and edited periodicals, and encouraged other scholars to do so. This practice is still being observed today.

Among the books, periodicals and articles published by the Jamiah are:

Banori's Ma′aarif-us-Sunan ("Acquirements In Understanding The Prophetic Traditions"), is an Arabic commentary on Jami-ut-Tirmizi.

A prominent student of Banoori and a former associate of Daar-ut-Tasneef and a teacher of the Jamiah, Maulana Muhammad Ameen Awrakzai was commissioned by the late Maulana to work on Sharh-ul-Ma′anil-Aathaar lil-Imam-At-Tahaawi ("Explanation of the Meanings of the Traditions" by Imaam Tahaawi) under his guidance. He had done research work on a great part of this book extracting ahaadeeth from the sources, explaining Imaam Tahaawi’s Nazar ("Analytical Scrutiny") and rendering accessible its difficult portions. The author has published the results under the title Nathr-ul-Azhaar Sharh Ma′aan-il–Aathaar ("Scattering Flowers: A Commentary On ‘Sharh Ma’aan-il-aathaar’"). This work was also initiated under this department.

Controversy

The International Crisis Group (ICG) has described the madrasa as one of Karachi’s leading sectarian and jihadi madrasas, which boasts close ties to the Taliban and other militant Deobandi organisations in Pakistan.^[3]

Assassinations of Scholars

Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia is described by the ICG as being at the heart of anti-Shia and anti-Barelvi sectarian violence in the country, which has provoked reprisal attacks by Shia and Barelvi militants on that madrasa’s scholars.^[3]

On 2 November 1997, two scholars at Jamiat-ul-Uloom-ul-Islamia, Maulana Habibullah Mukhtar and Mufti Abdus Sami, were burnt to death when two motorcyclists hurled an explosive device at their van.^[5]^[6] Another teacher, Maulana Yousuf Ludhianvi, was shot dead by gunmen in Karachi on 18 May 2000.^[5] Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, the then head of the madrassa, was killed on 30 May 2004 when armed men ambushed his vehicle in front of the Binori Mosque.^[7]^[5] On 9 October 2004, another associated scholar, Mufti Jameel Ahmad Khan, was killed when his vehicle was fired upon by two gunmen on motorcycles.^[8] On 13 May 2012, Maulana Aslam Sheikhupuri was killed when gunmen on two motorcycles shot at his car, Sheikhupuri had been associated with school for 25 years. ^[9]

Notable Alumni

Maulana Masood Azhar, leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)^[10]
Asim Umar, leader of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)^[11]
Qari Saifullah Akhtar, leader of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI)^[12]
Azam Tariq, leader of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP)^[12]
Fazlur Rehman Khalil, leader of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM)^[13]
Abdul Aziz Ghazi, leader of Lal Masjid (Red Mosque)^[14]
Abdolmalek Rigi, leader of Jundallah^[15]

References

^ http://www.banuri.edu.pk/en/Number-of-Students
^ Number of Students
^ ^a ^b ^c "Pakistan: Karachi's Madrasas and Violent Extremism" (PDF). International Crisis Group. 29 March 2007.
^ Aims and objectives of the Jamia
^ ^a ^b ^c http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/national/31-May-2004/mufti-shamzai-a-profile
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?204923
^ http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/national/10-Oct-2010/karachi-s-sectarian-war-may-escalate
^ http://www.dawn.com/news/397173/mufti-jameel-associate-shot-dead
^ http://tribune.com.pk/story/378464/sectarian-target-killings-deobandi-leader-gunned-down-in-busy-street/
^ "Maulana Masood Azhar". Kashmir Herald. 1 (8). kashmiri-pandit.org. January 2002. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
^ "Al Qaeda's shadowy new 'emir' in South Asia handed tough job". Reuters. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
^ ^a ^b "The Growth of the Deobandi Jihad in Afghanistan". Jamestown Foundation. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2014. Cite error: The named reference "jamestownqari" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ "A Profile of Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HuJI), Movement of Islamic Holy Warriors". CF2R. 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
^ "The Religious Godfather of the Punjabi Taliban: Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi" (PDF). Jamestown Foundation. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
^ "Rigi's arrest a godsend for Pakistan". Dawn. Archived from the original on 19 September 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

External links

Official website