Maulana Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani is the Mohtamim (Vice-Chancellor) and Shaikh al-Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband in India. He was elected as Mohtamim on 23 July 2011. Darul Uloom Deoband is the founding institution of the Deobandi school of thought and continues to serve as its global centre, currently housing around 5,000 students. Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani graduated from Darul Uloom Deoband in 1967, and he was appointed a member of its Majlis Shura (Governing Body) in 1992. He is the spiritual successor (khalifah) of the renowned scholar Hadhrat Mufti Mahmood Hasan Gangohi, and is widely respected for his deep scholarship in Hadith, spirituality, and his dedicated leadership of one of the most influential Islamic seminaries in the world.