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Biography
Abdul Rashid Sheikh Dawoodi also known as Dawoodi Saeb, is a Sunni Muslim scholar, preacher and reformer from Jammu and Kashmir, who founded the Islamic organisation Tehreek-e-Soutul Awliya.
Biography
Abdul Rashid Sheikh was born at Yaripora in Kulgam district. He was enrolled by his father, Sheikh Abdul Rahman, in a religious institute run at that time by the preacher Qazi Nisar. In 2005, after Qazi Nisar passed away, he set up an Islamic institute called Tehreek-e-Soutul Awliya which promotes the teachings of the 19th century scholar Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi of the Hanafi tradition.
In November 2006, he was wounded in a grenade attack while entering a mosque in Tahab area of Pulwama. Police alleged that the attack was instigated by the militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.
Perceiving Islam as the religion of peace, he advocates that "Ulemas should issue fatwas (edicts) in accordance with the Quran and Sharia. Fatwas must not be issued to please anyone". This statement was especially directed against senior Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh who, back in 2012, had asked for banning and demolition of the churches in Kuwait. Dawoodi said that "there is no scope for violence in Islam".
