Riaz Ahmed

 

 Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi ( November 1941 is a spiritual leader, mystic and the founder of the spiritual movements Messiah Foundation International(MFI) and Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam He is controversial for being declared theMehdi, Messiah, and Kalki Avatar by the MFICentral to his beliefs are the concepts of divine love and a non-discriminatory approach toGod in regard to a person's caste, nation or religion. According to Shahi, everyhuman has ability to develop a spiritual power to approach to the essence of God.Shahi was born on 25 November 1941, in the village of Dhok Gohar Shah in the district ofRawalpindi of British India. He is a fifth generation descendant of the Sufi Baba Gohar Ali Shah.At the age of twenty, when he was the owner of F. Q. Steel Industries, Shahi began to search for spirituality, seeking out the saints anddervishes of the time. Eventually he became disillusioned in this search, and, disappointed in not receiving spiritual benevolence, he returned to work. Gohar Shahi then married and had three childrenGohar Shahi left his work, family and parents and went to Shorkot, where he read the book Noor ul Huda (Light of Guidance) written bySultan Bahu. He then went to Sehwan Sharif for self-mortification and peace of heart, and spent a period of three years in the mOpposition to Gohar Shahi and his followers stemmed from claims made by Shahi and his followers that were strongly opposed by orthodox Islamic theologians in Pakistan and abroad Shahi was accused of claiming the status of prophet but Shahi denied such accusations His teachings have been condemned by Muslim religious leaders and the Pakistani government.Shahi also predicts that the world would end in they year 2026 due to a comet heading towards earth. He claims the comet will be the cause of "total destruction" though mentions that "in order to intimidate...God plans destruction on a small scale"Many attempts were made on the lives of Shahi and his close follower, Younus AlGoharincluding a petrol bomb thrown into AlGohar's residence in Manchester (where Shahi stayed when he toured the United Kingdom and an attack with a hand grenade during a discourse at his home in Kotri, PakistanA high price tag was put on his head in Pakistanountains of Sehwan Sharif and the forest of Laal Bagh in self-purificatio