A girl says if you answer my last question, I will convert to Islam – Dr. Zakir Naikفتاة تقول اذا اجبت على سؤالي الأخير سأعتنق الاسلام – د ذاكر نايك
Zakir Abdul Karim Muhammad Naik[15][16] (born October 18, 1965, Mumbai, India) is an Islamic preacher, Indian Islamic preacher[17][18][19][20][21] and founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation ( IRF).[22][23][24] He is also the founder of Al Salam Channel.[25][26] He has been considered an “authority in the field of comparative religion”,[27] “perhaps the most influential Salafi ideologue in India”,[28] a “television preacher star and champion of modern Islam” and the world’s leading Salafi preacher.[29] Unlike many Islamic preachers, his lectures are colloquial in English, not Urdu or Arabic.[30]
Before becoming a public speaker, he trained as a physician[18], and has published booklets including lectures on Islam and comparative religion, and although he publicly rejects the idea of sectarianism in Islam, it is seen as one of the foundations of Salafist ideology,[28][31 ] Some sources consider him an Islamic extremist[17][21] who promotes Wahhabism.[20][29][32][33][34] His advocacy is currently banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia under anti-terrorism or hate laws.[35][36][37][38] His television channel Peace TV has also been banned in India,[39] Bangladesh,[40][41] Sri Lanka,[42] and is being considered for ban by Ofcom in the United Kingdom.[43][44]
Birth and upbringing
Zakir Abdul Karim Muhammad Naik was born on October 18, 1965 AD in Mumbai, India, to a Muslim family working in medicine. His father, Abdul Karim Muhammad Naik, was a surgeon and a social activist.[45]
During his school days, Zakir Naik was a smart student. He surpassed his peers with his iron memory and extreme intelligence. Mrs. Roshan – Zakir Naik’s mother – dreamed of her son becoming a heart surgeon like Dr. Christian Bernard, who was the first person to succeed in performing a human heart transplant in the world in 1967 AD. .[46]
While studying for his bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery, Zakir Naik asked his mother, “Do you want me to be like Sheikh Ahmed Deedat or Dr. Christian Bernard?” She answered wisely: “Both.”[46]
Zakir Naik married Mrs. Farhat Naik, who holds a master’s degree in commerce from the University of Pune, India, and is also a former principal of the International Islamic School in Mumbai, and at present she has become a preacher in Islamic advocacy activities like her husband.[46]
Zakir Naik had 3 children: Fareq, Dhikra, and Rushdi.[46]
Study and scientific upbringing
He studied medicine at the request of his parents, and graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Mumbai, but he soon left this profession and devoted himself to studying the Islamic religion, and the methods of preaching it, calling for it, defending it, and defending it. One of the requirements for this was the study of other religions, including memorizing their holy books and comparing them to Islam and their points of convergence and divergence with it.[47]
First, Zakir Naik mastered memorizing the principles of his Islamic religion from the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet’s hadiths. Second, he mastered the methods of logical argumentation, rational debate, and calm and sober rhetoric. Then he devoted himself to studying and comparing other religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, and the sayings of their scholars and theorists. He memorized them all and used their texts to defeat his opponents. And clarifying the correctness of the rulings of Islam in the issues raised, and the necessary mastery of many languages to serve its goals.[46]
His lectures and debates
Zakir usually talks about topics such as Islam and modern science, Islam and Christianity, Islam and secularism, Islam and Hinduism, Islamic preaching, and doubts about Islam. He gave more than 1,000 lectures. These lectures were held in America, Canada, Britain, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and others. Among his most famous debates was the one held on April 1, 2000 against William Campbell in the city of Chicago in the United States of America under the title “The Qur’an and the Bible in The Light of Science” (The Qur’an and the Bible in the light of Science), and his debate with Pastor Rukn al-Din Henry entitled “Was Christ Really Crucified?”.
Fame and popularity
He was ranked among the top 70 people on the list of “The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World,” published by Georgetown University in the last 10 editions (2011-2020).[48]
Zakir Naik ranked 82nd on the list of “100 Most Influential People in India” published by the Indian Express in 2009.[46]
His public speech in the Kishangani region of Bihar in India in 2012 AD is considered one of the largest human gatherings that gathered for a single preacher in history, as more than a million listeners attended it on that day at one level.[46]
Establishing and managing the “Peace TV Network,” which is one of the largest religious networks viewed around the world, and broadcasts in English, Urdu, Bengali, and Chinese. In January 2006, the channel was launched in the English version, and the number of viewers reached 100 million viewers, a quarter of the viewers were non-Muslims.[46]
His opinions
Naik says his goal is to “focus on educated Muslim youth who are beginning to feel that the religion is outdated.”[49] He considers it the duty of every Muslim to remove perceived misconceptions about Islam and confront what he sees as anti-Islamic bias in the Western media in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.[50] “Despite the harsh anti-Islam campaign, 34,000 Americans converted to Islam from September 2001 to July 2002,” Naik said, according to Naik: “Islam is a religion of reason and logic, and the Qur’an contains 1,000 verses related to science, which explains the number of Western converts.”[51] ]). Some of his articles are published in magazines such as Islamic Voice.[52]
Music
Nike equates music with alcohol; He says both are toxic. Naik also condemned dancing and singing; Because he believes that they are prohibited matters in Islam.[36]
Punishment for theft
Naik said that the guilty should be punished and the chopping off of the hands of thieves should be accepted; He also recommended that the United States implement this provision
in order to reduce crime.[36]
Women’s rights
Naik states that it is permissible to beat one’s wife “gently”, and argues that “as far as the family is concerned, the man is the leader”, therefore, he has the right “but he must beat his wife gently”.[34][36][53][54][55]
homosexuality
Naik referred to the homosexual community as “sick people with mental problems” and said “it is because of watching pornographic films, TV channels should be blamed”[36] “and according to the Qur’an and Sunnah”, Naik recommends “death punishment” for homosexuals. [56][57]
Biological evolution
Naik rejected Darwin’s theory of evolution,[36] Naik said that the theory of evolution is “a mere hypothesis, and an unproven conjecture at best”[58], and according to Naik, most scientists “support the theory, only because it contradicts the Bible—not because True”[59], Naik also argues that scientific theories were predicted in the Qur’an and, for example, stated in 2010 that some verses of the Qur’an accurately describe embryonic development.
Among Naik’s statements: “What Darwin said was just a theory,” “There is no book that says the truth about evolution,” “All books say the theory of evolution,” and he added, “There is not a single statement in the Qur’an that science has proven wrong so far.” Hypothesis contradicts the Qur’an,” “Theories conflict with the Qur’an,” “There is not a single scientific fact mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that conflicts with established science, but it may conflict with theories.”[36]
Media criticism
Naik described the media as: “the most important and most dangerous tool in the world, which turns black into white and the villain into a hero,” and suggested that “we must use the same media to remove misconceptions, misquotations, misinterpretations, and misinformation about Islam.”[60] Naik believes that Western powers and the media are playing a double standard strategy, describing Muslims as extremists and fundamentalists to distort the reputation of Islam[61]. He said: “The greatest damage to the image of Islam today is by the international media, which throws misconceptions at it day and night using a set of strategies. “The international media, whether print, audio, video or online, uses a number of strategies to distort Islam by first capturing the black sheep of the Muslim community and then portraying them as if they were normal Islam.” Naik also claimed that the “third and fourth” strategy By international media: “choosing a word from the Qur’an or Sunnah and interpreting it incorrectly,” and “distorting Islam by saying something that does not belong to it.”
He criticizes the portrayal of Muslims in films, saying: “Hundreds of films have been produced in Hollywood to distort the image of Islam to the point that a non-Muslim becomes afraid when he hears a Muslim say, ‘Allahu Akbar’; Thinking it would kill him, if anyone really wanted to know how good Islam was, they should study its original sources; The Holy Qur’an and the Noble Hadith, instead of looking at his followers (Muslims), as is the case with a car driver whose reckless driving must have caused him an accident and not the modern Mercedes he was driving, believes that the best ideal Muslim is the last Messenger, who is the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. May God bless him and grant him peace.
He also criticized the media for “picking up Muslims who criticized Islam, like Salman Rushdie, and giving them awards,” saying, “If a Muslim does something great, they may give him credit but ignore his religion or change his Muslim name,” such as the Aristotle of the East, Avicenna, who was His real name is “Ali Ibn Sina.”[60]
Other religions
Apostasy
Naik believes that Muslims who leave Islam should not necessarily receive death sentences, but under Islamic law, those who leave Islam[36] and thus “spread non-Islamic doctrine and speak against Islam” should be executed.[62][63] Another source says that according to Naik: “There is no death penalty for apostates in Islam…until the apostate starts preaching his new religion: then he can be executed.”[29]
Strive or Struggle
In a lecture he delivered at the University of The Gambia,[64][65] Zakir strongly condemned the atrocities around the world in the name of jihad, where innocent people lost their lives, saying: “Jihad is misunderstood by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Jihad means struggle for… To improve society, the best form of jihad is to struggle against non-Muslims, using the teachings of the Qur’an; To the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and to God Almighty, Islam means peace.” According to Naik, killing any innocent person, whether Muslim or not, is prohibited by Islam, while condemning the double standards, which according to him are played by Western powers and media that label Muslims as extremists and fundamentalists.
He said that even in Islamic jihad, there are rules and regulations that determine when and how to kill a person, which he considered completely contradictory to what is currently happening around the world, by some groups that claim to be fighting for jihad.[61]
In another lecture given in Dubai, Naik mentioned that the most poorly translated and misunderstood word about Islam by non-Muslims and even some Muslims is “jihad,” which, according to him, has nothing to do with the phrase “holy war.” He says that “this was not actually used in the Qur’an or Sunnah and was first used by the Crusaders who killed millions in the name of Christianity.” He added that the word “jihad” actually means struggle against evil tendencies, making society better, defending oneself on the battlefield, and against oppression.[60]
The September 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden, and terrorism
In a July 31, 2008 lecture on Peace TV, Naik commented on the September 11 attacks: “It is an open and well-known secret that this attack on the Twin Towers was carried out by George Bush himself.”[66] He also said that “even a fool would know” that the September 11 attacks were an “inside job” organized by US President George Bush.[20][29][32][33][34][67]
The United States denounced his views on 9/11[68] and
He was banned from entering the United Kingdom and Canada.[69][70]
His opinions and statements on terrorism have often been criticized in the media, and speaking about Osama bin Laden, when Naik was asked if bin Laden was a terrorist, he stated that he had no opinion because he had not met him,[71] nor interrogated him, nor was he a friend, nor an enemy. He said: He believes in examining information before passing it on to another person.[72] However, Naik continued, saying: “If he is fighting the enemies of Islam, then I am with him. I do not know him personally. If he is terrorizing America, the largest force of terrorism, then I am with him. Every Muslim must be a terrorist, since if he is terrorizing a terrorist, then he follows… Islam.”[23][35][36]
In 2010, Naik said he was taken out of context regarding comments on terrorism; “Regarding terrorism,” he said, “tell Muslims that every Muslim must be a terrorist… What is the meaning of the word terrorist?” Terrorist by definition means a person who terrorizes. So in this context, every Muslim should be a terrorist for every anti-social element. I realize that the term terrorist is more commonly used for someone who terrorizes innocent human beings. Therefore, in this context, it is not permissible for any Muslim to terrorize a single innocent human being.”[36][73][74]
Naik stated that Hitler, “who was not a Muslim, was the greatest terrorist in the world and had burned 46 million Jews.”[60]
Islamic country
Naik described ISIS as the “anti-Islamic state in Iraq and Syria” and said that enemies of Islam are promoting ISIS. He also added: “We should not say ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), we should say AISIS (Anti-Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). Because they are hostile to Islam. I ask all Muslims in the world, as well as the Islamic media: please do not help the enemies of Islam attack Islam.” He added, “If you check, you will know that I am completely against terrorism.” I am against the killing of any innocent human being.”[60][75][76] Naik opposed the move taken by the US government to launch an attack on ISIS in Syria and Iraq, while strongly condemning the actions of the Islamic State.[61] In another lecture in Dubai, he said: “It is not correct to say that ISIS or the Islamic State killed innocent Syrians or Iraqis. “We must say that the anti-Islamic state is killing them because the Qur’an affirms that whoever kills an innocent person is as if he is killing all of humanity, and whoever saves one person – whatever his religion, is as if he is saving all of humanity,” he said.
BJP and Narendra Modi
On 11 May 2019, in an interview with Week magazine, Zakir Naik harshly criticized Narendra Modi and the BJP for what he saw as false accusations and propaganda against him for political purposes, and said he was being targeted because of his popularity. Furthermore, he stated that he would not return to India while Modi is in power, as the Prophet Muhammad did in the Hijra.[77] He also described Modi and the BJP as a threat to the security of Indian Muslims, calling him a “liar” and “India’s number one terrorist according to Google”. He also invited Modi to participate in a discussion with him on Hinduism.[78] In 2016, Naik had praised Narendra Modi, saying: “I am totally with him” as he is the first Indian Prime Minister to have visited many Muslim-majority countries.