Udaipur murder: The Dawat-e-Islami has been linked to multiple incidents of stabbing incidents

The Dawat-e-Islami calls itself a peaceful organisation. However there have been several incidents in the past when its followers have been involved in incidents of stabbing

New Delhi, Jun 30: The Rajasthan police on Wednesday said that the Ghouse Mohammad one of the two killers of the Hindu tailor in Udaipur had gone to Karachi, Pakistan in 2014. The police also accused him of having links with the Dawat-e-Islami.

The Dawat-e-Islami which claims to be a non-political and non-violent organisation inspired by the Sufi tradition has been in the news earlier too for a stabbing incident that took place in France. While the outfit claims no direct link, its followers have been involved in several incidents in the past for carrying out or trying to carry out terrorist attacks.

On September 25 2020 a Pakistani terrorist, Zaheer Hassan Mehmood carried out a stabbing attack outside the former headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Held in Paris. Two people were injured in the attack and during the investigation the French authorities learnt that Zaheer's religious guide was Maulana Ilyas Qadri, the leader of the Rawat-e-Islami.

While his father confessed that his son was a follower of Qadri, he also said that he is very proud of what his son had done. He has done a service to the cause of Islam, the father said while appealing to the Pakistan government to help bring his son back.

The killer of Pakistani governor, Salman Taseer was also a follower of the Dawat-e-Islami. Following the murder Qadri declared Mumtaz a 'ghazi' and said that all Muslim scholars agree that a blasphemer must be killed. He however added that it is up to an Islamic government to execute the punishment. Qadri further said that if a lover of Prophet kills a blasphemer extra-judicially as per Islamic jurisprudence the killer should not be executed.

Qadri also said that Hanafi Jurists say that the one who eats publicly in daylight during Ramazan should be killed, but they are to be killed by the authorities of a true Islamic State and not by ordinary Muslims.

The links to the Dawat-e-Islami also cropped up during the 2016 murder of a British-Pakistani Ahmaddiya Muslim man named Asad Shah in Glasgow. The outfit was also linked to the murder of a British-Pakistani Barelvi Muslim named Tanveer Ahmed.

The Dawat-e-Islami based in Pakistan operates several Islamic educational institutions in Pakistan and other parts of the world. It also offers online courses in Islamic studies and is very popular among the followers of the Barelvi moment.

The organisation was founded in 1981 by a group of Sunni scholars who went on to select Maulana Ilyas Qadri as its main leader.

The organisation was first established with the intention of diluting the Tablighi Jamaat. The group says it is non-political and non-violent and is a movement for the preaching of the Quran and Sunnah.

The Dawat-e-Islam is present in 194 nations and has over 26,000 volunteers and preachers who spread the teachings of the group. It also says that it has converted many non-Muslims to Islam as part of its Madani Qafila trips. While its presence is largely in Pakistan and Bangladesh, it has managed to spread to the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. It also operates 12 religious centres in Greece.