Maudoodi (1903-1979), Maulana Abul Ala

Founder and leader until his death of the Jamaat-i-Islami, a revivalist religious-communal party, created on August 25, 1941, in Lahore. He opposed the creation of Pakistan but finally joined it after its birth in 1947. Albeit initially reluctant to join the anti-Ahmadi agitation launched by the Majlis-i Ahrar-i Islam, Maudoodi finally got involved, releasing on March 5, 1953, the most systematic denunciation of Ahmadis in his book Qadiyani Mas’alah (The Ahmadi Problem) as well as inflammatory articles in his newspaper Tasnim, which fuelled the violence that broke out against Ahmadis in Punjab in march 1953. After the riot, he was charged with violating martial law regulations and “promoting feelings of hatred between different groups in Pakistan.” Maudoodi was found guilty of sedition and sentenced to death on May 11, 1953. Two days later, his sentence was commuted to 14 years. He was released two years later on April 29, 1955.