Zakir Naik

File:Zakir naik.jpg Zakir Abdul Karim Naik
Dr Zakir Abdul Karim Naik
Date of Birth	October 18 1965
Occupation	Islamic Da'wah (propagation of Islam)
University Degree	M.B.B.S. (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery), University of Mumbai

History and Background

Dr Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (born October 18 1965) is an Indian public speaker and writer on the subject of Islam. He has published several books. He travels extensively and has been featured at many Islamic conferences.

He studied at St Peter's High School (ICSE) and Kishinchand Chellaram College. Later, he trained as a medical doctor at the Karnataka Lingayat Education Society's J. N. Medical College, Belgaum, Karnataka. He heads the Islamic Research Foundation, based in Mumbai. He is also the chairman of the IRF Educational Trust, and the president of Islamic Dimensions. Naik is the Founder of the Islamic International School [1], in Mumbai and Chennai.

His views

Naik claims to offer a rational understanding of Islam. Various aspects of Islamic law, Shari'a, he says, may seem arbitrary or unclear to non-Muslims, or non-practicing Muslims; Naik claims these rules to be sensible. Islam, in his view, is the best way of life because its teachings are specific and constitute practical solutions for the problems of mankind.

Islamic Dietary Laws

Observant Muslims do not drink alcohol, eat pork, or eat meat that has not been ritually slaughtered in the correct manner.

Naik argues that one reason pork is forbidden because the swine is a dirty animal by nature, and that its flesh is the source of many diseases:

"The pig is one of the filthiest animals on earth. It lives and thrives on muck, faeces and dirt. It is the best scavenger that I know that God has produced. In the villages they don’t have modern toilets and the villagers excrete in the open air. Very often excreta is cleared by pigs" [2].

"Eating of pork can cause no less than seventy different types of diseases. A person can have various helminthes like roundworm, pinworm, hookworm, etc. One of the most dangerous is Taenia Solium, which is in lay man’s terminology called tapeworm. It harbours in the intestine and is very long. Its ova i.e. eggs, enter the blood stream and can reach almost all the organs of the body. If it enters the brain it can cause memory loss. If it enters the heart it can cause heart attack, if it enters the eye it can cause blindness, if it enters the liver it can cause liver damage. It can damage almost all the organs of the body" [3].

Naik also suggests that one may become like the animals one eats. If one eats carnivorous animals, one becomes aggressive [4], if one eats pork, one acts like a pig [5]. Naik goes on to say:

"The pig is the most shameless animal on the face of the earth. It is the only animal that invites its friends to have sex with its mate. In America, most people consume pork. Many times after dance parties, they have swapping of wives; i.e. many say "you sleep with my wife and I will sleep with your wife." If you eat pigs then you behave like pigs" [6].

Hijab

Naik supports the practice of hijab, or modest Islamic dressing for women and as a code of conduct for them. He writes that in Islam, a woman is required to cover herself entirely except for her face and hands. He claims that Islam thus protects women from the lust of men. Men should also practice hijab by looking away from a woman if immodest thoughts enter their minds and by respecting other principles of the Islamic dress code. [7].

An example cited by Naik in this regard follows:

"Suppose there are identical twin sisters, both of them are equally beautiful. Once while walking down the streets of Mumbai, one of the twin sisters is wearing a miniskirt or shorts, while the other twin sister is wearing the Islamic hijab with the complete body covered with loose clothes except the hands up to the wrist. If both of them are walking and round the corner if there is a hooligan or a ruffian who is waiting for a catch, i.e. waiting to tease a girl, which girl will he tease? The girl wearing the mini skirt or the girl wearing the Islamic hijab? It is pretty obvious that he will tease the girl wearing the mini skirt." [8]

Polygyny

Naik argues that polygyny, or the Muslim practice of taking up to four wives is justified as it is in the best interests of both men and women. [9]. He believes, despite comprehensive statistical evidence to the contrary [10][11], that there are more marriageable women than men in the world and claims:

"Even if every man got married to one woman, there would still be more than thirty million females in U.S.A, four million females in Great Britain, 5 million females in Germany and nine million females in Russia who would not be able to find a husband. Thus the only two options before a woman who cannot find a husband is to marry a married man or to become public property. These are the only two options." [12].

According to Naik, the Qur’an is the only religious scripture in the world that says, "marry only one."

"The Qur’an is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase ‘marry only one’. There is no other religious book that instructs men to have only one wife."

Naik claims that in earlier times, Christian men were permitted as many wives as they wished, since the Bible puts no restriction on the number of wives, and that it was only a few centuries ago that the Church restricted the number of wives to one.

Naik points to this verse from the Qur'an 4:3 to explain the Muslim position on polygyny:

4:3 If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.

(Yusuf Ali Translation)

A Woman's Value As A Witness

There is a verse in the Qur'an (2:282) [13] which says that two female witnesses are equal to one male witness in certain situations.

According to Naik's interpretation, this verse deals only with financial transactions and murder cases. Naik says:

"In financial transactions, two men are preferred. Islam expects men to be the breadwinners of their families. Since financial responsibility is shouldered by men, they are expected to be well versed in financial transactions as compared to women. As a second option, the witness can be one man and two women, so that if one of the women errs the other can remind her." [14]

Naik extends this thought to murder cases and says:

"... the feminine attitude can also have an effect on the witness in a murder case. In such circumstances a woman is more terrified as compared to a man. Due to her emotional condition she can get confused. Therefore, two female witnesses are equivalent to one male witness."

Charity

Islam prescribes Zakaat, or obligatory charity.Ideally, every Muslim who has assets in gold, silver, livestock, savings and currencies that exceed the nisaab level should give 2.5% of those assets every lunar year in charity.

Naik believes that if Muslims followed Islamic law in this regard, poverty among Muslims could be eliminated. [15]

Prosecution of criminals

Shariah (Islamic law) prescribes capital punishment for crimes such as murder and rape -- unless the victim's family either forgives the culprit or receives blood money, or both.

Naik believes that these penalties are necessary to prevent rape and murder, and that these penalties would ultimately make for a safer society.

Permissible Food in Islam

In a 2006 TV appearance, Naik declared that it was haraam, forbidden, for Muslims to eat prasad. Prasad is food offered to Hindu deities and then shared with friends and family; it is believed to convey blessings and good fortune. Naik said that too many Muslims say Bismillah over the food, and eat it to please their friends. Naik says that this verse from the Quran:

6:121 Eat not of (meats) on which Allah's name hath not been pronounced: That would be impiety. But the evil ones ever inspire their friends to contend with you if ye were to obey them, ye would indeed be Pagans. (Yusuf Ali Translation.

forbids the eating of prasad.

Wishing Christians on Christmas

In a 2003 speech in Toronto [16], Naik asserts that it is haraam, forbidden, for Muslims to wish their Christian friends a merry Christmas. Naik believes that this common greeting acknowledges Jesus as a son of God and is thus blasphemy for Muslims. This view has both supporters and critics (see below).

Debates and Dialogues

Naik sometimes participates in debates as part of his public activities. His supporters find two events notable (see below).

Debate in Chicago

One of the featured activities at the 2000 Chicago ICNA Conference (a gathering of American Muslims) was a debate titled "The Quran & the Bible in the Light of Modern Science", between Naik and a Christian minister named Dr. William Campbell, The proceedings can be viewed here. [17]

Inter - Religious dialogue in Bangalore

An "Inter - Religious dialogue for Spiritual Enlightenment" was held on the 21st of January 2006 at Bangalore. Naik and the founder of the Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, spoke on the topic The Concept of God in Hinduism and Islam , in the light of sacred scriptures. [18] This was by far the biggest dialogue in which Naik participated.

During the event, Naik said, "religious tolerance is important in Islam but tolerance does not mean acceptance."

Naik's supporters

Naik supporters point with pride to his debates with speakers from other religions, and believe that he has decisively refuted them with his debating skills, scientific knowledge, and ability to quote from non-Islamic scriptures. According to the site FamousMuslims.com:

"Any Person who listen's [sic] to his question and answers session is going to be astonished and overwhelmed as he clarifies Islamic viewpoints and clears misconceptions about Islam, using the Quran, authentic Hadith reciting each and giving each Surat, Ayat number(by heart) and he has not only learned Quran and Hadith by heart but has also learned several Bibles, the Talmud and the Torah (the Jewish scriptures), the Mahabharata and the Bhagwat Gita (the Hindu holy books), and other scriptures and gives very satisfying answer in conjunction with reason, logic and scientific facts. He has learned hundred and thousands of pages from different books by heart and has the knowledge of scientific and mathematical facts and theories."

Naik's critics

Naik's views on prasad and Christmas wishes have been discussed on Indian television channels. During NDTV's televised debate "The Big Fight" (March 11 2006) [19] prominent Indian Muslims such as Salman Khurshid and Javed Akhtar reproved what they felt were Naik's mischievous attempts to radicalize the Indian Muslim community and promote communal strife.

Other moderate Muslims like Sheikh Taj-Al Halily and the Muslim Canadian Congress have also rejected this viewpoint on Christmas wishes. [20] [21].

As an example of Naik's strident style, critics point to Naik's strategy in the Bangalore debate. Naik criticized other religions and Hinduism in particular. His opponent, Sri Sri Ravishankar, avoided polemics and replied only that "to each their belief and it is not our position to question them."[22]

Critics also criticize his claims that there are more women of marriageable age than there are men.

See Also

• Islamic Research Foundation
• List of Da'ees
• Dawah
• Islam

External links

Pro-Naik:

• Islamic Research Foundation of Zakir Naik
• Dr. Zakir Naik Home Page
• Famous Muslims

Anti-Naik:

• Christian rebuttals to some of Naik's theories
• Challenge by Ali Sina