Mumbai-born Muslim cleric Dr Zakir Naik encourages inter-faith dialogue. His precocious memory allows him to quote from non-Islamic scriptures like the Bible and Manusmriti. He even holds up Shah Rukh Khan as a model Muslim, even though the star has admitted he doesn’t read namaaz five times a day and is married to a Hindu.
But is Naik really the ‘liberal modern’ Muslim his followers make him out to be or is he just a somewhat ‘subtle’ radical?
If you are enamoured by the televangenlist, it’s understandable. Wearing a suit instead of kurta-pajama, and speaking in English instead of Urdu does separate from the garden variety Muslim cleric.
However, look closer and what you see and hear is not pleasant.
‘Westerners Swap Wives Because They Eat Pigs’
Among the thousands of videos featuring televangelist Naik, there are several that give him away. There’s one where he explains why eating pork is haraam (not kosher) in Islam.
But take the video counter forward to 8 Mins 40 Secs, and the sermon takes an extraordinary turn. From there, to the end of the video, Naik explains how people in the western countries swap wives at will because they eat pigs, animals that he says, also swap their wives!
Factual Errors and Fabricated Facts
While his computer-like memory of inter-religious texts has impressed millions, he may not actually be as accurate as his followers take him to be.
The video below highlights many such instances wherein Naik has made factual errors or just fabricated facts to support his claims. His audience lapping it up, possibly because they just don't know better -
Rationlist Yet a Strong Radical
He positions himself as ‘rational’, often citing ‘scientific reasons’ to justify his bigotry, unlike the more conventional Saudi or extremist Muslim clerics who simply ask to be trusted blindly, but don’t be mistaken, he is every bit a Wahabi radical at heart.
In the following video, he defends the Osama Bin Laden orchestrated 9/11 attack.
If Osama bin Laden is terrorising the enemies of Islam, I am with him. If he is terrorising America, the biggest terrorist, then I am with him.
– Dr Zakir Naik
As a result of these statements, his entry into the UK was banned on June 18, 2010. The then Home Secretary of the UK, Theresa May condemned his comments on the 9/11 attacks and on Jews.
Use Condoms Only if a Woman ‘May Die’ While Conceiving
While there may be many, even in the so-called liberal Western communities against abortion, when it comes to the use of condoms, everyone encourages it. However, the following video unravels Naik’s backward Wahabic mindset.
Use of condoms is haram as it means killing of an innocent child. Only if there is medical certainty that if a woman gets pregnant, she will die, in that case one can use condoms.
– Dr Zakir Naik
Bad for Indian Muslims
Naik has a big following in India that runs into thousands. Despite being a Wahabi radical Muslim cleric, his reach exceeds that of the regular extremist Maulana since he has overcome the language barrier.
His preachings are not limited to Arabic (which most Indians can’t speak) or Urdu (which the younger generation in India has difficulty in understanding). He enjoys massive popularity among English-speaking Muslims in India.
Naik’s TV channel, Peace TV has over 100 million viewers across, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Bangladesh simply because he uses a more accessible language – English. And as a result, Wahabism is streaming into the Indian Muslim’s living room.
As it is, the Saudi brand of Islam is slowly and steadily gaining influence in India. But, this suit-wearing and English speaking Zakir Naik brand of “modern” conservatism is a major threat for Indian Muslims as it can very easily make radicalism look rational and liberal.
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