Syed Abdullah Tariq (born 1953) is an Indian Islamic scholar, author and philanthropist who established the World Organization of Religions and Knowledge (WORK), an international interfaith organization based in India.

Early life and education

Abdullah Tariq was born in 1953 in a Syed family in the city of

Rampur, Uttar Pradesh Rampur ( ) is a city, and the municipality headquarter of Rampur District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was formerly known for its various industries, like sugar refining and cotton milling. Its library has more than 12,000 rare manus ...

. He received a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Electrical Engineering from the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

in 1974. He was significantly influenced by

Indian Muslim Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in 2011 Census. India is also the country with the second or third largest number of Muslim ...

scholar

Shams Naved Usmani Shams Naved Usmani (1931 – 26 August 1993) was an Indian Muslim scholar. He belonged to the Usmani family of Deoband and was an alumnus of the University of Lucknow. He held the titles of Acharya and Maulana together. He was known for his in ...

, and was Usmani's chief disciple for six years (until Usmani's death in 1993).

Career

In 1987, Tariq formed the World Organisation of Religions and Knowledge (WORK) under the guidance of Usmani, with Tariq appointed its president. WORK promotes unity through a message of peace and harmony. WORK has arranged relief programs such as offering first aid, food, and evacuation services irrespective of communal affiliations. WORK was actively involved in relief activities for the 2001 Gujarat and

2005 Kashmir earthquake The 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred at on 8 October in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Indian-administered Jammu and ...

s. It also assisted people during the 2002 riots of Gujarat. In 2020, WORK volunteers undertook social work to help the economically challenged during the

COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

. They co-organized a peace procession with Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) in Rampur in 2018. WORK also commemorates

Milad-un-Nabi Mawlid, Mawlid an-Nabi ash-Sharif or Eid Milad un Nabi ( ar, المولد النبوي, translit=mawlid an-nabawī, lit=Birth of the Prophet, sometimes simply called in Varieties of Arabic, colloquial Arabic , , among other vernacular pronuncia ...

as Compassion Day every year. An annual medical camp is organized by the NGO in partnership with Hind Bhaichara Samiti, with the presidents of both organisations encouraging social welfare work on that day. Tariq created a platform for interfaith dialogue which, in 2020, condemned attacks on a Gurudwara in Nankana Sahab. He has spoken in various Islamic and interfaith conferences and seminars in India and abroad. He has also been invited as the chief guest to an exhibition held in the Durbar Hall of Rampur Raza Library.

Views

India

Abdullah suggests that India is the land of the origin of Islam, believing that the first prophet

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

descended there. He refers to the country as ''Punya Bhoomi'' which translates to 'Holy Land'. He also maintains that interfaith dialogue between Hindus and Muslims is crucial to uphold peace in India.

Babri Masjid dispute

In 1988, Tariq wrote an article for Urdu weekly ''Akhbar-e-Nau'' that discouraged the Muslim community from aggravating the

Ayodhya dispute The Ayodhya dispute is a political, historical, and socio-religious debate in India, centred on a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The issues revolve around the control of a site traditionally regarded among Hindus to be the ...

. He used the Quran and Sunnah to outline principles that instructed the community to refrain from taking the issue to the level of a clash. He maintains that the issue has worsened because of the stance of the Muslim leadership. In 2018, he publicly supported Salman Hussain Nadvi’s stance on the dispute.

Publications

Tariq's works include: * ''Agar Ab Bhi Na Jaage Toh'' (''Now or Never'') – a collection of the ideas of

with a commentary by Tariq. It encourages Muslims to view Sanatan Dharma in a different light and asserts that Hindus are the descendants of the people of Noah. * ''Ekta Ka Aadhar'' * ''Gujarat Ke Baad Haalat Aur Hal and Yug Parivartan – Islamic Drishtikon''.

Accolades and criticisms

Allama Syed Abdullha Tariq was conferred with the Ramkinkar Award in 1992 by Ramayanam Trust Ayodhya. In 2020, The Delhi Minorities Commission announced an award for him, for his contributions toward promoting communal harmony. In 2012, Islamic scholar Syed Shahid Ali Rizvi demanded that Tariq be arrested for belittling the Quran. Tariq dismissed the allegations by clarifying his stance and faith in the Quran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tariq, Syed Abdullah 1953 births Indian Muslim scholars of Islam People from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh Aligarh Muslim University alumni Interfaith dialogue Living people