Muhammad Saleem Qadri

Ameer Shuhada-e-Ahle Sunnat

Muhammad Saleem Qadri was a Pakistani politician & religious leader, born in 1960 in Baldia Town, Karachi. He is primarily known as the founder of the Sunni Tehreek, a Pakistani Barelvi organization established in 1990.

Before founding the Sunni Tehreek, Saleem Qadri worked as an auto-rickshaw driver after completing his matriculation. He was an early leader of the Dawat-e-Islami in Saeedabad, which was founded in 1990. He also held a position in the Jamiat Ulama-e-Pakistan & stood as a candidate for the Sindh Assembly in 1988, though he was defeated. After the elections, he left his previous occupation & started a fabric & poultry farm business.

Saleem Qadri founded the Sunni Tehreek in 1990 with the stated goal of preventing Barelvi mosques from being seized by Deobandi & Wahabi organizations & defending Barelvis from attacks. He was not a religious scholar himself, but a business man & a disciple of Ilyas Qadri, the founder of Dawat-e-Islami. He & the subsequent leaders of Sunni Tehreek belonged to the Qadiriyya Sufi Order.

The Sunni Tehreek is known for it's strong support of Pakistan's blasphemy laws & the death penatlty for those accused of blasphemy.

Muhammad Saleem Qadri was assassinated on May 18, 2001 along with five others, in Baldia Town, Karachi. His death led to sectarian clashes in Karachi. He was succeeded by Abbas Qadri as the chief of Sunni Tehreek.