Iftikhar Hussain Ansari

Iftikhar Hussain Ansari (26 April 1942 – 30 September 2014), widely known among his followers as Moulvi Sahib, was a Kashmiri Shia cleric, politician, businessman and a proponent of the Grand Ashura Procession In Kashmir. He was a representative of Ruhollah Khomeini and other maraji’. He was one of the leading shia clerics in Kashmir and had close relations with multiple other important scholars such as Sayyid Jawad Shahristani, Mohammad Alavi Gorgani and Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani. He succeeded his father Muhammad Jawad Ansari as president of the All Jammu and Kashmir Shia Association in Jammu & Kashmir in 1962, a position which he held for life.[1] He was a sitting member of Jammu and Kashmir's Legislative Assembly for the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party; he was earlier a member of the National Conference and Congress.[2]

Iftikhar Hussain Ansari
مولانا مولوى افتخار حسين انصارى
ConstituencyPattan, Baramulla, Kashmir
Personal details
Born26 April 1942
Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Died30 September 2014(2014-09-30) (aged 72)
Dar-ul-Jawad, Qamarwari Srinagar
Political partyJammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party
Other political
affiliations		President, All Jammu and Kashmir Shia Association, Chairman, Imam Hussain A.S Charitable Trust Patron, Mouarifat-ul-Uloom Islami
ChildrenImran Raza Ansari, Irfan Raza Ansari, and a daughter
Residence(s)Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
Alma materSultanul Madaris, Lucknow, India
Hawza Elmia Najaf, Najaf, Iraq

Assassinations

Ansari was thrice the target of unsuccessful assassination attempts. In June 2000, Ansari barely escaped the explosion of a landmine while addressing a religious congregation at Gund Khwaja Qasim. The blast killed twelve of his followers. On 1 September 2000, Ansari was injured by an IED explosion that killed two policemen and a driver. Police suspected the Hizbul Mujahideen.[3]

Death

Ansari died at his residence in Dar ul Jawad, Qamarwari, Srinagar on the morning of 30 September 2014 after a prolonged liver illness.[4] Ansari had been undergoing specialized treatment in the United States. Various political, religious and social leaders offered condolences. Almost more than two hundred thousand people attended his funeral, from qamarwari to Zadibal imambargah where namaz e jenazah was offered.[5] He was buried in his ancestral graveyard, Baba Mazar, Alamgari Bazar, Zadibal, Srinagar.

References
  1. "Shias of Kashmir: Socio-Political Dilemmas". Kashmir Observer. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  2. "Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari". Kashmir Life. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  3. "Hizbul Momineen Behind Twin Attacks On Ansari: DGP". The Times of India. 2 September 2000. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  4. "Influential leader MolviIftikharHussain Ansari passes away Lastupdate:- Wed, 1 Oct 2014 18:30:00 GMT GreaterKashmir.com". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  5. "PDP's Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari passes away". Jandknow.com. 30 September 2014.
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