
Zakir Naik
Indian da'i and orator
Date of Birth | : | 18 October, 1965 (Age 59) |
Place of Birth | : | Mumbai, India |
Profession | : | Preacher, Motivational Speaker |
Nationality | : | Indian |
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Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (জাকির নায়েক) is an Indian Islamic da'i and orator who focuses on comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and Peace TV. He 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. Naik's Peace TV is banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom under hate speech laws.
Naik is currently a wanted fugitive in India, where, in 2016, the authorities charged Naik for money laundering while he was abroad in Malaysia; Naik did not return to India and became a permanent resident of Malaysia. Naik denies all charges. The National Investigation Agency attempted to issue an Interpol red notice for his arrest, which was refused due to insufficient evidence.
Early life and education
Zakir Naik was born on 18 October 1965 to Abdul Karim Naik and Roshan Naik in Bombay, India. He attended Kishinchand Chellaram College and studied medicine at the Topiwala National Medical College & BYL Nair Charitable Hospital and later the University of Mumbai, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS).
Career
In 1991, he started working in the field of dawah and founded the Islamic International School in Mumbai and the United Islamic Aid, which provides scholarships to poor and destitute Muslim youth. Naik's wife, Farhat Naik, is the president of the women's section of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF). He established United Islamic Aid, which provides scholarship to poor and destitute Muslim youth.
Naik said in 2006 that he was inspired by Ahmed Deedat, an Islamic preacher whom he met in 1987. (Naik is sometimes referred to as "Deedat plus", a label given to him by Deedat.)
On 21 January 2006, the Islamic Research Foundation, which Naik heads, founded Peace TV. It is a non-profit Emirati satellite television network that broadcasts free-to-air programming. It is one of the world's largest religious satellite television networks.
Lectures and debates
Unlike many Islamic preachers, his lectures are colloquial, given in English, not Urdu or Arabic, and he usually wears a suit and tie. Naik has held many debates and lectures and is said to "have delivered over 4000 lectures around the world" as of 2016. 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 circles. Many of his debates are recorded and widely distributed in video and DVD media and online. His 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. Topics he speaks on include: "Islam and Modern Science", "Islam and Christianity", and "Islam and secularism".
Quotes
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