69 Facts About Zakir Naik

1.

Zakir Abdul Karim Naik was born on 18 October 1965 and is an Indian Islamic televangelist, public orator who focuses on comparative religion.

2.

Zakir Naik is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation and the Peace TV Network.

3.

Zakir Naik is a well-known figure in the Islamic world, and while he does not claim to be a follower of any one school of thought in Islam, he is most closely associated with the Salafi school of thought.

4.

Zakir Naik was born on 18 October 1965 to Abdul Karim Naik and Roshan Naik in Bombay, India.

5.

Zakir Naik established United Islamic Aid, which provides scholarship to poor and destitute Muslim youth.

6.

Zakir Naik said in 2006 that he was inspired by Ahmed Deedat, an Islamic preacher whom he met in 1987.

7.

On 21 January 2006, the Islamic Research Foundation, which Zakir Naik heads, founded Peace TV.

8.

Zakir Naik claimed that this platform is a "halal" version of Netflix.

9.

Zakir Naik has held many debates and lectures and is said to "have delivered over 4000 lectures around the world" as of 2016.

10.

Zakir Naik's talks have been 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.

11.

On 21 January 2006 Zakir Naik held an inter-religious dialogue with Ravi Shankar in Bangalore about the concept of God in Islam and Hinduism.

12.

In February 2011 Zakir Naik addressed the Oxford Union via video link from India.

13.

Sushi Das of The Age commented that "Zakir Naik extolled the moral and spiritual superiority of Islam and lampooned other faiths and the West in general", further stating that Zakir Naik's words "fostered a spirit of separateness and reinforced prejudice".

14.

Zakir Naik said Naik was a "hate-monger", and that his views did not deserve a public platform.

15.

In 2014, Zakir Naik visited Gambia at the invitation of President Yahya Jammeh to attend the grand celebration of Gambian revolution's 20th anniversary.

16.

The organisers of Zakir Naik's speeches said their purpose was to promote harmony among people of various religions.

17.

Zakir Naik delivered a speech on Islamophobia on 9 August 2019 at the Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium, Kota Bharu, Kelantan which was attended by more than 100,000 people.

18.

Zakir 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".

19.

Zakir Naik 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 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States.

20.

Zakir Naik has said that "despite the strident anti-Islam campaign, 34,000 Americans have embraced Islam from September 2001 to July 2002".

21.

Zakir Naik equated music with alcohol and stated that both are intoxicating in nature.

22.

Zakir Naik has condemned dancing and singing because they are prohibited in Islam.

23.

Zakir Naik said that guilty people must be punished and accepts chopping off hands for stealing.

24.

Zakir Naik has recommended that the United States implements this logic in order to reduce its high crime rate.

25.

Zakir Naik says the LGBT community are experiencing a mental illness caused by the use of pornography propagated by television.

26.

Zakir Naik says that in accordance with the Quran and sunnah, he recommends the death penalty for homosexuals.

27.

Zakir Naik argues that scientific theories were prophesied by the Quran.

28.

Zakir Naik has called the media "the most important tool rather the most dangerous weapon in the world, which converts black into white and a villain into a hero".

29.

Zakir Naik believes that Muslims who convert from Islam should not necessarily receive death sentences, but that under Islamic law those who leave Islam and then "propagate the non-Islamic faith and speak against Islam" should be put to death.

30.

Zakir Naik said in an unequivocal term that, even in Islamic Jihad, there are laid down rules and regulations as to when and how to kill a person, which he noted, totally contradicts what is currently happening around the world, by some groups who claim to fight for Jihad.

31.

Zakir Naik added the word "Jihad" actually means to strive or struggle against one's own evil inclinations, to make the society better, in self-defense on a battlefield, and against oppression.

32.

Later in 2010, Zakir Naik said that he had been quoted out of context regarding the remarks on terrorism.

33.

Zakir Naik has been at the center of multiple controversies regarding the topic of terrorism, most notably for being seen as an inspiration for terrorists.

34.

In 1996, Zakir Naik gave a speech specifically about terrorism and addressing Osama bin Laden.

35.

Zakir Naik's comments received significant media attention and the British government banned him on the basis of these comments.

36.

Zakir Naik called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria the "anti-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" and said that the enemies of Islam were promoting ISIS.

37.

Zakir Naik criticized the media for "linking Islam" with the Orlando nightclub shooting.

38.

Zakir Naik criticized the partition of India and creation of Pakistan, calling it a tragedy.

39.

Zakir Naik holds that those who advocated the creation of Pakistan out of the northwestern provinces of colonial India were "not even practising Muslims".

40.

In 2016, Zakir Naik praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his frequent visits to Muslim majority countries, commenting "if his intention is to maintain unity between Hindus and Muslims and between India and other Muslim countries, I am totally for him".

41.

Zakir Naik described Modi's visits as favourable for India, believing it could attract foreign investment.

42.

In 2019, in an interview in Week magazine, Zakir Naik strongly criticized Modi and the BJP for what he called false charges and propaganda against him for political purposes, and said that he is targeted for his popularity.

43.

Zakir Naik stated that he would not return to India while Modi remained in power, drawing parallels with the example of Muhammad in Hijrah.

44.

Zakir Naik claimed on 11 January 2020 that the Modi government approached him in September 2019 through an envoy and offered to provide him "safe passage" to India if he spoke in support of the government's move to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

45.

Zakir Naik was ranked 89 on The Indian Express's list of the "100 Most Powerful Indians in 2010".

46.

Sadanand Dhume writes that Zakir Naik has a "carefully crafted image of moderation", because of his gentle demeanour, his wearing of a suit and tie, and his quoting of scriptures of other religions.

47.

Zakir Naik is currently a wanted fugitive from the Indian authorities on charges of terror financing, hate speech, inciting communal hatred, and money laundering.

48.

Zakir Naik fled the country in 2016, and India's National Investigation Agency, has tried, unsuccessfully, to convince Interpol issue a red notice for Zakir Naik's arrest due to insufficient evidence.

49.

Zakir Naik argues that his comments have been taken out of context multiple times.

50.

Author Praveen Swami argues that some of Zakir Naik's teachings are similar to those of organizations advocating violence, although Zakir Naik himself emphatically rejects terrorism.

51.

In 2008, an Islamic scholar in Lucknow, Shahar Qazi Mufti Abul Irfan Mian Firangi Mahali, issued a fatwa against Zakir Naik, claiming that he supported Osama bin Laden, and that his teachings were un-Islamic.

52.

The allegations of Zakir Naik spreading terrorism have created adverse reactions in India.

53.

However, Zakir Naik claimed that Rahil was removed from his office.

54.

The Times of India published a profile of Zakir Naik entitled "The controversial preacher" after he was banned from the United Kingdom.

55.

Indian journalist Khushwant Singh says he "disagree[s] with almost everything [Zakir Naik] has to say about misconceptions about Islam".

56.

Zakir Naik 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.

57.

Conservative Deobandi mullahs have accused Zakir Naik of "destroying Islam" by driving Muslims away from the correct religious authorities.

58.

Zakir Naik criticised him for calling for India to be ruled by Shariah law.

59.

Zakir Naik was denied entry into the United Kingdom and Canada in June 2010.

60.

Zakir Naik was forbidden to enter Canada after Tarek Fatah, founder of Muslim Canadian Congress, warned MPs of Zakir Naik's views.

61.

Zakir Naik argued that the Home Secretary was making a political decision, not a legal one, and his lawyer said the decision was "barbaric and inhuman".

62.

Zakir Naik claimed that his comments were taken out of context.

63.

The famous Hindi cinema producer Mahesh Bhatt supported Zakir Naik, saying the ban constituted an attack on freedom of speech.

64.

In 2016, during a press conference Zakir Naik claimed himself to be a non-resident Indian.

65.

In 2017, according to the Middle East Monitor, Zakir Naik was granted citizenship by Saudi Arabia, a matter in which King Salman intervened.

66.

On 18 July 2017, India revoked Zakir Naik's passport following a recommendation from the National Investigation Agency.

67.

In July 2019 Interpol refused to issue a Red corner notice against Zakir Naik after repeated requests by the Indian Government.

68.

The Indian government approached Interpol again in December 2019, alleging new facts and circumstances, but Zakir Naik argued that the new request superimposed claims of money laundering on the same religious activities of Islamic teaching that were the subject of the prior request.

69.

In 2021, Interpol rejected India's request for a Red Notice to provisionally arrest Zakir for questioning the very basis of invoking money laundering and hate speech charges against Naik in the country.