IlmGate

By Shoaib Rasheed Maulana Azam Hashmi (1915-1973) was born to a family of religious scholars in the Ferghana valley in modern-day Uzbekistan. He witnessed his homeland fall to communism under the new Soviet regime shortly after World War I. He was forced to flee his homeland due to the religious persecution, leaving his mother and siblings behind. After leaving his village, he toured the major cities such as Kokand, Samarqand, and Bukhara, until finally escaping into Afghanistan. He eventually settled in Pakistan after Partition, where he became an advocate for Turkestani refugees. He was on good terms with Grand Mufti…