Qamaruzzaman Azmi (born 23 March 1946), also known as Allama Azmi, is an Indian Islamic scholar, philosopher and speaker. He is president of the World Islamic Mission. From 2011 to 2021, he was listed in

The 500 Most Influential Muslims ''The 500 Most Influential Muslims'' (also known as ''The Muslim 500'') is an annual publication first published in 2009, which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world. The publication is compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies C ...

in the world by the

Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (RABIIT) is an international Islamic non-governmental, independent institute in Amman, Jordan. It is affiliated with the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. The late King Hussein Bin Tala ...

due to his efforts to build organisations and institutions, mosques, colleges, and universities for over five decades.The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World
, pg. 116.

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. He is the patron in chief of Sunni Dawat-e-Islami, an Islamic movement having branches around the world.

Life

Azmi was graduated from Al Jamiatul Ashrafia in 1966. He studied all Islamic sciences in depth with his honourable teachers. His grasp on Fiqh, Hadith and History is well known. He was commissioned in 1966 by Abdul Aziz Muradabadi to go Faizabad (near

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

) to start his missionary work. There at the age of eighteen years he established the Islamic university, Al-Jame-atul-Islamia. He is also considered by some to be the spiritual heir of Mustafa Raza Khan, son of Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi. On 7 August 2013, Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

, along with Faiths Minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, met Azmi.

Islamic missionary activities

Azmi has helped to build organisations and institutions including mosques, colleges and universities in the

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. These centers were established with his direct support and supervision. *India * Al-jamiat-ul-Islamia (Islamiya University) Rounahi, Faizabad, India -affiliated to the prestigious Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt Bradford * Islamic Missionary College (IMC) Bradford * International Dar-ul-Ifta Bradford Manchester * Ibad-ur-Rehaman Trust * North Manchester Jamia Mosque -with capacity to hold 2,500 worshipers *Institution Kulliyat-ud-Dirasatil Islamiya (College of Islamic studies) His continuous speeches helped become Jamat-e-Islami influenced, Southerland Mosque part of part the Sunni Barelvi. He also participated in the establishment of Masjid Noor-ul-Islam Bolton and in the establishment of Ghamkol Shariff Masjid at Birmingham. *United States He participated in the construction of Masjid-e-Al Noor, Houston, America and in Islamic Center Chicago. *Norway The World Islamic Mission's

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

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, Norway was established in 1980. *Canada *Masjid Noor-ul-Haram, Toronto

Hejaz Conference

The 1985 Hejaz Conference at the Wembley Centre, London marked a watershed for Sunni Muslims which was attended by key religious leaders from around the world with the aim to discuss the barbaric treatment of Sunni pilgrims by Wahabi Saudi police and the ban in Saudi Arabia on Kanzul Iman the translation of the Quran by Imam Ahmed Raza. The Conference was widely covered by British Media and made a huge impact. It forced Saudi King Fahad and with in two years Saudi government allowed the Muslims of all movements/sects to perform the religious rituals in Makkah and Medina, according to their respective beliefs.

View about him

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wrote about him, ''There are two kinds of Sunni Muslims in the world: those who have met or heard Allama Qamaruzzaman Azmi and those who haven't. His lucid speeches peppered with repeated references to Quranic commandments and the life of the Prophet and his companions have a charismatic effect; they go straight to the heart. Unlike many rabble-rousing parochial preachers and Islam-supremacist televangelists Azmi uses words to calm nerves, close breaches and salve wounds''. Jim Karygiannis M.P., House of Commons, Canada on 13 July 2002 awarded a certificate of commendation to Allama Azmi for his services and wrote: ''In my capacity as Member of Parliament it gives me great pleasure to commend the renowned Islamic scholar Maulana Qamaruzzaman Azmi''.

His views

Phillip Lewis quotes Azmi in his 1994 book ''Islamic Britain: Religion, Politics and Identity among British Muslims'', that Islam and secular society can co-exist and "the widely shared perception that secular necessarily implies irreligion is simply wrong. In India, he contends, a secular state can offer security to Muslims since it is compatible with acknowledging that religion is important and, that in a religiously plural environment the state does not allow believers in one religious tradition to enjoy a privileged status. All are citizens with equal rights. Indeed, in India, Muslims are allowed to conform to their own Muslim family law". Azmi has opposed the practice of

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...

. Azmi also holds that

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

, the third wife of the Muslim prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, was an example of a strong and intelligent female role model. He has also opposed

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...

and terrorism and argues that those who use the name of Islam for such acts are, in fact, Islam's enemies.Mohammed Wajihuddin in The Times of India, THE PEACEMAKER – ‘Muslims have failed to PROJECT TRUE ISLAM’
– UK-based preacher Allama Qamruzzaman Khan Azmi, who was in Mumbai this week, talks about terrorism, Islamophobia and his own peace mission He endorsed a

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

against Britons joining Islamic extremists. On the murder of British aid worker David Cawthorne Haines by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

, he said "we condemn this act of evil by people who are pure evil. There is no legitimacy for such evilness in Islam". He condemns the persecution of Christians and other non-Muslims, arguing that the perpetrators "are not Muslims because Islam teaches the importance of ensuring a good place in society for all people".

His teachers

His teachers include following scholars. *Hafiz-e-Millat Allama Abdul Aziz Muradabadi (Founder of Al Jamiatul Ashrafia) *Ustadhul Ulama Allama Hafiz Abdul Raoof Balyawi *Bahrul Uloom Allama Mufti Abdul Mannan Azmi *Ashraful Ulama Allama Sayyid Hamid Ashraf

References

External links

Allama Qamaruzzaman AzmiQamaruzzaman Azmi
On

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Qamaruzzaman Azmi
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Azmi, Qamaruzzaman World Islamic Mission Living people 1946 births Barelvis Sunni imams Hanafis 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Islamic philosophers Muslim reformers 20th-century Indian poets Students of Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri Al Jamiatul Ashrafia alumni