Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi

Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi
محمد اَحْمَد لدھیانوی
Head of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Incumbent
Assumed office
2009
Preceded byAli Sher Hyderi
Personal details
Born (1950-11-10) 10 November 1950 (age 74)
Kamalia, Punjab, Pakistan
CitizenshipPakistani
Political partyPakistan Rah-e-Haq Party (2012-present)
Other political
affiliations		Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat
Residence(s)Jhang and Kamalia

Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi (Urdu: محمد اَحْمَد لدھیانوی) is the current Sarparast-e-Aala of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jama'at (ASWJ), a proscribed group in Pakistan.[1][2] Ludhianvi became the head of ASWJ (then knows as Sipah-e Sahaba) upon the death of the previous chief, Ali Sher Haidri, in a 2009 ambush.[3] Ludhianvi is also the Secretary General of Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC).

Ludhianvi is on the Pakistani legislature's list of persons with suspected ties to terrorism.[4] However, he is considered as a moderate leader by the government officials compared to the other leaders of ASWJ, while he is also commonly referred as "Safer-e-Aman" (ambassador of peace) by his followers.[5] Ludhianvi has stated that he supports sectarian harmony, as long as it does not impede his group's goal of making Pakistan a Sunni Islamic state and declaring Shia Muslims a minority, like the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan.[6]

  1. ^ Ludhianvi hopeful of ASWJ’s ‘unbanning’ Archived 2018-02-22 at the Wayback Machine. Dawn (Pakistan)
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bitter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Pentagon's South Asia Defence and Strategic Year Book. Panchsheel. 2010. p. 357. ISBN 978-81-8274-444-8. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Pakistan clerics issue fatwa against suicide bombing". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018.
  5. ^ Rafiq, Ali. Sunni Deobandi-Shi'i Sectarian Violence in Pakistan. Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016.
  6. ^ Muhammad Moj (1 March 2015). The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies. Anthem Press. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-1-78308-446-3. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018.