Qazi Hussain Ahmad (; born 12 January 1938 – 5 January 2013) was an Islamic scholar, democracy activist, and former Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami, the socially conservative Islamist political party in Pakistan. He opposed the United States' participation in the war against the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan. Early life Background Ahmad was born in 1938 in the house of Muhammad Abdul Rab at Ziarat Kaka Sahib, Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A teacher by profession, Ahmad was appointed as the President of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind for its Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa branch before 1947. Qazi Hussain Ahmed was the youngest among his ten siblings. After having completed early education at home, Ahmad was admitted to Islamia College, Peshawar and got his Master of Science (MSc) degree in geography from Peshawar University. He served as a lecturer at Jehanzeb College Swat for three years, teaching at the graduate level. After that, he started his own business. He was elected as vice-president, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (Provincial) Chamber of commerce and industry. Living in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa gave him some familiarity with political affairs in neighboring Afghanistan. Personal life Ahmed had two sons (Asif Luqman Qazi and Anas Farhan Qazi) and two daughters. His wife and children all are Jamaat-e-Islami activists. He spoke Urdu, English, Arabic, and Persian in addition to his native tongue, Pashto. He was a great admirer of the poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal and employed quotes from both Iqbal's Urdu and Persian poetry in his speeches and conversations. Political career His association with the Islamic Movement started in his school days when he first joined Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, Pakistan. He became member of Jamaat-e-Islami in 1970 and was elected to the office of President of its Peshawar branch. He served Jamaat-e-Islami as Secretary and then Ameer of its Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial branch. After the resignation of Maulana Naeem Siddiqui, he was promoted to the office of Secretary General, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan in 1978. and then elected as Ameer (Chief) of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan in 1987, continued to serve in that capacity, getting re-elected four more times (1992, 1994, 1999 and 2003). In 2008, Syed Munawwar Hasan was elected to head Jamaat-e-Islami, when Qazi Hussain Ahmad chose not to run for the office. Qazi Hussain Ahmad remained head of Jamaat-e-Islami for nearly 22 years. In the Parliament of Pakistan, he also served as the parliamentary leader of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. Politics Within Pakistan, he was a patron of organisations such as Pasban and founder of Shabab e