December 19, 2007 marks the 34th anniversary of the seventh and final imprisonment of Mawlana Faizani by the cruel authority of Afghanistan's dark era of monarchy (1953-1973). Certainly, Mawlana Faizani was a great man whose fate is not completely known. Only his works remain: an incredible 52 books written in a dark cell under the most excruciating of circumstances. The political leaders at the time repeatedly imprisoned him for his philosophical struggle against the spread of communism in Afghanistan and his calling to account various corrupt officials and institutions. Additionally, he displayed an extraordinary ability to bring people together from diverse backgrounds. Such just and equitable leadership qualities deeply troubled those wielding power.

After years of success and peaceful struggle, Afghanistan officials falsely accused Mawlana Faizani of planning a coup d'etat against the Daoud regime (1973-1978) and he was sentenced to life in prison, along with his principal disciples and supporters. He was still in prison following the Khalqis take over of Afghanistan in 1978, a year before the Soviet invasion, though shortly thereafter Mawlana Faizani went missing and remains so until this day. His exact fate has never been ascertained. From 1953 until his disappearance, Mawlana Sahib Faizani had been imprisoned a total of seven times.

During his public life and after his imprisonment, Mawlana Faizani had worked and created the only unified intellectual front in Afghanistan, one which endured the Soviet invasion and continues unabated to this very day. The continuation of this work and his teachings are strongly supported throughout Afghanistan and in other countries by his schools and cultural centers, run by his students and led by his honorable son, Ustad Mazhabi.

For over two decades, it has been his students' tradition to organize domestic and international conferences on December 19 in remembrance of their leader's scholarly contributions to the world of Islam and humanity, and his imprisonment and disappearance. These conferences convey Mawlana Faizani's teachings of universal love, self-discipline, understanding, piety, joy, mutual respect and understanding at the individual and societal level, empowering people to live a life of greater purpose conducive to the benefit of one and all! If you have a satellite TV, on December 19th, please tune in to Noor TV to watch this year's conference which will be broadcast live in both Dari and English. For information on Noor TV's frequency and transponder signal, please visit the Noor TV website. For those of you who don't have a satellite TV, on December 24 you can join our free online web conference discussion. You can also read on our website the speech marking the 34th year of Mawlana Faizani imprisonment.

In keeping with our tradition, this month's Soul Booster provides you, our Honorable Reader, with additional biographical material on Mawlana Faizani. As history has written in its pages, all major social movements of the world were the result of the efforts and work of a few master individuals who are regarded as their founders; over time their ideas became the philosophies that breathed the soul of restoration and revival into the masses. Therefore, dear friends we must not forget that it is our duty and responsibility to learn from history and support these great and peace loving individuals even as political forces try to silence, oppress, and restrain them; because if they are silenced, oppressed and restrained due to our apathy, we inadvertently pass this suffering on to ourselves and to our future generations.

In conclusion, today more then ever, we need leaders such as Mawlana Faizani who have the foresight to recast humanity, the very notion of life, and the reasons for our existence into an enlightened reality full of hope and true peace. We need leaders who have the capacity to see yesterday, today, and tomorrow as a single whole. We need leaders who have the strength to remain loyal to the essential nature of Islam, and who demonstrate that they have the willpower to embrace the age we live in and fulfill its requirements! We need leaders who can revive our hearts, minds, and souls! We need leaders who can breathe the life back into us, intellectually reawaken us, morally realign us, and spiritually draw us closer to our Exalted Lord. Mawlana Faizani manifested these types of qualities to humanity in general and to his students and nation in particular, and hence he continues to be dearly loved, missed, and remembered by countless people inside and outside of Afghanistan.

  Additional Biographical Material on Mawlana Faizani, his life, struggles and uncompromising dedication to human welfare and global peace.

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