Zakir Naik

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Zakir Naik

Born	Zakir Abdul Karim Naik 18 October 1965 (age 47) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Education	Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Alma mater	Kishinchand Chellaram College Topiwala National Medical College and Nair Hospital University of Mumbai
Occupation	President of Islamic Research Foundation, public speaker
Years active	1991–present
Known for	Dawah
Influenced by	Ahmed Deedat
Board member of	Islamic Research Foundation
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Salafi^[1]
Spouse(s)	Farhat Naik
Website
IRF.net PeaceTV.tv

Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (Urdu: ذاکر عبدالکریم نائیک‎; born 18 October 1965) is an Indian public speaker on the subject of Islam and comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF),^[2] a non-profit organisation that owns the Peace TV channel based in Dubai, UAE. He is sometimes referred to as a televangelist.^[3]^[4] Before becoming a public speaker, he trained as a doctor.^[4] He has written two booklets on Islam and comparative religion. He is regarded as an exponent of the Salafi ideology.^[5]

Biography

Zakir Abdul Karim Naik was born on 18 October 1965 in Mumbai, India. He attended St. Peter's High School in Mumbai. Later he enrolled at Kishinchand Chellaram College, before studying medicine at Topiwala National Medical College and Nair Hospital and later the University of Mumbai, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS).^[2] His wife, Farhat Naik, works for the women's section of the IRF.^[6]
In 1991 he started working in the field of Dawah, and founded the IRF.^[7] Naik says he was inspired by Ahmed Deedat, an Islamic preacher, having met him in 1987.^[8] (Naik is sometimes referred to as "Deedat plus", a label given to him by Deedat himself.)^[8]^[9] Naik says that his goal is to "concentrate on the educated Muslim youth who have become apologetic about their own religion and have started to feel the religion is outdated."^[10] He considers it a duty of every Muslim to remove perceived misconceptions about Islam and to counter what he views as the Western media's anti-Islamic bias in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.^[11] Some of his articles are published in magazines such as Islamic Voice.^[12]
Anthropologist Thomas Blom Hansen has written that Naik's style of memorising the Quran and Hadith literature in various languages, and his related missionary activity, has made him extremely popular in Muslim and non-Muslim circles.^[10] Many of his debates are recorded and widely distributed in video and DVD media and online. His talks are usually recorded in English and broadcast on weekends on several cable networks in Mumbai's Muslim neighbourhoods, and on the Peace TV channel, which he co-produces.^[13]^[14] Topics he speaks on include: "Islam and Modern Science", "Islam and Christianity", and "Islam and secularism".
Naik is the founder of the Islamic International School in Mumbai.^[15]

Lectures and debates

Naik has held many debates and lectures around the world. One of Naik's most-cited debates was with William Campbell in Chicago in April 2000 on the topic of "The Qur'an and the Bible: In the Light of Science".^[16]
Naik has said that "despite the strident anti-Islam campaign, 34,000 Americans have embraced Islam from September 2001 to July 2002." He says Islam is a religion of reason and logic, and that the Quran contains 1000 verses relating to science, which he says explains the number of Western converts.^[17] He argues that scientific theories were prophesised by the Quran. For example, he says certain verses of the Quran accurately describe embryological development.^[18]
On 21 January 2006 Naik held an inter-religious dialogue with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Bangalore about the concept of God in Islam and Hinduism.^[19]
In February 2011 Naik addressed the Oxford Union via video link from India.^[20]

Peace conference

Every year since November 2007 Naik has led a 10-day Peace Conference at Somaiya Ground, Sion, Mumbai. Lectures on Islam have been presented by Naik and twenty other Islamic scholars.^[21]

Naik's views

Biological evolution

Naik has said that the theory of evolution is "only a hypothesis, and an unproven conjecture at best".^[22] According to Naik, most scientists "support the theory, because it went against the Bible – not because it was true."^[23]

Apostasy

Naik has said that any Muslim is free to convert from Islam if the person so chooses, but added that if a Muslim converts and then speaks against Islam or propagates another religion, it should be considered treason (as in treason to a country). Naik stated that under Islamic law this is punishable by death^[24]

Terrorism

Naik's views and statements on terrorism have at times been criticised in the media. In a YouTube video, speaking of Osama bin Laden, Naik said that he would not criticise bin Laden because he had not met him and did not know him personally. He added that, "If bin Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him," and that "If he is terrorizing the terrorist, if he is terrorizing America – the terrorist, biggest terrorist – I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is that if he is terrorizing the terrorist, he is following Islam. Whether he is or not, I don’t know, but you as Muslims know that, without checking up, laying allegations is also wrong."^[25]^[26] When Time hinted that this remark could have inspired Najibullah Zazi's terrorist activities, Naik insisted: "I have always condemned terrorism, because according to the glorious Koran, if you kill one innocent person, then you have killed the whole of humanity".^[25]
In 2010, Naik said that he had been quoted out of context regarding the remarks on terrorism. "As far as terrorist is concerned," he said, "I tell the Muslims that every Muslim should be a terrorist. ... What is the meaning of the word terrorist? Terrorist by definition means a person who terrorises. So in this context every Muslim should be a terrorist to each and every anti-social element. I’m aware that terrorist is more commonly used for a person who terrorises innocent human beings. So in this context no Muslim should ever terrorise a single innocent human being."^[27]
In a lecture delivered on 31 July 2008 on Peace TV, Naik commented on the attacks of 11 September: "it is a blatant, open secret that this attack on the Twin Towers was done by George Bush himself".^[28]

Propagation of other faiths in Islamic states

Dr Naik says that propagation of other religions within an Islamic state is forbidden while he appreciates people of other religions allowing Muslims to freely propagate Islam in their country. Naik explains this by saying that, for example, mathematics teachers must teach that 2+2=4 and not 2+2=3 or 5. Likewise, Naik argues, “regarding building of churches or temples, how can we allow this when their religion is wrong and when their worshipping is wrong?”^[29]

Other countries

Visit to Australia and Wales

In 2004 Naik, at the invitation of the Islamic Information and Services Network of Australasia, made an appearance at Melbourne University, where he argued that only Islam gave women true equality.^[30] He said the more "revealing Western dress" makes women more susceptible to rape.^[31] Sushi Das of The Age commented that "Naik extolled the moral and spiritual superiority of Islam and lampooned other faiths and the West in general", further criticising that Naik's words "fostered a spirit of separateness and reinforced prejudice".^[32]
In August 2006 Naik's visit and conference in Cardiff caused controversy when Welsh MP David Davies called for his appearance to be cancelled. He said Naik was a "hate-monger", and that his views did not deserve a public platform; Muslims from Cardiff, however, defended Naik's right to speak in the city. Saleem Kidwai, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Wales, disagreed with Davies, stating that "people who know about him [Naik] know that he is one of the most uncontroversial persons you could find. He talks about the similarities between religions, and how should we work on the common ground between them", whilst also inviting Davies to discuss further with Naik personally in the conference. The conference went ahead, after the Cardiff council stated it was satisfied that he would not be preaching extremist views.^[33]

2010 exclusion from the UK and Canada

Naik was denied entry into the United Kingdom and Canada in June 2010.^[34]^[35] He was banned from entering the UK by Home Secretary Theresa May after arranging to give talks in London and Sheffield. May said of the exclusion order, "Numerous comments made by Dr Naik are evidence to me of his unacceptable behaviour".^[34] Naik argued that the Home Secretary was making a political decision and not a legal one, and his lawyer said the decision was "barbaric and inhuman". He also claimed that his comments were taken out of context.^[36] Film producer Mahesh Bhatt supported Naik, saying the ban constituted an attack on freedom of speech.^[37] It was reported that Naik would attempt to challenge the ruling in the High Court.^[38] His application for judicial review was dismissed on 5 November 2010.^[7] Naik was forbidden from entering Canada after Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, warned MPs of Naik's views.^[35]

Reception

Naik was ranked 89 on The Indian Express's list of the "100 Most Powerful Indians in 2010".^[39] He was ranked 82 in the 2009 edition.^[40] According to Praveen Swami, Naik is "perhaps the most influential Salafi ideologue in India".^[41] Sanjiv Buttoo says he is acknowledged as an authority on Islam, but is known for making negative remarks about other religions.^[34] Sadanand Dhume writes that Naik has a "carefully crafted image of moderation", because of his gentle demeanor, his wearing of a suit and tie, and his quoting of scriptures of other religions.^[42] He is also mentioned in the book "The 500 most influential muslims – 2011" under honourable mentions.^{[citation needed]}

Criticism

In The Wall Street Journal, Sadanand Dhume criticised Naik for recommending the death penalty for homosexuals and for apostasy from the faith.^[43] He also criticised him for calling for India to be ruled by Shariah law. He added that, according to Naik, Jews "control America" and are the "strongest in enmity to Muslims." He maintained that Naik supports a ban on the construction of non-Muslim places of worship in Muslim lands as well as the Taliban's bombing of the Bamiyan Buddhas. Dhume argues that people reportedly drawn to Naik's message include Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan-American arrested for planning suicide attacks on the New York subway; Rahil Sheikh, accused of involvement in a series of train bombings in Bombay in 2006; and Kafeel Ahmed, the Bangalore man fatally injured in a failed suicide attack on Glasgow airport in 2007. He concluded that unless Indians find the ability to criticise such a radical Islamic preacher as robustly as they would a Hindu equivalent, the idea of Indian secularism would remain deeply flawed.^[43]
The Times of India published a profile of Naik entitled "The controversial preacher" after he was banned from the United Kingdom. According to The Times, "the fact is that barring the band of Muslims whose bruised egos Naik suitably massages through his Islam supremacist talks, most rational Muslims and non-Muslims find his brand of Islam a travesty of the faith". The Times also claimed that "the Wahabi-Salafist brand of Islam, bankrolled by petro-rich Saudi Arabia and propagated by preachers like Naik, does not appreciate the idea of pluralism."^[44]
The article quotes Muslim scholar Wahiduddin Khan: "Dawah, which Naik also claims to be engaged in, is to make people aware of the creation plan of God, not to peddle some provocative, dubious ideas as Naik does". He adds: "The wave of Islamophobia in the aftermath of 9/11 and the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan have only added to the Muslims’ sense of injury. In such a situation, when a debater like Zakir Naik, in eloquent English, takes on preachers of other faiths and defeats them during debates, the Muslims’ chests puff with pride. A community nursing a huge sense of betrayal and injustice naturally lionises anyone who gives it a sense of pride. Never mind if it’s false pride".^[44]
Indian journalist Khushwant Singh says he "disagree[s] with almost everything [Naik] has to say about misconceptions about Islam". Singh argues that Naik's pronouncements are "juvenile", and said "they seldom rise above the level of undergraduate college debates, where contestants vie with each other to score brownie points".^[45] Singh also says Naik's audiences "listen to him with rapt attention and often explode in enthusiastic applause when he rubbishes other religious texts".^[46]
Yoginder Sikand wrote in 2011 that influential sections of the Deobandi community in India were beginning to hold a negative view of Naik. They said he was not abiding by ijma (Islamic consensus) and qiyas (analogical deduction of the Quran and Hadith), and therefore, in Sikand's view, was undermining their authority.^[47]
Torkel Brekke, a professor of religious history in Norway, calls Naik a "very controversial figure" because of his rhetorical attack on other religions and other varieties of Islam.^[48] He writes that Naik is "strongly disliked" by many members of the Indian ulema for ignoring their authority and stating that anybody can interpret the Quran.^[48] Conservative Deobandi mullahs have accused Naik of "destroying Islam" by driving Muslims away from the correct religious authorities.^[48]
While being lauded by some of his Muslim contemporaries for his dawah work and for the fact he has brought people to Islam, he has been criticised for his opposition to taqlid; that is, the following of one of the four accepted madhabs, or schools, of Islam.^[49] Taqlid is one of the established principles of Islam, so fundamental in fact that some have accused those who reject it of "deviancy",^[50] a much weightier claim than the word might otherwise indicate. However, Naik's claims have been repeatedly challenged.^[50]^[51]^[52]^[53]^[54]
Khaled Ahmed criticised Naik for "indirectly support[ing]" Al-Qaeda by referring to Osama bin Laden as a "soldier of Islam".^[55] In 2008 an Islamic scholar in Lucknow, shahar qazi Mufti Abul Irfan Mian Firangi Mahali, issued a fatwa against Naik, saying that he supported Osama bin Laden, and that his teachings were un-Islamic.^[56]
Praveen Swami considers Naik to be a part of the ideological infrastructure created to feed "Tempered Jihad", which he defines as Jihad calibrated to advance Islamist political objectives.^[41] Swami argued that some of Naik’s teachings are similar to those of organizations advocating violence, although Naik himself emphatically rejects terrorism.^[57] According to Swami, Naik's IRF has proved to be a "magnet" for figures linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, while his message has mesmerised violent Islamists, and his works "help make sense of the motivations of Indian recruits to the jihad."^[41]

External links

Collection of Booklets by Zakir Naik in PDF format

References

^ Warikoo, Kulbhushan (2011). Religion and security in South and Central Asia. Taylor & Francis. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-203-84023-8.
^ ^a ^b "Dr. Zakir Naik". Islamic Research Foundation. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
^ Hope, Christopher. "Home secretary Theresa May bans radical preacher Zakir Naik from entering UK". The Daily Telegraph. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ ^a ^b Shukla, Ashutosh. "Muslim group welcomes ban on preacher". Daily News and Analysis. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ Warikoo, Kulbhushan; Religion and security in South and Central Asia, Taylor & Francis, 2010
^ Ramanujan, Sweta. "Beyond veil: Am I not a normal Muslim girl?". expressindia.com. Indian Express Group. 16 July 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2011. Archived 16 April 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Dr Zakir Naik vs (1) The Secretary of State for the Home Department (2) Entry Clearance Officer, Mumbai, India". British and Irish Legal Information Institute. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
^ ^a ^b Wahab, Siraj. "Spreading God’s Word Is His Mission". Arab News. 1 July 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ Lloyd Ridgeon (7 March 2001). Islamic Interpretations of Christianity. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-312-23854-4.
^ ^a ^b Thomas Blom Hansen (2001). Wages of Violence: Naming and Identity in Postcolonial Bombay. Princeton University Press. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-691-08840-2.
^ Hassan, Javid; Rasooldeen, Mohammed. "Media Urged to Counter Anti-Muslim Bias". Arab News. 9 October 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ See, for example: "Questions Commonly Asked by Non-Muslims – VI : Prohibition of Alcohol", "Was Islam Spread by the Sword?", "Are Ram And Krishna Prophets Of God?".
^ Mazumdar, Sudip. "Beaming In Salvation". MSNBC. 23 January 2006. Archived 18 January 2006.
^ Ahmad, Syed Neaz. "Peace TV Reaching 50 Million Viewers – Dr. Zakir Naik". Saudi Gazette. 23 February 2007. Archived 7 July 2007.
^ "Conceived and Developed by Dr. Zakir Naik:". Islamic Research Foundation. Retrieved 16 April 2011. Archived 16 April 2011.
^ Ahmed, Khaled. "Word for word: William Campbell versus Zakir Naik". Daily Times (Pakistan). 8 January 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
^ Ghafour, P.K. Abdul. "New Muslims on the rise in US after Sept. 11". Arab News. 3 November 2002. Archived 17 September 2003.^{[dead link]}
^ Samuel, Geoffrey; Rozario, Santi. "Contesting science for Islam: the media as a source of revisionist knowledge in the lives of young Bangladeshis" (subscription required). Contemporary South Asia 18 (4): 427–441. December 2010. doi:10.1080/09584935.2010.526196.
^ "No religion spreads violence: Sri Sri". The Times of India. 22 January 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
- For a video of the debate, see "Debate between Zakir Naik and Ravi Shanker". Internet Archive. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
^ "Controversial Islamic preacher speaks at Union". The Oxford Student. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011. Archived 21 July 2011.
- See also: Syal, Rajeev. "Banned scholar Zakir Naik to address Oxford Union by satellite". The Guardian. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
^ Ahmad, Syed Neaz. "Justice, peace & unity: The cornerstone of Islam". Saudi Gazette. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ Attaullah, Munir. "View: The Muslim predicament II". Daily Times (Pakistan). 21 March 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
^ Quran and Modern Science – Conflict or Conciliation? – Part Two – by Dr. Zakir Naik
^ "Maldivian renounces Islam, gets attacked by Zakir Naik audience". Haveeru Daily. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ ^a ^b Von Drehle, David; Ghosh, Bobby: "An Enemy Within: The Making of Najibullah Zazi". Time. p. 2. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
^ "Zakir Naik, Every Muslim Should be a Terrorist, YouTube". Retrieved 27 October 2011.
^ Deshmane, Akshay. "Zakir Naik will fight back as Canada bans him too". Daily News & Analysis. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ "Indian Muslim Cleric Zakir Naik: 9/11 Was Carried Out by George Bush Himself" (video of lecture). Middle East Media Research Institute. (subscription required). referring to various 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Transcript. Archived 7 August 2011.
- See also: Leppard, David. "Muslim preacher of hate is let into Britain". The Times. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
^ "Who’s responsible for the stereotypes of Islam?" by Sudheendra Kulkarni; The Indian Express, 1 April 2007
^ Das, Sushi. "Islam's gender debate at the fore". The Age. 30 August 2004. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ Aly, Waleed. "The clash of ignorance". The Age. 6 August 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ Das, Sushi. "Between two worlds". The Age. 28 July 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011. See author profile.
^ "Row over Islamic preacher". South Wales Echo. 16 August 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
- Bodinger, Katie. "Cleric's address hailed a success". South Wales Echo. 21 August 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Indian preacher Zakir Naik is banned from UK". BBC News. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
^ ^a ^b Carlson, Kathryn Blaze. "Controversial Muslim televangelist Zakir Naik banned from Toronto conference". National Post. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2011. Archived 7 August 2011.

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dr.zakir naik

Zakir Naik

Contents

Biography

Lectures and debates

Peace conference

Naik's views

Biological evolution

Apostasy

Terrorism

Propagation of other faiths in Islamic states

Other countries

Visit to Australia and Wales

2010 exclusion from the UK and Canada

Reception

Criticism

External links

References

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