Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (1925-2021) was a world-renowned Islamic Scholar who presented Islam as it is in the modern idiom by revealing the original face of Islam as it is enshrined in its original sources—Quran and Sunnah—as a religion of peace, spirituality, and co-existence. He founded the Centre for Peace and Spirituality (CPS) International in 2001 as a non-profit, non-political, non-governmental organisation to present Islam as it is based on the principles of peace, spirituality, and co-existence to the world. A book titled, The 500 Most Influential Muslims of 2009, published by Georgetown University, Washington DC, declares Maulana to be “Islam’s Spiritual Ambassador to the World.” His approach, the book points out, is “popular among Indians, both Muslim and non-Muslim.”

Drawing inspiration from the Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad, he guided seekers in their search for Truth and helped people revive the Islamic spirit. He developed an ideology of peace based on the creation plan of God, gave a practical model to achieve peace based on the Hudaybiyyah model, and derived principles of peaceful co-existence to help individuals, groups and nations resolve and manage conflicts, turning even enemies into friends. Maulana’s book Taʿbir ki Ghalati (Error of Interpretation) published in 1963 concluded that the political interpretation of Islam that is leading to Muslim extremism has no basis in Islam. It is a case of political extremism (ghulu) (4:171). He presented Islam as it is as a religion of peace in his books like The Prophet of Peace, Islam and World Peace, and The Age of Peace provide a counter-ideology to re-engineer the minds of extremists on peaceful lines. Then they leave extremism and start peaceful activism like education and dawah (conveying the word of God). For his tireless efforts spanning decades to promote world peace and spread a culture of goodwill and tolerance, Maulana was awarded the Sayyidina Imam al Hassan Ibn Ali Peace Award in Abu Dhabi, UAE in April 2015 under the patronage of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah at the 2nd annual Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies. On this occasion, he addressed over 350 distinguished Islamic scholars and faith leaders on how we can bring peace to the turbulent world.