Explained: The Udaipur killers and their links to Pakistan-based Sunni group Dawat-e-Islami

Two days after the horrific murder of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal, links to Pakistan have emerged. One of the accused in the killing, Ghous Mohammad , was reportedly in touch with a Pakistan-based Sunni Islamic organisation Dawat-e-Islami. He also visited the neighbouring nation in 2014. “During the investigation, it was found that the accused, Ghous Mohammad, was in touch with the organisation and even made a visit,” Rajasthan DGP Mohan Lal Lather said at a press conference. “Ghous Mohammad had visited Dawat-e-Islami in Karachi in February 2014.” Also read: Explained: The Sufi-Barelvi sect linked to the Udaipur killing and the other brands of extremist Islam What is the Dawat-e-Islami? The Dawat-e-Islami (DeI) was founded in Karachi in 1981 by Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qadri. It is a proselytising group of the Sunni Barelvi sect , whose origins can be traced to Uttar Pradesh’s town of Bareilly. The sect originally followed Sufi mysticism but over the decades has turned toward extremism. DeI now has chapters in several countries including the West. The Dawat-e-Islami in India is based in Mumbai and is a splinter Sunni group with no links to the Pakistan organisation. What do we know about Qadri? The DeI founder was born in a Kutchi Memon family in Karachi and his parents came from Junagarh in Gujarat. He founded the DeI on the lines of Tablighi Jamat (TJ), the transnational Sunni Islamic missionary movement formed in 1921, which exhorts Muslims to be more religiously observant. Like Tablighi Jamat, DeI followers undertake missionary work and hold congregations in different places. Like the TJ, it focuses on tableegh, the quest for inner spiritual reform and through this, the reform of society. But DeI and TJ differ in ideology, theology and doctrine, reports The Indian Express. Members of the group sport the green turban, which is representative of the green dome of the mosque at Madina. Why was the DeI formed? The influence of Sufism and Indic cultures made Barelvi Islam a more inclusive brand of the religion. However, the sect was often sidelined in Pakistan and considered a “softer version” of the religion by the militant Deobandi Islam. The DeI was formed in response to the growing influence of Deobandi Islam in the 1980s during a time when Pakistan was actively aiding jihadism during the first Afghan war against the Soviet Army. [caption id=“attachment_10853181” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Pakistani Muslims belonging to the Dawat-e-Islami organisation take part in a religious procession in Lahore. Members of the group wear the green turban, which is representative of the green dome of the mosque at Madina. AFP[/caption] How did DeI Pakistan rise to prominence? Members of the Sunni Barelvi sect in Pakistan believe that the government is not doing enough to punish those who are guilty of blasphemy and hence take matters into their hands. Mumtaz Qadri, the former police commando, who shot down the then governor of Pakistan Punjab Salmaan Taseer, for his criticism of the blasphemy law in 2011, was influenced by the DeI. Qadri was executed in 2016 and was declared a terrorist but was hailed as a hero by his followers. His funeral was attended by over a lakh people and his tomb in Islamabad is converted into a shrine. Qadri’s followers banded together and formed a group in his name – the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which was formed in August 2015. A large number of Labbaik cadres are members of the DeI. The TLP’s one-point agenda is to get rid of blasphemers for whom the only punishment is death. The group has become so powerful over the years that its violent supporters have brought Pakistan to a standstill often. In 2017, the Labbaik forced the law minister to step down. They took to the streets against the minister who suggested changes to the oath document used for the swearing-in of ministers. In 2018, the hardline members rallied against the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy. The party contested its first election in July 2018, winning two assembly seats in Sindh. In early June, large protests were organised in Pakistan to protest against BJP’s Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks against Prophet Muhammad. The tailor in Udaipur was killed for supporting Sharma. With its growing clout, the TLP has ensured has radicalised Barelvisim and ensured that it no longer remains on the fringes and is branded soft. What are DeI links to terror? The Karachi-based group is a lot different from what it was when founded in the ’80s. While it claims to be a non-political and non-violent religious group, its close ties with the TLP contradict this stand. A 2016 murder of a British-Pakistani Ahmaddiya Muslim man named Asad Shah in Glasgow was linked with Dawat-e-Islami. The murderer, a British-Pakistani Barelvi Muslim named Tanveer Ahmed, was affiliated with the group and was inspired by Mumtaz Qadri. The DeI’s name came up during an investigation into the 2020 attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Two people were wounded in the stabbing incident which led to the arrest of a Pakistani terrorist named Zaheer Hassan Mehmood. During the investigation, it was revealed that his religious guide was DeI’s founder. Now the accused in the Udaipur case are said to be affiliated with the Pakistani wing. Both the assailants used the word Attari after their names after the founder Muhammed Ilyas Attar Qadri. This is a practice among members of the DeI in Pakistan. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.