Mufti Munir Shakir (

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

/; 4 April 1969 - 15 March 2025) was an Islamic

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and preacher. The founder of Lashkar-e-Islam, he later became a strong critic of state oppression by Pakistan and injustices against

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

. He actively participated in

Pashtun Tahafuz Movement The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM; , ''Paṣtūn Zhghōrənē Ghōrźang''; , ''Pashtūn Tahaffuz Tehreek'' ) is a social movement for Pashtuns, Pashtun human rights based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan. It was found ...

gatherings, including the Pashtun National Jirga in Khyber. In December 2024, Shakir, along with Malik Naseer Kokikhel Afridi and Mufti Kifayatullah Swati, led a delegation of the Pashtun Jirga to

Kurram District Kurram District () is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The name Kurram comes from the river ''Kwarma'' () in Pashto, which itself derives from the Sanskrit word ''Krumu'' (). Until 2018, it funct ...

to mediate a Shia–Sunni conflict between two groups of

Pashtun tribes The Pashtun tribes (), are tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who speak the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali, the social code of conduct for Pashtuns. They are found primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan a ...

. Shakir was killed by a bomb planted outside a

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

mosque on 15 March 2025.

Radio ministry

Shakir was born in 1969. His early education was at a school in Mokhi Zai. During his religious studies at Karbogha Sharif near Thall, he was mentored by his cousin, Maulana Syed Mukhtaruddin Shah, a respected cleric. Originally from the

Kurram Valley Kurram District () is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The name Kurram comes from the river ''Kwarma'' () in Pashto, which itself derives from the Sanskrit word ''Krumu'' (). Until 2018, it funct ...

, Shakir became known after he moved to Bara Tehsil, Khyber Agency, where he established an FM

pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

station. Using this vehicle, he began to promote his religious beliefs, based in

Deobandi The Deobandi movement or Deobandism is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that adheres to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. It was formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the nam ...

theology. Among his more controversial pronouncements was his alleged statement that opium is

halal ''Halal'' (; ) is an Arabic word that translates to in English. Although the term ''halal'' is often associated with Islamic dietary laws, particularly meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, it also governs ethical practices ...

, provided it is produced and used for medical purposes. Shakir worked in Kurram Agency until 2004.

Enmity with Pir Saifur Rahman

In 2005,

Akhundzada Saif-ur-Rahman Mubarak Akhundzada Peer Saif ur Rahman Mubarak () also known as Mubarak Sahib (1925–2010) was a Sufi scholar of the Naqshbandi Tariqa, the founder of the Saifia sect. He adhered to the Hanafi school of thought (''Madhhab''), the Maturidi creed (''A ...

, a supporter of the more moderate

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

school of Islam, established his own FM

station to compete with Shakir's station. Rivalry between the two clerics increased, causing tribal elders to denounce the two in December 2005 for fomenting sectarian tension. Both clerics then went into hiding, with Shakir handing control of his radio station and Lashkar-e-Islam organization to Mangal Bagh. The hostilities peaked around 29 March 2006, when "hundreds" of Shakir's followers gathered in the Badshahkili neighborhood of Bara tehsil to attack Rahman's followers.

Role in Lashkar-e-Islam

In 2004, Shakir founded the organization Lashkar-e-Islam. Shortly thereafter, he was ejected from Bara Tehsil, and turned over control of the organization to local driver Mangal Bagh. In 2008, the organization was banned.

Later activities

Shakir held a position with Ishaat-e-Tauheed, but disassociated from the group six to seven years before he died. He embraced the teachings of the Ahl-e-Quran movement and wrote books in which he argued that fabricated

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

s altered the true essence of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and that the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

alone defined the true teachings of Islam. At the Pashtun National Jirga, he delivered a speech that condemned the Pakistani government's role in regional conflicts.Who Was Mufti Munir Shakir? A Look at His Tumultuous Life and Violent End
/ref>

Deaths

Shakir was martyr or (Shaheed) in a bombing outside a mosque in

Ormur The Ormur (), also called Burki or Baraki (), are an Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranic people and Pashtuns, Pashtun tribe mainly living in Baraki Barak, in the Logar Province, Logar province of Afghanistan and in Kaniguram, in the South Waziristan ...

, on 15 March 2025.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakir, Mufti Munir 1969 births 2025 deaths Deaths by explosive device Deobandis Pakistani religious leaders Pashtun people People from Kurram District People from Peshawar People from Karak District Pirate radio personalities Quranist Muslims