Maulana Bijligar

Maulana Muhammad Amir Bijligar (Urdu: مولانا محمد امیر بجلی گھر) was a prominent Islamic scholar and political leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F). He was appointed Naib Ameer (نائب امیر جمیعت علماء اسلام) at the provincial level in 1969.^[1] He was a close companion of Maulana Mufti Mahmood and played an active role in national politics, particularly in the 1970s and afterwards. He was sent to jail four times for his political activities during Martial Law regimes.

Overview[]

Maulana Muhammad Amir received his religious education at the Jamia Islamia Darul Uloomi Sarhad (جامعه اسلاميه دارالعلوم سرحد), a prominent religious school in Peshawar, in 1950. He later joined the institution as a teacher and taught the Quran and Hadith, where a large number of students came to learn from him.^[2]

He was Imam of the mosque of Bijli Ghar, where he also imparted religious education to young students. This led to him being known as Maulana Bijligar. He had shifted to Peshawar from Darra Adam Khel due to an enmity with some people in the semi tribal belt of Darra. Maulana was popular among the people particularly because of his sarcastic criticism of the government and its policy makers. Audio cassettes of Maulana Bijligar's sermons gained popularity in Peshawar.

Speeches[]

Maulana Mohammad Amir used to give speeches and sermons in Pashto, Urdu and Hindko language. He spoke on various topics and in his statements, he strongly criticized leaders, making his style radically different from that of other religious leaders. He was visited by people from far flung areas in order to hear his speeches. He went to jail for speaking out against leaders in three different periods.^[3]

Death[]

He died on December 30, 2012, after a long illness.^[4] He left behind three sons and three daughters.^[5]

References[]