Abdul Aziz Ghazi
Abdul Aziz Ghazi | |
|---|---|
Abdul Aziz Ghazi in c. 2009 | |
| Chancellor and Chief Executive of Jamia Faridia | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Abdullah (Chancellor) Abdul Rashid Ghazi (Chief Executive) |
| Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Abdullah (Imam) Abdul Rashid Ghazi (Khatib) |
| Chancellor of Jamia Hafsa | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Abdullah |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 10 January 1960 |
| Spouse | Umme Hassan
(m. 1985) |
| Children | Hassan Ghazi (died 2007) |
| Parent |
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| Citizenship | Pakistani |
| Alma mater | Jamia Farooqia Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia |
| Relations | Abdul Rashid Ghazi (brother) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Movement | Hayati Deobandi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Teacher | Saleemullah Khan |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Rank |
|
| Military career | |
| Conflicts | |
Abdul Aziz Ghazi (born 10 January 1960) is a Pakistani Islamic scholar and a Islamist dissident belonging to the Deobandi movement within Sunni Islam, who serves as both the Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid in Islamabad, which was the site of a siege in 2007 by the Pakistani army.
Aziz also serves as the Chancellor & Chief Executive of Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa, two influential Deobandi Islamic seminaries in Islamabad.
He is the son of Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi, husband of Umme Hassan and elder brother of Abdul Rashid Ghazi.
Aziz was arrested during Operation Sunrise in July 2007, but was later released by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2009 and acquitted in 2013.
He preaches Deobandi jihadism and is known to closely follow Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari and Mullah Omar, and typically resists being photographed or interviewed. He has been described as having close ties with Pakistani business magnate Malik Riaz.