Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani is a Hanafi

Hanafi

The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...

 Sufi cleric from Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 and founder of the Muslims of the Americas organization. He is "the sixth Sultan Ul Faqr", and with full titles his name appears as "Imam El-Sheikh Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Jilani El-Hashimi,
al-Hasani wal-Husaini".Background=
In 1978, Gilani published An introduction to Quranic psychology, which detailed his theories about using the Qur'an

Qur'an

The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

 (Koran) and religious observance to cure certain mental disorders. This was followed up by his An introduction to psychiatry: based on teaching of the Holy Quran and also contains results of scientific demonstration of curing incurable mental diseases in the Psychiatric Institute, Taif, Saudi Arabia, 1976-1977 published in 1981.

Muslims of The Americas

Muslims of the Americas was founded in 1980 by Gilani on a trip to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. Among other projects it has model communities in the Town of Hancock

Hancock (town), New York

Hancock is a town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The town contains a village, also named Hancock. The town is in the southwest part of the county...

, New York, called Islamberg

Islamberg, New York

Islamberg is a rural village in Hancock, Delaware County, New York. It was founded by Imam Al Sheik Mubarik Ali Shah Jilani Hashimi, a Pakistani Sufi cleric more generally known as Mubarak Ali Gilani, and is a branch of Muslims of the Americas, a U.S. organization formed in 1980...

, and in York County

York County, South Carolina

York County is a county located in the north-central section of the U.S. state of South Carolina. According to the 2010 census, the county's population was 226,073. It is the second largest county in the Charlotte metropolitan area...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, called Holy Islamville

Holy Islamville, South Carolina

Holy Islamville is an unincorporated community in York County, South Carolina, United States. Founded by Mubarak Ali Gilani in 1983, it is a branch of Muslims of the Americas Inc.. The community is currently in the process of expanding the Baitun-Noor Holy Khanqah, the shrine of the Sufis.-...

.
Publications=
In 1983 he published his translation of the Rauza-tus-Safa

Rauza-tus-Safa

Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ fī sīrat al-anbiyāʾ w-al-mulūk w-al-khulafāʾ is a Persian history of the origins of Islam, early Islamic civilisation, and Persian history by Mīr-Khvānd, a Fifteenth-Century historian...

, an influential 15th Century history on the origins of Islam.
Allegations of Extremist Activities=
Daniel Pearl

Daniel Pearl

Daniel Pearl was an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al-Qaeda.At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and was based in Mumbai, India. He went to Pakistan as part of an investigation into the alleged links between...

 was on his way to interview Gilani when he was abducted. Pearl wanted to interview him regarding a suspected connection between Gilani and the "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid. Gilani was questioned in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 concerning the abduction but subsequently released.
View on Terrorism=
In a 2002 interview Gilani said that he believed the jinn

Genie

Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...

 to be a greater danger to America than terrorism:

Human beings can be made to do things against their will. They can be made to commit crimes. They can made to go and kill people. You know? And all your missiles, all your rockets, space ships go up. And electronics, they can be damaged, influenced, and misdirected through the agencies of jinn

Jinn

Jinn are supernatural beings in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings.Jinn may also refer to:* Jinn , a Japanese band* Qui-Gon Jinn, a character in the Star Wars universe...

beings.

External links

• "Who is Imam El-Sheikh Jilani?" Ummah.com part of the Muslim Directory