Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri

Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri

Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri (Urdu: محمد طاہر القادری‎) (born February 19, 1951) is a Pakistani Sufi scholar and former professor of international constitutional law at the University of the Punjab. Qadri was recently described by the CNN-IBN as the 'International Peace Ambassador'. Qadri was unsuccessfully nominated by his followers as one of the 231 nominees (along with two other Pakistanis) for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize The European Union won the Prize instead.

Qadri is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, a broad-based global Sufi organization working in the fields of welfare, human rights and education. Its objectives are the promotion of a moderate and non-extremist vision of Islam, the establishment of good relations and understanding between communities and religions, and the education of youth through "employing the methods of Sufism". He also founded The Minhaj University of which he is the head of the Board of Governors, as well as an international relief charity, Minhaj Welfare Foundation.

Qadri was also the founding chairman of the political party Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), although he is no longer involved in politics. Qadri spoke at the World Economic Forum in January 2011.