Iftikhar Hussain Ansari
Iftikhar Hussain Ansari (26 April 1942 – 30 September 2014), widely known among his followers as Moulvi Sahib, was a Kashmiri Shia cleric, politician, businessman and a proponent of the Grand Ashura Procession In Kashmir.
Iftikhar Hussain Ansari | |
|---|---|
| مولانا مولوى افتخار حسين انصارى | |
| Constituency | Pattan, Baramulla, Kashmir |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 April 1942 Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Died | 30 September 2014 (aged 72) Dar-ul-Jawad, Qamarwari Srinagar |
| Political party | Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Children | Imran Raza Ansari, Irfan Raza Ansari, and a daughter |
| Residence(s) | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir |
| Alma mater | Sultanul Madaris, Lucknow, India Hawza Elmia Najaf, Najaf, Iraq |
He was a representative of Ruhollah Khomeini and other Marja'. He was one of the leading shia clerics in Kashmir and had close relations with multiple other important scholars such as Sayyid Jawad Shahristani, Mohammad Alavi Gorgani and Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani. He studied at Sultanul Madaris Lucknow, as well as Hawza Najaf. He succeeded his father Muhammad Jawad Ansari as president of the All Jammu and Kashmir Shia Association in Jammu & Kashmir in 1962, a position which he held for life. He was four-time member of Jammu and Kashmir's Legislative Assembly for the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party from Pattan Assembly segment; he was earlier a member of the National Conference and Congress.