Barelvi

Barelvi (Urdu: بَریلوِی‎, Barēlwī, Urdu pronunciation: [bəreːlʋi]) is a term used for the movement following the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, originating in Bareilly with over 200 million followers in South Asia. The name derives from the north Indian town of Bareilly, the hometown of its founder and main leader Ahmed Raza Khan (1856–1921). Although Barelvi is the commonly used term in the media and academia, the followers of the movement often prefer to be known by the title of Ahle Sunnat wal Jama'at, or as Sunnis, a reference to their perception as forming an international majority movement.

The movement has to do with the practices and Sufism of Classic Islamic Mystics, it is often referred to as a Sufi movement. The movement was in existence (as is today) under the banner of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jammat, but later started to refer to themselves as Barelvi's to differentiate from the Deobandi movement, which was influenced by the Wahhabi movement in Arabia.

Etymology

The movement is the Ahle Sunnat wal Jama'at "People of the traditions [of Muhammad] and the community" and they refer to themselves as Sunnis. This terminology is used to lay exclusive claim to be the only legitimate form of Sunni Islam in South Asia, in opposition to the Deobandi, Ahl al-Hadith, Salafis and Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama followers.