Talk:Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi

Broken article

This article was clearly either written or deteriorated by adherents of this movement. It fails entirely to give historical perspective, objective references, or even evidence of notability. It isn't even clear how much of this movement existed prior to 2002, and whether these Messianic claims were made during Shahi's lifetime, or if they are simply a result of religious hysteria following his disappearance and/or death.

The article badly needs to be pruned of primary sources, and put on whatever reliable sources we can find. I have severe doubts on the overall notability of this. I find one single google news hit for "Gohar Shahi",[1] about a case of 55 Pakistani adherents of this "minority sect" who burned their passports and propose their adherence to Goharism as grounds for political asylum. It is completely unclear how many adherents this movement has, and whether its "international" aspect is real or an online chimera. --dab (𒁳) 11:20, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

There are 10 (ten) google books hits for Gohar Shahi. Of these, six are his own publications. Of the remaining four, a single one dates to before his disappearance. It is a brief mention in passing of his conviction by a Sindh court in 2000.[2] This casts very grave doubts on the notability of this topic. The entire "religious movement" appears to be a result of his disappearance. Before 1997, he appears to have been simply a Pakistani preacher of moderate notability. After he "met with Jesus" in 1997, he seems to have scanned on the radar of the religious authorities of Pakistan and he needed to go into exile in 2000, where he "disappeared" the following year.

Most of this article seems to be about the superstitious claims thrown around after this man's disappearance, and not about his biography at all. --dab (𒁳) 11:33, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

also, all his books are apparently self-published, dumped as pdfs on the internet without publisher or date. Again, highly dubious under WP:NOTE. Anyone can dump pdfs on the internet. --dab (𒁳) 12:10, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

I am getting the impression that this man was simply a Sufi preacher active in Pakistan during the 1980s and 1990s. He "disappeared" (or died) in 2001. The entire religion based on him seems to have sprouted after that, touted by Younus AlGohar. This, by analogy, may teach a lot about Paul of Tarsus and the origins of Christianity: the master is gone, now the sidekick can throw around his weight and wallow in the glory of the departed, entering a flurry of publishing all sorts of possible and impossible claims about signs and miracles. --dab (𒁳) 15:12, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

It is true that there is controversy surrounding the whereabouts of Shahi, as a result of which there is a sort of turf war between followers of Shahi. I would assume that the self-published books dumped on the internet in form of pdfs, without any publisher or date, are unauthorised. Though there may be doubts about the globalism of Shahi's movement, it seems to me that there is little doubt over the notability of Shahi himself. The fact that the UNHCR ([3]) and the US Department of State([4]) discuss the situation of Shahi in detail suggests that he is notable on some level. Mostly, it would seem he is notable for the persecution he faced, so perhaps the article should focus more on this aspect. However, in my opinion, information regarding the views of Shahi should remain to give the reader insight as to why Shahi is so opposed by orthodox Muslims in Pakistan. Omirocksthisworld(Drop a line) 02:42, 16 November 2011 (UTC)

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Reference [6][7][8]

As given subject/headline, Anjuman Sarfroshan e Islam (ASI) is not banned in Pakistan. It is registered with Government of Pakistan. Jang News used the word "Kaladam" without any proof and used hypothetical sentences. There is no difference among the family of His Holiness Riaz Ahmad Gohar Shahi and central command of ASI. A number of protests has been arranged accompanied with family members to arrest the accused culprits. ASI has been setup and organized by His Holiness Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi while Mahdi Foundation came into existence in order to destroy the cause of His Holiness. The proof has been given on the front page of official website of ASI. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gohar6692 (talk • contribs) 04:47, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

References

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I've checked the archived urls and they all seem to be working fine, and they are relevant to the subject - so I've changed the Sourcecheck parameters to true. Omirocksthisworld(Drop a line) 09:28, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

Biased biography by his followers : Semi-protected edit request on 28 August 2020

Gohar Shahi has been declared infidel by all sects and divisions of Islam unianimously. Gohar's disciple Yunus is accused of distorting meanings of Quran and quoting fabricated and false Hadith to justify their views. He also claimed Gohar as God. 103.237.76.18 (talk) 03:26, 28 August 2020 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. ◢  Ganbaruby!  (Say hi!) 08:48, 28 August 2020 (UTC)