Police in Canada are investigating allegations of hate speech by a local imam who called a publisher and its administration ‘devil’ and ‘kaafir’.
Professor Syed Badiuddin Soharwardy, an imam at a mosque, has been under investigation by the Calgary Police for spreading hate messages against Ghulam Mustafa, publisher of Weekly Pakistan Post Calgary, on a mass level through Internet.
A number of people reported to the police that Soharwardy, who is believed to be very influential, launched a malicious campaign against a local publisher with the support of his followers, provoking the public at large.
The National Press Council and the Canadian Journalists Association has also expressed serious concerns over the threats made to the publisher.
Soharwardy was born in a highly respected religious family in Karachi, Pakistan. His father, Allama Syed Muhammad Riazuddin Soharwardy was a famous Islamic scholar and the imam of Jamia Bughdadi Masjid, Martin Road, Karachi where he established Dar-ul-Aloom Soharwardia.
He received his early Islamic education from his father, teacher and spiritual guide in the traditional Islamic Madrasah at Bughdadi Masjid. Later, he graduated from Dar-ul-Aloom Soharwardia, besides earning Bachelor of Arts degree in Islamic Studies from University of Karachi, Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from N.E.D. University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi, Master of Science in Management Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA and Master of Engineering in Project Management from University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
He is also the founder of Muslims Against Terrorism (MAT). He founded MAT in Calgary in January 1998. He is also the founder of Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC). He has authored several papers on various topics such as, challenges for Muslims in the western world, conflicts within the Muslim community, intra and inter religion conflicts, terrorism, and political Islam.
A renowned Naat Khawan, Syed Fasihuddin Soharwardi is his real brother, who is also in hot water as the Canadian government has also launched investigation against him for not paying tax on the account of money earned from reciting Naats in Canada. Fasihuddin is currently in Canada on a visit.