Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan (S.M.P) (; ; English: ''Soldiers of

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 a

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

organisation and political party in Pakistan which turned into an assassination/militant organization it has claimed credit for a series of target Killings of the leaders of Anti-Shia groups

Sipah-e-Sahaba The Sipah-e-Sahaba (SS), also known as the Millat-e-Islamiyya (MI), was a banned Sunni Islamist Deobandi organisation in Pakistan. Founded by Pakistani cleric Haq Nawaz Jhangvi in 1989 after breaking away from Sunni Deobandi party Jamiat Ulem ...

and

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) , Army of Jhangvi) was a Deobandi terrorist organisation driven by a Takfiri Anti-Shia ideology based in Afghanistan. The LeJ was an offshoot of anti-Shia party Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). The LeJ was founde ...

. It was founded by Pakistani Shia cleric Allama Syed Mureed Abbas Yazdani in 1993 to counter the anti-Shia violence in Pakistan and Its headquartered in

Thokar Niaz Beg Thokar Niaz Baig ( Punjabi, ) is a locality and a union council (UC 118) located in Iqbal Tehsil of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. History Before the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the town of Thokar Niaz Beg was locate ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

History

Maulana Syed Mureed Abbas Yazdani with his colleagues separated from Tehreek-e-Jafria Pakistan and formed the Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan in 1993 or 1994 in order to protect

Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

community of Pakistan and to counter

sectarian violence Sectarian violence or sectarian strife is a form of communal violence which is inspired by sectarianism, that is, discrimination, hatred or prejudice between different sects of a particular mode of an ideology or different sects of a religion wi ...

against the Pakistani Shia Muslims orchestrated by Takfiri deobandi groups such as

It is involved in assassination of sectarian clerics, activist's and other figures that are responsible for the anti-Shia violence in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is believed to be the armed wing of '' Tehreek-e-Jafria Pakistan''. Its leader was Ghulam Raza Naqvi who was imprisoned in 1996 and released in 2014. Since his death in 2016, it is unclear who leads the group. Yazdani's nephew Malik Muhammad Wasi Ul Baqar was attempting to take control of Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan.

Activities

Aim

Sipah-e-Muhammad's primary aim was to target the sectarian leadership of the banned

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 ...

terrorist organizations ''

'' or ''

'' in retaliatory actions for targeting

community. However, with the subsequent rise in the violence against Shia Muslims, it was claimed to be reforming. The movement has strong presence in the Shia communities in Pakistan, and in the majority Shia town of Lahore, Thokar Niaz Beg , the party ran a "virtual state within a state" mainly in the 1990s it was a stronghold of it.

Target killings and militancy

According to Stanford University "Mapping Militant Organizations writing the "primary methods" of Sipah-e-Muhammad are targeted killings of prominent Anti-Shia figures – the notable targets of such killings of Sipah-e-Muhammad are

Zia ur Rehman Farooqi Mawlānā Zia ur Rehman Farooqi (; 1953 – 18 January 1997) was the co-founder and former head of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. Early life and education Abu Rehan Zia-ur-Rehman Farooqi was born on March 4, 1953 in the town of Sarajia, Khanewal ...

, Azam Tariq, Riaz Basra and Ali Sher Hyderi. The top leaders of

were targeted by the Sipah-e-Muhammad for their beliefs and activities against the

community of Pakistan.

Affiliations

Sipah-e-Muhammad is alleged to have ties with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and to an extent, the banned

is also seen as attempt by the

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 ...

to assert Anti-Shia influence in Pakistan to prevent the influence of

Khomeinist Khomeinism, also transliterated Khumaynism, refers to the religious and political ideas and practices connected with the leader of the 1979 Iranian Islamic RevolutionRuhollah Khomeini. While primarily referring to the ideas and practices of Kho ...

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

in the country.

Alex Vatanka Alex Vatanka (Persian: آلکس وطنخواه) is a senior fellow and the founding director of the Iran program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. He specializes in Iranian domestic and regional policies. Born in Tehran and also raise ...

, '' Influence of iranian revolution in Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy Islamist Influence'', I.B.Tauris (1989), pp. 148 & 155

Designation

The Government of Pakistan designated Sipah-e-Muhammad a terrorist organization in 2002; it is classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under U.S. law, and its finances are blocked worldwide by the US government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sipah-E-Muhammad Pakistan 1993 establishments in Pakistan Islamic political parties in Pakistan Shia Islamist groups Religious paramilitary organizations Shia Islam in Pakistan Organisations designated as terrorist by Pakistan Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States Jihadist groups in Pakistan Violence against Shia Muslims in Pakistan Khomeinist groups