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Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (Arabic: زاكر نايك) (born: October 18, 1965) is an Indian Islamic scholar, public speaker, and writer on the subject of Islam and comparative religion. By profession, he is a medical doctor, attaining a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from Maharashtra, but since 1991 he has focused on preaching Islam.

Zakir Naik is also the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), a non-profit organization that owns Peace TV network.

Critics have decried the style and substance of his presentations.

Biography

Zakir Naik was born on October 18, 1965 in Mumbai, India. He is of Konkani descent.His first educational institution was St. Peter's High School (ICSE) situated in Mumbai. After which he joined Kishinchand Chellaram College in the same city. After his higher secondary degree he studied medicine at Topiwala National Medical College and at Nair Hospital in Mumbai. He completed his MBBS degree from University of Mumbai. In 1991 he gave up his activity as a physician and started working for Dawah or preaching of Islam.

According to Naik, the goal is to "concentrate on the educated Muslim youth who have become apologetic about their own religion and have started to feel that their own religion is outdated."

Naik says he was inspired by Muslim Scholar Ahmed Deedat who has called him 'Deedat Plus' . Deedat said that Naik had achieved in four years what he could not in forty years.

Lectures

Thomas Blom Hansen, a sociologist at the University of Edinburgh, has written that Naik's style of memorizing the Qur'an and hadith literature in various languages, and travelling abroad to debate Islam with theologians, has made him extremely popular in Mumbai. Although he usually speaks to audiences of several hundreds, it is the videotapes of his talks which are widely distributed. His talks are usually recorded in English, to be broadcast at weekends on several cable networks in Mumbai's Muslim neighborhoods, and on the channel Peace TV, which he copromotes. Topics he speaks on include: "Islam and Modern Science", "Islam and Christianity", and "Islam and secularism", among others. He is the president of the Islamic Research Foundation, which he founded.

Besides delivering numerous public talks in India, Naik has delivered more than 600 public talks in various other countries including United States, Canada, U.K., Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, South Africa, Mauritius, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Thailand and Guyana (South America).

Criticism

In 2004 Naik visited New Zealand and then Australian capitals at the invitation of Islamic Information and Services Network of Australasia. In his conference in Melbourne, according to journalist Sushi Das, "Naik extolled the moral and spiritual superiority of Islam and lampooned other faiths and the West in general. His words fostered a spirit of separateness and reinforced prejudice, but many in the audience laughed and clapped."

In August 2006, Naik's visit and conference in Cardiff (UK) were the object of controversy. Welsh MP David Davies called for his appearance to be cancelled and described him as a 'hate-monger'. According to the South Wales Echo, "Mr Davies said Dr Naik's views, which have included calling for the execution of Muslims who reject their faith and calling all Americans 'pigs', did not deserve a public platform." Naik's conference went ahead, with the Cardiff council stating it was satisfied that he would not be preaching extremist views.

Khushwant Singh who supported the ban on Salman Rushdie's book has said that he finds Naik's pronouncements as 'juvenile', adding that "they seldom rise above the level of undergraduate college debates" Singh has said that Naik and Muslims who listen to him are 'trivialising' Islam. He has praised Naik's memory but observes that Naik 'rubbishes other religious texts to extol' Islamic scriptures.

Ali Sina, the founder of Faith Freedom International believes Naik 'twists the truth and fools his audience'. Political Analyst Khaled Ahmed considers that Zakir Naik, by his criticism of other religions, and by his claims of Islam's superiority over other religious faiths, practices what he calls "reverse Orientalism" when discussing comparative religion.

See also

• Islamic Research Foundation
• Peace TV

References

1. ^ Islamic Research Foundation - Introduction (Dr. Zakir Naik)
2. Khushwant Singh (July 30, 2005). "Putting the clock back". The Tribune. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
3. http://drzakirnaik.com/Home/AboutMe/tabid/54/Default.aspx - Biography from the website of Zakir Naik constructed by his students.
4. ^ Hansen (2001) p. 177
5. ^ Spreading God’s Word Is His Mission - Arab News
6. ^ Mazumdar, Sudip (2006-01-23). "Beaming In Salvation". Newsweek International. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
7. Syed Neaz Ahmad (February 23, 2007). "Peace TV Reaching 50 Million Viewers – Dr. Zakir Naik". Saudi Gazette. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
8. "Scholar clears the air about Islam 'labels'" (PDF). Te Waha Nui. September 6, 2004. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
9. "Between two worlds". The Age. July 28, 2005. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
10. Row over Islamic preacher
11. Cleric's address hailed a success
12. Why Muslims lag behind - Khushwant Singh; retrieved Dec 26, 2007
13. Putting the clock back - Khushwant Singh (backup link for same article)
14. One man’s belief is another’s shackle - Khushwant Singh
15. Row over Islamic preacher
16. "Second opinion: Zakir Naik's 'reverse orientalism' —Khaled Ahmed's TV Review". Daily Times. December 16, 2003. Retrieved 2007-05-20.

• Hansen, Thomas (2001). Wages of Violence: Naming and Identity in Postcolonial Bombay. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08840-3.

External links

• Islamic Research Foundation (official website)
• Peace TV (official website)
• Zakir Naik Audio Links Directory of Naik's Lectures
• Lectures by Dr Zakir Naik A video collection of Naik's lectures

• Muslim scholars
• Sunni Muslims
• Konkani Muslim