Mohammad Abbas Ansari

Early Life

Born on 17 August 1936 in Srinagar, Kashmir, into the family of Molvi Hassan Ansari. He pursued religious studies at the Oriental College in Srinagar and at Sultanul Madaris in Lucknow before travelling to Iraq for higher seminary education.

Molvi / Shia Scholar and Chairman of Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen Mohammad Abbas Ansari, widely known as Molvi Abbas Ansari, was a prominent Twelver Shia religious scholar, reformer, preacher and separatist political leader from Srinagar in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Born on 17 August 1936, he studied at the Oriental College in Srinagar and Sultanul Madaris in Lucknow, and then at the Hawza Ilmia in Najaf, Iraq, from 1954 to 1962, where he studied Arabic literature, philosophy, hadith, tafsir, Islamic jurisprudence and political science. In 1962 he founded and became chairman of the Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM), a Shia religio-political party that advocated Shia-Sunni unity and a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute. He served as coordinator of the Holy Relic Action Committee in 1963 and as convenor of the Muslim United Front in 1986. A senior figure in the separatist movement, he became the fourth chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in 2003, the first Shia cleric to head the conglomerate, during which time he supported dialogue with the Indian government and the reopening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road. A follower of the Usuli Twelver tradition and the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence, Ansari was known for his moderate positions and his emphasis on Shia-Sunni harmony. He founded the monthly magazine 'Safeena' and undertook missions abroad, including to the United Kingdom, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. He remained chairman of the JKIM until his death at his Nawakadal residence in old Srinagar on 25 October 2022, aged 86, and was succeeded by his son Masroor Abbas Ansari.