Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi

Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi (born 25 November 1941) is a spiritual leader and founder of the spiritual movements RAGS International (now known as Messiah Foundation International ) and Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam.

Shahi was born on 25 November 1941 in the village of Dhok Gohar Shah in the district of Rawalpindi of British India.

He is a fifth generation descendant of the Sufi Baba Gohar Ali Shah.

At the age of twenty, when he was the owner of F.Q. Steel Industries, Shahi began to search for spirituality.

Eventually he became disillusioned in this search and returned to work.

Shahi then married and had three children.

Shahi became popular as a Sufi preacher in Pakistan during the late 1970s.

In 1975, he went to Sehwan Sharif for self-mortification; he spent a period of three years in the mountains of Sehwan Sharif and the forest of Laal Bagh in self-purification, "for the sake of God's love".

He formed RAGS International and Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam in 1980.

Shahi claimed to have met with Jesus Christ in 1997.

He and many of his followers have been convicted under Islamic blasphemy laws by an antiterrorist court in Sindh.

After he fled to England, Shahi was convicted in absentia, receiving sentences that totaled approximately 59 years.

He is the author of a number of Urdu books on topics relating to spirituality, the most successful among these being Deen-e-Ilahi "The Religion of God" (2000), which was republished by Balboa Press, a division of Hay House and translated into English and other languages by Messiah Foundation International in 2012.

RAGS International was renamed to Messiah Foundation International in 2000.

MFI claims that Shahi is the Mehdi, Messiah, and Kalki Avatar.

Shahi disappeared from public view in 2001.

Shahi was reported to have disappeared in 2001, in London; afterwards, sightings of him were reported around the world of people claiming to have met and received spiritual guidance from him.

There have been rumours of him dying, with some sources reporting that he died in 2001 and others saying he died in 2003.

According to the Pakistani Press Foundation Shahi died in 2001.

The Sunday Leader in Sri Lanka stated that Shahi disappeared in 2001 and sightings of him were thereafter reported around the world.

Of the two factions of Shahi's followers, the Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam had asserted that Shahi died, and built a tomb for him at the Markazi Aastana in Kotri, where devotees performed pilgrimage.

The MFI, in contrast, declares that he merely disappeared.

Shahi's family, including his wife, five sons and a daughter, still resides in Kotri.

The teachings of Gohar Shahi have been a source of controversy.

Some orthodox theological scholars condemn his teachings as blasphemy, while others, such as Hisham Kabbani, have sat at his feet as well as praised him.

Classical singers such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ghulam Farid Sabri have been presented the message of Shahi.

Some singers such as Aziz Mian and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan have performed at Shahi related events.

Claims made by Shahi and his followers have been strongly opposed by orthodox Islamic theologians in Pakistan and abroad.

Shahi has been accused of claiming the status of prophet but denied such accusations.

His teachings have been condemned by Muslim religious leaders and the Pakistani government.

In February 2002, prior to any decision on appeals filed with the High Court of Sindh, Ardeshir Cowasjee claimed in an article he wrote for the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, that unnamed people who identified themselves to him as office-bearers of the All-Faith Spiritual Movement told him that Gohar Shahi died abroad, but this report was unconfirmed.

There have been claims that he died in that year or in 2003, but these are unconfirmed.

An article from 2006 in the Sunday Telegraph reports that Shahi died in 2003, and a 2009 article in Your Local Guardian also says that he was reported to have died in 2003.

However, none of these reports have been confirmed, as there is no body.

On the other hand, the Indian news agency PTI reported in 2008 that Shahi was based in the United Kingdom after being convicted of blasphemy by the High Court of Sindh.

This view is supported by the Indian Express which reported in 2008 that Shahi had fled to the United Kingdom and was presently based there.

Zee News also supported this claim.

The Hindustan Times has reported that he is "serving a life term".

Of the two organisations, RAGS International is still active as Messiah Foundation International whereas Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam was reported to have been dissolved and banned in Pakistan in 2011.

The CEO of Messiah Foundation International is Younus AlGohar.