Ilm Deen, also written as Alimuddin (4 December 1908 – 31 October 1929), was an Indian Muslim carpenter who assassinated a book publisher named Mahashe Rajpal for publishing the book Rangila Rasul, which was considered derogatory towards the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, by Muslims.[1] He was executed for this crime. Alimuddin, was given the title ghazi (a Muslim warrior victorious in battle against the opponents of Islam). In Pakistan, a full-length feature film was produced on the life of Alimuddin and screened on television worldwide.[2]
Ilm Deen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 December 1908 |
| Died | 31 October 1929 (aged 20) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Resting place | Miani Sahib Graveyard, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
Background
editMahashe Rajpal published an anonymous pamphlet in 1923 titled Rangila Rasul, which contained a reexamination of the hadiths of Sahih al-Bukhari, among other sources, along with an allegedly salacious commentary. Rangila Rasul had a surface appearance of a lyrical and laudatory work on Muhammad and his teachings and called Muhammad "a widely experienced" person who was best symbolized by his many wives.
Various sections of the Indian Muslim community started a movement demanding that the book be banned. In 1927, the administration of the British Raj enacted a law prohibiting insults aimed at founders and leaders of religious communities.[3]
Murder
editIlm Deen decided to kill the publisher. On April 6, 1929, he set out for the bazaar and purchased a dagger for one rupee. He hid the dagger in his pants and waited for Rajpal at some distance from Rajpal's shop. Rajpal had not arrived yet. Ilm Deen did not know what Rajpal looked like. He tried to find out where Rajpal was through people that were around. Rajpal entered the shop and Ilm Deen did not notice him but soon someone alerted him that Rajpal was inside. The young man entered the shop, lunged forward and attacked him. He stabbed his dagger into the chest of Rajpal. He fell to the ground and died instantly. The police arrested Ilm Deen and took him to Lahori Gate Police Station. Later Ilm Deen was shifted to Central Jail Mianwali. The murder caused considerable religious tension in Punjab and beyond.[4]
Trial and execution
editThe trial lawyer for Ilm Deen was Farrukh Hussain.[citation needed]
Two witnesses from the prosecution side claimed that he was guilty. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, then a prominent Indian lawyer, and later the founder of Pakistan, was then sought out to appear in the appeal hearing at the Lahore High Court.[5] Jinnah appealed on the grounds of extenuating circumstances, saying that Ilm Deen was only 19 or 20. He asked for the death sentence to be commuted to imprisonment for life. This contention was rejected by the court. Ilm Deen was convicted and given the death penalty according to the Indian Penal Code, and subsequently executed.[6]
In popular culture
editIlm Deen enjoys a certain popularity among some of Pakistan's Islamists, who perceive him as a defender of the faith who has unjustly been executed and thus became a martyr, so many apologetic books and movies have been made as a way to commemorate him.[7]
Books
edit| Year | Title | Author | Publisher | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Shahīd-i Islām Janāb G̲ẖāzī ʻIlmuddīn Shahīd | Muhammad Ismaʻil | Munshī Naṣīr Aḥmad, Lahore | Punjabi |
| 1972 | ʻĀshiq-i rasūl-i maqbūl G̲h̲āzī ʻIlm Dīn shahīd | Miyān̲ Muḥammad Abūlfatḥ | Maktaban Merī Library, Lahore | Urdu |
| 1982 | G̲h̲āzī ʻIlmuddīn Shahīd | Rā'e Muḥammad Kamāl | Karam Publications, Lahore | |
| 1990 | G̲h̲āzī ʻIlmuddīn shahīd | Ẓafar Iqbāl Nagīnah | Jang Publications, Lahore | |
| 2004 | Naʻt-i ʻishq-i Muḥammad : barāʼe G̲h̲āzī ʻIlmuddīn Shahīd | Sayyid Ṣādiq Shāh | Zawiya Publishers, Lahore | Punjabi |
| 2007 | G̲h̲āzī ʻIlmuddīn shahīd : Shahīd-i nāmūs-i risālat | K̲h̲ūlah Matīn | ʻIlm va ʻIrfān Publishers, Lahore | Urdu |
| G̲h̲āzī ʻIlmuddīn Shahīd raḥmatulláh alaih | Sayyid Muḥammad ʻUsmān | Nūrī Kutub K̲h̲ānah, Lahore | ||
| 2008 | G̲h̲āzī ʻIlmuddīn shahīd | Farḥān Zulfiqār | Ḥamzah Buks, Lahore |
Films
edit| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Actor who portrayed Ilm Deen | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Ghazi Ilmuddin Shaheed | Haidar | Haidar | Haidar | Punjabi |
| 2002 | Rasheed Dogar | Riaz & Shehzad Gujjar | Moammar Rana | Urdu | |
| 2024 | Mijanur Rahaman | Baibars Media Limited | Mijanur Rahaman | Bengali |
References
edit- ^ Rumi, Raza (30 October 2015). "Blasphemy it was not". The Friday Times (newspaper). Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ Gupta, Amit Kumar (1997). "Defying Death: Nationalist Revolutionism in India, 1897-1938". Social Scientist. 25 (9): 3–27. doi:10.2307/3517678. JSTOR 20488099. Retrieved 30 April 2022., page 47.
- ^ Soli J. Sorabjee (25 June 2006). "Insult to religion". Indian Express (newspaper). Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Salmaan Taseer murder case harks back to 1929 killing of Hindu publisher". the Guardian. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Ramzi, Shanaz (30 March 2014). "Where history meets modern comforts". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Where executed blasphemy killer is revered as a saint". The New Indian Express. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Swami, Praveen (3 July 2022). "How India's first blasphemy murderer was made Pakistan's model citizen". The Print.