Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi

Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi was a Pakistani Islamic author and the founder and leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a political-religious organization founded in 2015, known to protest against any change to Pakistan's blasphemy law. He was fluent in Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic and Persian, and was known for his speeches in the defense of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He also heavily quoted the poetry of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi and Muhammad Iqbal, whom he considered to be his main influences. He was born in 1966 in the Pindigheb area of Attock District, Punjab. He studied at Jamia Nizamia Rizvia in Lahore and became a Hafiz-e-Quran and Sheikh-ul-Hadith. He delivered Friday sermons at Lahore's Pir Makki Masjid while working as a government official in the Punjab Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department. He became a wheelchair user after an accident in 2009. He resigned from his government job in 2011 and started preaching his views on blasphemy laws. He justified the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the Governor of Punjab, who had opposed the blasphemy laws. He also advocated for the release of Mumtaz Qadri, who had killed Taseer. He founded TLP in 2015 as a political front for his movement. He led several protests and sit-ins against the government on various issues related to blasphemy laws, such as the execution of Qadri, the acquittal of Asia Bibi, and the publication of cartoons of Muhammad in France. He often used inflammatory and abusive language against his opponents and critics. He also claimed that he had the support of the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence. He died of fever and breathing difficulties in Lahore on November 19, 2020. His funeral was attended by thousands of his followers. He was succeeded by his son, Saad Hussain Rizvi, as the leader of TLP.