In a video message widely shared on social media, Shaykh Rahmani raised the critical question: “What is the Islamic status of the neighboring country, Pakistan? And given the current situation there, can it truly be said that an Islamic government or Islamic system is functioning?”

He argued that both India and Pakistan operate under similar democratic structures and that Pakistan’s creation in 1947 was driven more by political ambition than by Islamic principles. “Pakistan was not founded on Islamic ideals,” he said. “Those behind the partition were primarily motivated by worldly interests — positions, power, and authority.”

Shaykh Rahmani referenced the position of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a key figure in India’s independence movement and an influential Islamic thinker, who had strongly opposed the partition of British India.

“Maulana Azad clearly stated that India was our homeland — where we were born and where we would die. That vision remains significant even today,” Rahmani noted, adding that for many Indian Muslims, India continues to be a safer and more stable environment than Pakistan.

Highlighting the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan, he expressed concern over the prevalence of extremist violence.

“We are witnessing a troubling frequency of murders — of children, women, the elderly, and religious scholars. The ideology behind many of these acts is similar to that of the historical Kharijites — a radical sect known for their extremism and violence,” he stated.

Shaykh Rahmani also condemned the use of religious institutions in Pakistan for political purposes. “Mosques and madrasas, which should be centers of learning and spiritual guidance, are being used as shields and platforms for political demands. This is not the way of the Muslim Ummah — it is the path of the Kharijites.”

Calling for a more informed and principled approach, he cautioned Muslims around the world not to be swayed by emotional or romanticized views of Pakistan. “Some may think Pakistan is beneficial for Islam or for Muslims. But history tells us otherwise — scholars have been assassinated, and sacred institutions misused.”

He concluded with a prayer: “Such policies can never be classified as Islamic. They mirror the practices of the Kharijites. May God protect us from all forms of evil and chaos.”

Shaykh Rahmani’s remarks are expected to stir conversation among Muslim communities across South Asia and beyond, especially as debates continue about statehood, religious authority, and the role of faith in governance.

Kharijites were among the most reckless, impulsive and violent Islamist factions, and they also practiced the emphasis in worship.

It began with the Kharijites a group that came out at the end of the reign of the Caliph Othman bin Affan, they called themselves “People of Faith”, and they later were called the Kharijites after leaving Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, after the Battle of Sefeen in the year 37 Hijri.

The Kharijites rejected arbitration after it was presented to them in the effort to stop the dispute between Muslim leaders, the Kharijites were linked throughout their history with extreme views and actions in their religious beliefs resorting to violence and assassinations.

The first group of Kharijites consisted of Shagath Bin Qais Al-Kindi, Mas’ar Bin Fadaki Al-Tamimi and Zaid bin Husayn Al-Ta’i, while he came out on the day of the arbitration: “Abdullah bin Al-Kawa, Etab bin Al-Awar, Abdullah bin Wahb Al-Rasbi, and Erwa bin Jarir, Yazid bin Asim Al-Muharibi, and Harqus bin Zuhair known as Dhia. And these are the court, then they separated from him and labeled Imam Ali and Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan as heathens.

Kharijites were among the most reckless, impulsive and violent Islamist factions, and they also practiced the emphasis in worship. The group’s rebellion was crushed by the Omayeds and they were forced to go into hiding until the fall of the Omayeds dynasty.

The group’s attempt to make a comeback was met with Abu AlAbas brutal and bloody campaign wiping out their military arm and putting an end to the group militant activity for nearly 200 years.

Hashashins (Assassins)

The Assassin sect or Assassins is an Nizari Ismaili sect, separated from the Fatimids in the late fifth century A.H., eleventh century C.E. to call for the leadership of Nizar Al-Mustafa to the religion of God and whoever came from his bloodline.

As the book “Zero Point” by Narik Malian states, the Assassin sect is a Nizari Ismaili sect, popularized between the fifth and seventh centuries Hijri, and their main strongholds were in Persia and in the Levant.

The foundations of the Hassan ibn al-Sabah sect, which was launched from the fortress of Alamut as a center for spreading his vocation, took from fortified castles in the mountain peaks a stronghold for spreading a militant Nizari Ismaili calling in Persia and the Levant.

The extremist methods of the group earned it intense hostility from the Abbasid and Fatimid caliphate and major sultans such as the Seljuks, the Khwarizmites, the Zangids, the Ayyubids as well as the Salayis.

Their military strategy depended on assassinations carried out by deep cover agents who believe in the teachings of the group. “Fedayeen” shocked the rulers, royals, ministers and judges who posed a threat to the group’s goals.

The group were very resorsful in infiltration techniques, they managed to assassinate some important personalities such as the Seljuk minister Nizam al-Mulk, the Abbasid caliph, the guide, the Rashid, and the King of Jerusalem, Konrad.

The group’s strong hold was destroyed by the Mongols and they were eventually destroyed by the Mamlouks and the remnants of the group went to work for the highest bidder.

Carmatians

A group tied in relation to the Carmatian state, which split from the Fatimid state, and ruled after a social revolution and took on a religious character, and the headquarters of their state in the current Al-Ahsa city in eastern Saudi Arabia.

The book “History of the Fatimid State” by Dr. Inas Muhammad al-Bahiji mentioned, the Carmatians were a religious political sect that knew that name in relation to one of its da’is: Hamdan al-Shaath, nicknamed “Qarmat”, and they were part of the Fatimid state, they were closely associated with the Fatimids at first, but they turned to a bloody rivalry, the book states that the Qarmatians were originally dissidents from the Ismaili movement, and they believed the return of Imam Muhammad bin Ismail in their (Messiah) awaited Mahdi.

The group’s blood thirsty followers thought that Imam Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi deceived them, so they turned on him, and they opposed the issue of infallibility, and the Carmatians fanatics ruthless ways led to bloodshed of their opponents.

The group waged waves of acts of terror in Basra and Ahwaz during the Zinj revolution. The extremist ideology of the group remains to this day in groups like the IRGC, Extremist Iraqi Shiite components allied with Iran, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Twelvers Shiite extremist.

The Muslim Brotherhood or Ikhwanul-Muslimeen

The most diverse and complex Islamist group of the twentieth century, it is considered the ideological source of extremism for most Islamist of the current and past centuries, many extremists offshoots branched out from the MB.

The Muslim Brotherhood founded by Hassan Al-Banna in Ismailia in 1928 its ethics and teachings are fruits of the evil doctrine of Sayed Qutb. Hassan al-Banna’s Kharijites and extreme Soufi teachings gave birth to extremist Islamist groups including ISIS, Al-Qaeda and others.

Terrorist Organization that hijack faith and engage in acts of violence must be stopped by any means necessary.

Khaled Homoud Alshareef holds PhD in Business and he earned Masters in Philosophy. He often writes about Islamism, Islamist factions and modern Terrorism. He tweets under @0khalodi0.