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Mawlawi Muhammad Hussain also known as Jamil al-Rahman al-Afghani (1939–30 August 1991) was the founder and leader of
Jamaat al-Dawah ila al-Quran wal-Sunnah Jamaat al-Dawah ila al-Quran wal-Sunnah (), abbreviated as JDQS, also known as The Salafi Group, was a militant Islamist organisation operating in eastern Afghanistan. Background Founded around 1986 during the Soviet–Afghan War by Jamil al-R ...
, a Salafist organisation located in
Kunar Province Kunar (Pashto: ; Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. Its population is estimated to be 508,224. Kunar's major political groups include Wahhabis or Ahl-e- ...
of
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. He was also the Emir of the short-lived Islamic Emirate of Kunar.


Early life

Born in 1939 at Ningalam in the Pech valley,
Kunar Province Kunar (Pashto: ; Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. Its population is estimated to be 508,224. Kunar's major political groups include Wahhabis or Ahl-e- ...
, he was a member of the Safi
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...
tribe, and was educated at the Panjpir
madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...
, a Salafi institution financed by
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
.


Role in the mujahideen insurgency

During the 1970s, he joined the Islamist
Muslim Youth Muslim Youth ( ''Sāzmān-e Jawānān-e Musulmān'') was an Islamist group founded in 1969 in Kabul by several Afghan junior professors and a handful of students at Kabul University. Many of the leading figures of the Soviet–Afghan War were mem ...
movement led by
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, and former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so called after Mohammad Yunus Khalis spl ...
. In 1978, as a member of Hekmatyar's '' Hezbi Islami'', he journeyed between Kunar and Pakistan, organizing attacks against the
Khalq Khalq (Dari/, ) was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Its historical ''de facto'' leaders were Nur Muhammad Taraki (1967–1979), Hafizullah Amin (1979) It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by ...
regime, including the killing of a Khalqi schoolteacher. In 1979, after the insurgency had taken hold in Kunar, Jamil al-Rahman became the amir of ''Hezbi Islami'' in that province. In order to gain control of the insurgency, he worked to undermine independent
mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...
fronts. In the summer of 1979, he played a controversial role in the mutiny of
Afghan Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Ho ...
troops at Asmar, with most of the parties involved blaming him for the failure of the uprising. The soldiers, who had intended to join the mujahideen, eventually dispersed, and their weapons were sold by ''Hezbi Islami'' in Pakistan.


Establishment of ''Jamaat al Dawa al Quran''

In 1985 (or 1986–1987, depending on sources) he established his own movement known as the '' Jama'at al Da'wa ila al Qur'an wa-Sunna''.Adamec, Ludwig W. "Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan." Scarecrow Press. Lanham, Maryland, 2003." This group, theologically close to the '' Jamiat Ahle Hadith'', was known for its harsh treatment of civilians in government-controlled areas. Due to his personal background and the proximity of the
Bajaur Agency Bajaur District (, ), formerly Bajaur Agency, is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Prior to 2018, Bajaur Agency was the northernmost component of the Federally Administered Tribal ...
where many
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
militants were active, Jamil al-Rahman was able to secure funding from Saudi Arabia (reportedly from
King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia, King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 1 ...
himself) and
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
, allowing him to operate independently. Many
Arab volunteers Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
, in particular
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ians, joined his movement. They later established the Islamic Emirate of Kunar, before being overthrown by
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, and former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so called after Mohammad Yunus Khalis spl ...
.


Death

On August 30, 1991, a young Egyptian journalist named Abdullah Rumi affiliated with the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
came to al-Rahman’s home in
Bajaur Bajaur District (, ), formerly Bajaur Agency, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Prior to 2018, Bajaur Agency was the northernmost component of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a semi-a ...
. Al-Rahman’s guards, believing he was part of the Arab-led peace council, did not search him. The young journalist went to al-Rahman’s side where he was seated, as though to ask him a question. He then drew a pistol and shot him three times. Rumi immediately committed suicide without explaining his act.Rubin, p. 261Dorronsoro, p. 232 Al-Rahman cried out "Allah is the greatest!" and fell dead.


Aftermath of the Death

Al-Rahman’s death shocked the
Saudi royal family The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling fa ...
, Grand Mufti Bin Baz, and the broader Saudi religious establishment. In spite of his many enemies, al-Rahman’s murder reverberated throughout the
Salafi The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retu ...
mujahideen community, and his death and the subsequent dissolution of the Islamic Emirate of Kunar was major topic of discussion in Salafi mujahideen communities for years to come. Not long after al-Rahman’s assassination, the state that he founded disappeared.


See also

* Former Salafist states in Afghanistan


References

People of the Soviet–Afghan War Afghan warlords Afghan Sunni Muslims Afghan Salafis History of Kunar Province People from Kunar Province Salafist states in Afghanistan 1939 births 1991 deaths Deaths by firearm in Pakistan Ahl-i Hadith people


External links

* * {{cbignore