He calls himself Sheikh-ul-Islam and gets his supporters to swear allegiance to him on the Koran, but he hates to be called "maulana," a term regularly used to refer to religious scholars in Pakistan.
He promises to bring true democracy to Pakistan even though critics claim he does not bat an eyelid when seeking the help of undemocratic forces to overthrow the elected government.
He claims to be a pro-democracy revolutionary, but he did not appear to mind supporting a military dictator in 2002.
He wants "true, pure, and honest" democracy but has so far been unwilling to disclose the source of the huge amounts of money he has spent on mammoth gatherings, a long protest march, and a camp to accommodate demonstrators.
He wants to uphold the cause of the nation but seems reluctant to risk surrendering dual citizenship for the sake of Pakistan and its people.
He wants to dissolve the widely supported Election Commission and dismiss the election commissioner, Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, but he has not yet proposed any alternative person to head the countrys top electoral body.
He wants honest, patriotic, clean, and true Muslims to rule Pakistan, but he still has not named anyone who he believes meets these criteria.
He boasted of assembling 4 million people in Islamabad for a demonstration but ended up with an estimated 50,000 instead.
He travels in a bullet-proof car while his followers brave the terrorist threat on the roads. He sleeps in a bomb-proof container, whereas his supporters have been spending chilly winter nights under an open sky.
He is intent on bringing revolution nonetheless. He talks of justice and equality. He abhors corruption and dishonesty and promises to ensure social justice for all and sundry by virtue of a "true democratic" system.
Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, the religious scholar known for his 600-page fatwa (religious decree) condemning terrorism in 2010, has become a household name in Pakistan. He is particularly well known among those who watch the country's 24-hour private television channels and frequent social-media networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
Many of his statements are also music to the ears of Westerners and Europeans who have lost hope for Pakistan after failed efforts to persuade the countrys security establishment to break its alleged ties with militants, and who fear a Taliban and Al-Qaeda takeover with each new terrorist attack in the country.
Moreover, many of those same people believe that an English-speaking mullah who dislikes being addressed as "maulana" could represent a true blend of Islam and democracy, which would sit well with Pakistan's religious milieu and Western standards of modernization.
( source :
Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri: A Complex Man Full Of Contradictions )
