Syed Babar Ashraf
| Syed Babar Ashraf
सय्यद बाबर अशरफ़ سید بابر اشرف | |
|---|---|
 Syed Babar Ashraf at Ajmer Dargah | |
| Born | Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh |
| Residence | Lucknow, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | Engineering (Aligarh Muslim University) |
| Alma mater | Aligarh Muslim University |
| Occupation |
Founder President, Sada-e-Sufia-e-Hind (SUVOI) Member,[1] Maulana Azad Education Foundation, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Govt. of India |
| Organization | Sada-e-Sufia-e-Hind (SUVOI) |
| Home town | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh |
| Religion | Islam (Sufism) |
| Website | http://suvoi.org |
Syed Babar Ashraf (सय्यद बाबर अशरफ़) (سید بابر اشرف) is a young Sufi Leader who is working to promote peace, amity and coexistence in Indian society. He belongs to the family of Hazrat Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Simnani Kichhauchha Sharif located at Ambedkar Nagar of Uttar Pradesh. After completing Engineering from Aligarh Muslim University. He partly engaged in professional activities but dedicated rest of his time to non-partisan service of the mankind irrespective of their caste and creed under the auspice of All India Muhammadi Mission.
In 2009 he opted for serving All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) and was elected as the National Secretary. Due to his sincere devotion and hard work he was elected as General Secretary of AIUMB. In Nov, 2014 he left AIUMB and laid the foundation of a new body Sada e Sufia e Hind to meet out the demands of younger generation and protect the Sufi legacy thy asset of India.
He is also serving as the member of governing body[2] of Maulana Azad Education Foundation, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Govt. of India.
An Architect Engineer by profession, he holds various other important positions in organisations working for human cause. He is the Chairman of Ashraf Jahangeer Sufi Trust. The trust is named after famous Sufi saint Hazrat Ashraf Jahangir Semnani. Syed Babar Ashraf is also the Chairman of Emerging Business of Chamber Of Commerce. He also has served as Vice-President of All India Muhammadi Mission, Lucknow.
Activism
Syed Babar Ashraf stands for promoting peace and harmony in the society. During pre-election period of General Election in India, he exhorted Muslim voters to vote those candidates "who are secular and have a clean image irrespective of their party affiliations."[2] He categorically denounced any move that is detrimental to national good and benefit of the country. He has always been a strong critic of 'Wahhabism', 'Salafism' and associated extremist ideologies. He has been raising ante for a Dargah Act to manage dargahs of Sufi saints according to tolerant Sufi traditions.[3] A lion's share of the Muslim heritage sites under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) belong to Sufi Muslims that have now been usurped by people of extremists ideology. Ashraf is against such usurpation. Babar Ashraf is fighting against, according to him, "wahabi takeover" of Muslim affairs in India. Every now and then, he has been alarming national media and the government agencies against wahabism sponsored terrorism and its global repercussions. He has deep concern for political and administrative apathy towards this foreboding issue.[3]
Syed Babar Ashraf is promoting dialogues of peaceful co-existence at national and global levels. He has been attending and providing elan vital to such efforts by addressing seminars and conferences.[4][5] In all his efforts, he is determined to eradicate Saudi influence among Indian Muslims and to advocate message of love inspired from Sufi Islam.[6][7] Syed Babar Ashraf talks about inception of a Madarassa Board for elevation of Madarassas (Schools of Oriental Learning) to the level of state-of-the-art institutions with simultaneous pedagogy in modern science, technology, and literature.[8]
Peshawar Killings of Children
Syed Babar Ashraf condemned in strong words the mass killing of 132 children in army school in Peshawar (Pakistan) by TTP terrorists on 16 December 2014. He called the act as 'heinous crime' against humanity and expressed an exigency to counter the extremist ideology of wahabi terrorists.[9] In a statement he said, 'Our hearts go out to parents and family members of all those innocent children and staff members of the school who were gunned down by the bullets of terrorists, and we offered our prayers for them. Let the Almighty give them strength to bear this extreme pain of losing their bright sons and daughters'.[9] He held Saudi and Qatar official wahabi ideology responsible spreading hatred in the society.[10]
References
- ↑ Government of India. "Welcome to Maulana Azad Education Foundation". maef.nic.in. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/vote-for-secular-candidates-says-sufi-muslim-sect/article2799167.ece
- 1 2 Rahul Pandita. "A cleric who could have redeemed Congress". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ http://www.swamiagnivesh.com/Endorsement%20fro%20India.doc
- ↑ "Interaction with Islamic Scholar Syed Babar Ashraf". vifindia.org. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ "India: Clerics Call for Eradicating Saudi Influence Among Indian Muslims, And Instead Advocate Message of Love from Sufi Islam". The Muslim Issue. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ "Talking To New Age Islam, Sufi Leader Syed Babar Ashraf Accuses Wahhabi Movements In India Of Seeking To Weaken The Democratic System And Sabotage The Pluralistic Values Of India". newageislam.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ "Madrasas turn to English, science and maths to help pupils shine in the mainstream". Mail Online. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- 1 2 "Indian Sufi Condemns Pakistan Massacre". islamicpluralism.org. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ http://realnewslive.org/eng/index.php/2011/11/26/aiumb-urges-sunni-muslims-to-reject-hardline-wahabism/