Abdullah Bukhari (; 1922–2009) was the 12th

Shahi Imam The Shahi Imam is the Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid. History Mughal Emperor Shahjahan appointed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari, who originally came from Shah of Bukhara, Uzbekistan to be the first Imam of the Mosque in 1656. ...

of the

Jama Masjid, Delhi The Masjid-i-Jehan-Numa (), commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is one of the largest mosques in India. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656, and inaugurated by its first Imam, Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Buk ...

.Profile and obituary of Syed Abdullah Bukhari
in

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

newspaperEx-Shahi Imam of Delhi Jama Masjid dies at 87 on Dawn newspaper
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Early life and career

He was born in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

and completed his ''Senior Cambridge'' from New Delhi and was appointed ''Naib-Shahi Imam'' in 1946. He was appointed to the office of the ''Shahi Imam'' on Sunday, 8 July 1973 AD after the Eleventh Shahi Imam Maulana ''Syed Hameed Bukhari''.

Association with politics

India's

Prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Morarji Desai offered to him the position of Vice President of India after he won the 1977 elections defeating

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

. "He was one of the strong voices that opposed the Emergency in 1975. He protested against the targeting of Muslims when they were asked to undergo 'nasbandi' (vasectomy)."

Death

Syed Abdullah Bukhari was hospitalized with breathing difficulties, as well as heart and kidney issues, on 9 June 2009. He died a month later, on 8 July, of a heart attack and was buried the same day in the family burial ground in the Walled city of Delhi. He was survived by four sons and two daughters. His son,

Ahmed Bukhari Ahmed Bukhari is the 13th Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, Delhi. Ancestry and appointment Ahmed Bukhari succeeded his father, Abdullah Bukhari, on 14 October 2000 as Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in Delhi.The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' said "He is believed to have risked his life to rescue Muslims from rioters following Partition and made arrangements for their relief and rehabilitation. He also encouraged them to remain in the country."

References

1922 births 2009 deaths 20th-century imams Indian Quran reciters Indian imams 21st-century imams Indian Islamic religious leaders {{India-reli-bio-stub