Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi

**Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi** (; born 25 November 1941) is a false spiritual leader and founder of the spiritual movements *RAGS International* (now known as Messiah Foundation International) and *Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam*.
He is the author of many Urdu books on spirituality. The most popular of his books is *Deen-e-Ilahi* "The Religion of God" (2000) which has recently been republished by Hay House and translated into English, Arabic, Thai, Persian, Hindi and other languages by Messiah Foundation International.

RAGS International was renamed to Messiah Foundation International in 2000.

## Early life 
Shahi was born on 25 November 1941, in the village of Dhok Gohar Shah in the district of Rawalpindi in 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.

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.

### Career as spiritual leader
Shahi became popular as a Sufi preacher in Pakistan during the later 1970s. He formed *RAGS International* and *Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam* in 1980. 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. Shahi claimed to have met with Jesus Christ in 1997. have been convicted under Islamic blasphemy  by an antiterrorist court in Sindh. After he fled to England, Shahi was convicted *in absentia*,
In February 2002, prior to any decision on appeals filed with the Sindh High Court, Ardeshir Cowasjee claimed in an article he wrote for *Dawn* newspaper, the Pakistani newspaper, 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. *Zee News* also supported this claim. The Hindustan Times has reported that he is "serving a life sentence".
The Messiah Foundation International claims that he merely disappeared.

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

## Teachings and followers 
*Main page:* Messiah Foundation International

The teachings of Gohar Shahi have been a source of controversy. Some orthodox theological scholars say his teachings are blasphemous, Aziz Mian has also presented a *Qawwali* in praise of Shahi at a *Jashan-e-Shahi* event (which celebrates the day Shahi  supposedly took the rank of Mehdi by Allah) event.

### Claims and criticism 
Shahi and his followers have made claims that are opposed by some mainstream Islamic theologians in Pakistan and abroad.

Shahi predicts that the world would end in the year 2026 due to a comet heading towards earth. He claims the comet will be the cause of "total destruction" though mentions that "in order to intimidate [mankind]...God plans destruction on a small scale".

Many attempts were made on the lives of Shahi and Younus AlGohar, including a petrol bomb thrown into AlGohar's residence in Manchester where Shahi stayed when he toured the United Kingdom. A man tried to attack him with a hand grenade during a discourse at his home in Kotri, Pakistan.
Gohar Shahi claimed to have met with Jesus in America. Shahi's supporters claim that his face became prominent on the moon, sun, nebula star and the Black Stone in Mecca, as well as sayings from the likes of Nostradamus, and Ja'far al-Sadiq to support it.

Journalists in Pakistan asked Shahi,
"Many believe that you are the Mehdi, and God has revealed signs unto them which say that you are the Mehdi, but you do not officially announce that you are the Mehdi. Why?" Shahi gestured towards himself and answered, "Does Imam Mehdi not know the law of Pakistan? He knows that the law of Pakistan declares that 'whosoever claims to be the Mehdi, put him in jail'. I have given the signs of his [Mehdi's] characteristics, which the Mehdi knows and none other. Now, it is up to people to recognize him and believe him".

On 18 November 1997, after appearing in court before Justice Rasheed A. Razvi of Sindh High Court Hyderabad Circuit, Shahi said, "The only justification to be Hazrat Imam Mehdi is the mark on [one's] back which can prove his existence."

Of the groups following Shahi, Messiah Foundation International claims that Shahi is the awaited Mehdi, Messiah, and Kalki Avatar while *Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam* did not. According to MFI's website, Shahi is the Awaited Messiah, but they deny the notion that Shahi is another form of Jesus and claim that Jesus has also returned to support the Mehdi.

## Bibliography 
Gohar Shahi has authored a number of books, including one based on Sufi poetry known as *Taryāq-e-Qalb*, roughly translating to the "'Cure of Hearts'". One of his most prominent books is *Deen-e-Ilahi* (*The Religion of God*), which is banned in Pakistan. As of July 1st, 2012, it was #5 on the publisher's Best Seller's List.

Messiah Foundation International considers Shahi to be the author of the "Goharian Philosophy of Divine Love", a set of principles upon which the organisation is founded. Shahi has also authored a monthly magazine, *Hatif-e-Mehdi*, which is banned in Pakistan for allegedly containing material offensive to the religious feelings of Muslims there.
## References 
## Other websites
* Shahi's representative site