Mufti Azizur Rehman: anti-Malala cleric caught in sex scandal

Lahore: A Pakistani cleric who is known for targeting Malala Yousafzai in his speeches has been caught in a scandal, prompting his seminary to fire him from his job.

Mufti Azizur Rehman affiliated with Lahore’s Jamia Manzoor-ul-Islam, has been accused of sodomizing a student of the seminary and a purported video of his act has gone viral.

Mufti Aziz has said in a video statement that the victim, whom he identified as Sabir Shah, was playing in the hands of a Qari of the seminary.

He claimed that he was given some intoxicating substance and he was not in his senses when the video of the objectionable act was made.

Mufti Azizur Rehman added that the video was made a couple of years ago in winters.

A satement issued by the seminary it terminated the cleric on June 3, 2021 after a purported video of his act was shown to the organization and his son Altafur Rehman.

The statement said the Madressa (Islamic seminary) has nothing to do with Mufti’s personal actions and he is responsible for his deeds.

On the other hand, a statement issued by the Wifaq-ul-Madaris ( A body of clerics which oversees seminaries of the Deobandi school of thought) said Madressa Manzoor-ul Islam’s Mufti Azizur Rehman has sexually exploited a student.

The Wifaq said it has decided to end the affiliation of Madressa Mazoorul Islam and plans to cancel the degrees and certificates of the alleged harasser.

It also urged the federal government to move against the culprit and take the matter to its logical end as the incident has not only vilified religion but also became cause of embarrassment for Pakistan.

Meanwhile, it has been learned that the controversial cleric is associated with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and was known for his speeches against Aurat March and Nobel laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai.

Police on Saturday night arrested Mufti Azizur Rehman from Mianwali district of Punjab, two days after registering a case against him.