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Khadim Hussain Rizvi
Born	(1966-05-22) 22 May 1966 (age 58) Attock, Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani
Office	Chairperson and chief of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan
Predecessor	Position established

Khadim Hussain Rizvi is an Islamic scholar, a Hafiz-e-Quran and Sheikh-ul-Hadith, belonging to the Barelvi tradition as well as a political leader, being the founding chairman and chief of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, a religious political organization founded in 2015 known to protest, even massively, against any change to Pakistan's blasphemy law.

Fluent in Urdu, Punjabi and Persian, he is known for his fiery, poetic and passionate speeches, and, apart from the Qur'an and hadith, for heavily quoting the poetry of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan and Muhammad Iqbal, whom he considers to be his main influences. He is considered a Pir or saint by followers.

Early life

Khadim Hussain Rizvi was born in 1966 in the Pindi Gheb area of Attock District, Punjab. He belongs to Awan (tribe). His brother, Ameer Hussain, is a retired Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) from Pakistan Army.

He started hafiz class in Jhelum. Further, he took admission in Jamia Nizamia, Lahore. He used to deliver Friday sermons at Lahore's Pir Makki Masjid, located near Data Darbar, during his time in the Punjab Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department. He has been confined to a wheelchair since 2006 ever since an accident near Gujranwala as the driver of his vehicle fell asleep while driving from Rawalpindi to Lahore.

In 2015, he founded a political party called Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a political front for Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYP). TLP came into existence after the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, who assassinated Salmaan Taseer, the Governor of Punjab, for opposing the blasphemy laws and subsequently rose to fame. During the assassination of the Governor, Rizvi was serving as an auqaf official in the Punjab government. Rizvi had justified the assassination on the pretext that Taseer had termed the blasphemy law as a "black law". He was served warning notices to cease and desist from spreading his views in favour of blasphemy laws but his refusal to do so led to his removal from public service.

Relieved of his duties, Rizvi found ample time and liberty to preach his views. He became deeply involved in gathering public support for Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which deals with blasphemy committed against Prophet Muhammad, and travelled nationwide for the cause. Simultaneously he continued to raise his voice for the release of Mumtaz Qadri. His persistent advocacy of the matter earned him the nickname of "blasphemy activist" in religious circles.

Controversies

2017 Faizabad sit-in

On 6 November 2017, Rizvi organized a long march from Lahore to Islamabad for resignation of law minister regarding a language change in 'Khatam-e-Nabuwat bill' of "2017 Election of Pakistan". He stayed there about 21 days in Faizabad, and continued the demand for the resignation of the law minister 'Zahid Hamid', who passed the law against the 'Khatam-e-Nabuwat law' in Pakistan. On 27 of November 2017, government started the shelling and rubber firing on the protest crowd at 7 am. But Khadim Hussain Rizvi and his companions decided critically to be not dispersed till the resignation of law minister and the reapplication of 'Khatam-e-Nabuwat Law' as past. At last, government laid down and the Law minister had to resign. Eight of the Muslim Protesters were died by the Government in this operation. Khadim Hussain Rizvi says,"We collected about twelve thousand tear shells in Faizabad, which were thrown on us in this operation".

2018 Asia Bibi protests

On 31 October 2018, after eight years of detention, a Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy, was found innocent in a landmark Supreme Court verdict. The final judgment said that one of Bibi's accusers violated the Ashtiname of Prophet Muhammad, a "covenant made by Prophet Muhammad with Christians in the seventh century but still valid today". Justice Asif Saeed Khosa ruled that the two women who made accusations against Asia Bibi "had no regard for the truth" and that the claim that she blasphemed Prophet Muhammad in public was a "concoction incarnate". The Supreme Court of Pakistan's ruling cited "material contradictions and inconsistent statements of the witnesses" that "cast a shadow of doubt on the prosecution's version of facts."

This triggered the TLP, under the leadership of Rizvi to initiate demonstrations in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Multan. Clashes with police were reported. A leader of TLP, Muhammad Afzal Qadri, said all three Supreme Court judges "deserve to be killed". The Red Zone in the capital, Islamabad, where the Supreme Court is located, was entirely sealed off by the police. In public speeches, Rizvi has said his only demand is that the mother-of-five be put to death, the punishment for blasphemy under Pakistan's penal code. He was quoted saying, "Our sit-in will go on until the government accepts our demand" denying reports that the sit-in would soon be over.

References

1. Mehmood Hussain (1 May 2018), "Khadim Hussain Rizvi and Rise of Religious Extremism 2.0 in Pakistan", South Asia Journal. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
2. ^ Ali, Kalbe (2017-12-03). "Who is Khadim Hussain Rizvi?". dawn.com. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
3. Barker, Memphis; Iqbal, Aamir (2018-11-01). "Asia Bibi: anti-blasphemy protests spread across Pakistan". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
4. K K Shahid, "‘If I curse in anger, it is justified’", The Friday Times. Dec 01-07, 2017 Vol. XXIX, No. 43
5. Khaled Ahmed (2 December 2017), "STATE’S SURRENDER", Newsweek. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
6. "Back to the Barelvis | Special Report | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk.
7. "The Mullah of NA-120". Nation.com.pk. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
8. "Tehreek Labik to hold Islamabad long march". Nation.com.pk. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
9. Hussain, Shaiq; Constable, Pamela (11 November 2017). "Large religious protests halt traffic in Islamabad and Rawalpindi". Retrieved 18 December 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
10. "Tehreek Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (SAW) protest continue - Times of Islamabad". TimesOfIslamabad.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
11. Correspondent, Sana Jamal, (2018-11-01). "All you need to know about the Aasia Bibi case". GulfNews. Retrieved 2018-11-01. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
12. ^ Asif Aqeel (31 October 2018). "Pakistan Frees Asia Bibi from Blasphemy Death Sentence". Christianity Today. Retrieved 31 October 2018. In their final judgment, reviewed by CT, reversing Bibi's convictions by two lower courts and removing her death sentence, the panel of three judges ruled that Bibi was "wrongly" accused by two sisters with the help of a local cleric, based on "material contradictions and inconsistent statements of the witnesses" that "cast a shadow of doubt on the prosecution's version of facts." "Furthermore, the alleged extra-judicial confession was not voluntary but rather resulted out of coercion and undue pressure as the appellant was forcibly brought before the complainant in presence of a gathering, who were threatening to kill her; as such, it cannot be made the basis of a conviction," they wrote. "Therefore, the appellant being innocent deserves acquittal," the judges concluded. One even accused Bibi's accusers of violating a covenant made by Prophet Muhammad with Christians in the seventh century but still valid today. "Blasphemy is a serious offense," wrote justice Asif Saeed Khosa, "but the insult of the appellant's religion and religious sensibilities by the complainant party and then mixing truth with falsehood in the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was also not short of being blasphemous.
13. Barker, Memphis (31 October 2018). "Asia Bibi: Pakistan court overturns blasphemy death sentence: Christian woman to be freed after being sentenced in 2010, accused of insulting prophet Muhammad". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2018. Justice Asif Khosa, in a verdict widely praised for its courage and rigour, noted that the two sisters who accused Bibi "had no regard for the truth" and that the claim she smeared the prophet in public was "concoction incarnate".
14. "Imran Khan condemns blasphemy hardliners". BBC News. 2018-10-31. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
15. Barker, Memphis; Iqbal, Aamir (2018-11-01). "Asia Bibi: anti-blasphemy protests spread across Pakistan". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-01.

• 1966 births
• Living people
• Pakistani Islamists
• Pakistani political party founders
• Barelvis
• Critics of Ahmadiyya
• Pakistani people with disabilities
• People who memorized the Quran
• People from Attock District
• Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan politicians
• Pakistani prisoners and detainees
• Pakistani far-right politicians