Draft:Ghulam Mohammad Niazi

Ghulam Mohammad Niazi
Name	Ghulam Mohammad Niazi
Other Names	{{{other_names}}}
Personal Details
Birth Place	{{{birth_place}}}
Brith Date	1932 (CE)
Death Place	Afghanistan
Death Date	1978 (CE)
Religion	Islam

Ghulam Mohammad Niazi was a prominent scholar, thinker, and political educator from Afghanistan in the 14th century AH. While pursuing further studies in Cairo, he became acquainted with the Muslim Brotherhood movement. Niazi is recognized as the father of political Islam in Afghanistan. He advocated training forces to overthrow a corrupt system and establish an Islamic state.

Overview

He was born in Shalgar, Ghazni Province. He completed his primary education in Shalgar, Ghazni Province, and traveled to Kabul for higher education. He studied at the Abu Hanifa School. Subsequently, he was sent as part of a group of distinguished students to continue his studies at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. He studied at the Faculty of Usul al-Din (Principles of Religion). During this period in Cairo, he became acquainted with the "Muslim Brotherhood" organization. At that time, this movement was at the peak of its power and flourishing, and through contact with this revolutionary movement, he learned valuable and beneficial lessons. After completing his studies, he returned to his homeland. He dedicated himself to educating the younger generation by teaching Islamic sciences at Kabul University.

Activities

Niazi believed that social and political revolutions, if not based on intellectual and ideological transformation, would not be stable, and for this reason, he chose teaching. When he began teaching at the Faculty of Theology of Kabul University, rigidity and formalism constituted the prevailing atmosphere of the lessons.

He undertook the teaching of Hadith and the history of Islam to create a fundamental transformation. He knew that leading the Islamic society without awareness of the depth of the Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) would be meaningless and baseless, and ignorance of history and unfamiliarity with the sufferings and pains of the Islamic world and the factors of failure versus the victory of Muslims, ignorance and the deceit of enemies would ultimately be the factor of their humiliation and destruction.

Educational and Cultural Activities

He paid special attention to teaching the history of Islam and explaining the conditions and circumstances of Islamic nations and countries, and recommended that one must be aware of the factors of the decline of Muslims, study and examine the future of Islam amidst the greatness and honors, sufferings and pains, prosperities and ruins of the past, and seek a remedy. In this regard, he discussed more about the ruling regimes, political movements, and social conditions of Middle Eastern and Islamic countries and mentioned the Islamic movement of the Muslim Brotherhood, praising their sincerity, discipline, and educational method highly.

When he was elected as the Dean of the Faculty, he showed extraordinary administrative competence. He worked day and night to make the flame of the Islamic Revolution more blazing using his administrative position. He drew extensive plans to advance the ideals of the Muslim nation of Afghanistan. Since during his presidency, the Faculty of Sharia became a scientific center and the axis of religious and social movements and activities, all the agents of the tyrannical government of Afghanistan were terrified.

Journey to the Soviet Union

Niazi traveled to these two countries to familiarize himself with the internal situation of the United States and Soviet Union, and as a result of these trips, he brought back educational gifts. He went to the Soviet Union to study up close the tragedy and factors of the fall of Muslim governments in the clutches of Communism and to witness with his own eyes the ruthless crimes of the Kremlin palace rulers against Muslim nations in Central Asia. Niazi tried to spread his ideas in other countries to launch Islamic movements. In 1970, he and another professor participated in the Peace Conference of Muslims of the Soviet Union held in Tashkent. At this conference, they expressed their support for Muslims who were under the suppression of the Communist government.

After finishing his trip, Niazi concluded that the Communist regime of the Soviet Union was heading towards failure and destruction in all dimensions. The story of the imaginary paradise of Communism is a futile legend that is no longer worth hearing among sensible and wise humans, because the leaders of the struggle against class regimes have themselves become the heralds and operators of the most terrible class regimes.

Political Activities

Professor Niazi believed that to create Islamic mobilization in the country, a group of faithful mujahideen must first be trained based on sublime human teachings, and this work should be started through education. He believed that the root of the movement must be deepened among various strata, and this goal should be achieved through various programs such as establishing the Sharia Magazine which strengthened the Islamic movement and supported the formation of an Islamic state in Afghanistan. While his ideology was inherently intellectual, he also approved the formation of an armed branch within the movement to prepare for action if necessary, publishing Islamic books through the Faculty of Sharia and distributing them among the people, managing educational councils and religious conferences, designing and planning the largest Islamic center called the "Islamic Research Center" which was done to introduce Islam at the global level.

Formation of the Islamic Movement

Niazi was a complete ideologue and an organizer of the Islamic Revolution as well. He gathered around himself some of his students who had sincerity and talent for flourishing and shared his ideal clearly with them. In 1957 (CE), with the cooperation of several young mujahideen and a group of pain-stricken and faithful children of the Islamic Revolution, he founded the first core of the Islamic Revolution fighters and engaged in secret and open activities. At first, to root the revolution, he recommended underground activities, and as soon as he found the opportunity suitable, he began open invitation and the publication Jihad was the first open message that was distributed among the people.

Certainly, constructive efforts towards establishing an Islamic movement were underway in the country before the emergence of this Islamic movement under the name "Islamic Society of Afghanistan", but despite extensive individual and collective activities, no strong organization or structure had been formed. Among the pioneers who later actively participated in the Islamic Society, one can name individuals such as Sayyid Ahmad Tarjuman and Professor Mohammad Fazel, and from the youth segment, Abdul Aziz Forough. Among those who participated in establishing the initial cores at the initiative of Niyazi, the following persons can be named: Professor Tawana, Professor Wafiullah Sami'i, Abdul Ahad Ashrati, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Sayyid Ahmad Tarjuman, Professor Fazel, Abdul Hadi Hidayat, and Abdul Aziz Forough, who was the most diligent member among all. Later, a group of other youths such as Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, Ghulam Rabbani Atish, Martyr Abdul Rahim Niyazi, Mohammad Ishaq Bozorg, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and Din Mohammad Gran joined this organization one after another, and the initial gatherings were held in the homes of some of the brothers and sometimes in the grounds of the "Darul Aman" garden and the mountainsides, away from public view.

Activities in Prison

In 1353 SH (1974 CE), during a widespread raid carried out in the darkness of night, he was captured and imprisoned along with a large group of like-minded individuals, and the court of the mercenary coup plotters sentenced him to death; however, fearing a severe reaction from the Muslim nation of Afghanistan, they apparently sentenced him to life imprisonment with a degree of leniency. Despite the torture and constant harassment that had weakened him, Niyazi did not cease his efforts and activities, and turned the prison into a place for invitation and teaching, acquainting the prisoners with the sublime culture of Islam and calling them to patience and steadfastness in the face of hardships.
His popularity among the prisoners alarmed the mercenary coup plotters. Alongside teaching in the prison, he undertook the translation of Islamic hadiths and completed the translation of the first part of the book Sahih al-Bukhari in prison.

Martyrdom

On 7 Ordibehesht 1357 SH (27 April 1978 CE), a coup was carried out by communist parties in Afghanistan, and Daoud Khan and his clique were killed by the order of the Russians. Nur Muhammad Taraki came to power, and an atmosphere of torture and killing of Muslim forces cast a shadow everywhere, and Niyazi was subjected to torture more than anyone else. Professor Niyazi was taken to an unknown point with a group of his loyal companions, and from that date onwards, no news was received from them. Thus, he attained martyrdom along with his struggling companions.

References

• Encyclopedias of the Islamic Revolution and the History of Iran.