Muhammad Ali Mirza (Urdu/Punjabi: محمد علی مرزا born 4 October 1977), also known as Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza (abbreviated: EMAM) or Mirza Jhelumi, is a Pakistani Islamic scholar and commentator.

Biography
Muhammad Ali Mirza was born on 4 October 1977 in Jhelum, a city in Punjab, Pakistan. He obtained his education as an engineer from University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila. He worked as a mechanical engineer for the Government of Punjab on the 19th pay scale but later quit due to rampant corruption in the department.

Ali gives online lectures where he talks about different religious issues and runs a research academy where he imparts religious education based on his understanding of the Quran and Sunnat. His critics claim that he uses derogatory terms for Islamic Saints and they present out of context clips from his lectures as evidence.

Ali allegedly opined that present day Ahmadis are better than Jews and Christians (the people of the book). He, however still declared them as non-Muslims and said that his video clips have been presented out of context. He was arrested on 4 May 2020 in suspicion of spreading hate speech towards religious scholars. Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi and anchor Shafaat Ali posted on social media condemning his arrest. He was later released on 6 May 2020. According to Ali, one of his lectures was presented completely out of context. He later said that if one starts presenting other opinions in such a way then even the verses of the Qur'an can be presented out of context.

Rivalry with Tariq Masood 
Muhammad Ali Mirza has had a long rivalry with scholar Tariq Masood. The debate between both scholars is particularly about Muawiyah, the First Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. Mirza challenged Masood to arrive in Jhelum and have a debate face to face. In May 2021, the debate was postponed since Masood didn't come in After many months, Masood finally accepted the challenge and went to Jhelum for the debate. However, Masood claimed that he had tried to make contacts with Mirza, but there was no answer. Masood claimed that he took a very long journey from Karachi to Jhelum for discussion.

Nupur Sharma case
In June 2022, Ali Mirza criticized Taslim Rehmani for badmouthing Hindu gods in front of BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Times Now. He said Nupur Sharma abused Muhammad in reaction to that. Rubika Liakat praised Ali Mirza for his stand with Nupur Sharma on her Twitter account. Many Indian and Pakistani Ulemas were furious with Ali Mirza for this comment.

2023 blasphemy charges
In April 2023, a case of blasphemy was registered against Ali Mirza under section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code. The accusations against Mirza include mocking Muhammad and downplaying the Pakistani legal ruling that considers Ahmadis to have non-Muslim status.  His critics claim that he uses derogatory language when referring to Islamic saints and presents clips from his lectures out of context to support his arguments. Pir Afzal Qadri, a religious cleric, has offered a reward of Rs. 500,000 the assassination Ali Mirza, stating that he deserves to be killed. The accusations of blasphemy are considered serious in Pakistan, and if convicted, Mirza could face severe punishment under the blasphemy laws.

Assassination attempts
On 14 March 2021, Ali survived a second assassination attempt, first in 2017. The attacker visited his Quran academy in Jhelum, Pakistan at weekly meeting and attempted to kill him with a knife while taking a picture with him. Ali escaped with minor injuries. Police arrested two suspects and registered an FIR against them. The attacker had traveled from Lahore to Jhelum to kill Ali.

See also
Israr Ahmed
Muhammad Ishaq Madni
Abul A'la Maududi
Zubair Ali Zai
Syed Jawad Naqvi
Tariq Jamil

References

1977 births
Living people
20th-century Muslims
21st-century Muslims
Pakistani Sunni Muslims
Pakistani Muslims
People from Jhelum
Pakistani Muslim scholars of Islam
Pakistani scholars
Pakistani prisoners and detainees
Pakistani YouTubers
Critics of Ahmadiyya