Biography Zakir Abdul Karim Naik was born on 18 October 1965 in Mumbai, India. He attended St. Peter's High School in Mumbai. Later he enrolled at Kishinchand Chellaram C ollege, before studying medicine at Topiwala National Medical College and Nair H ospital and later the University of Mumbai, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medi cine and Surgery (MBBS).[2] His wife, Farhat Naik, works for the women's section of the IRF.[6] In 1991 he started working in the field of Dawah, and founded the IRF.[7] Naik s ays he was inspired by Ahmed Deedat, an Islamic preacher, having met him in 1987 .[8] (Naik is sometimes referred to as "Deedat plus", a label given to him by De edat himself.)[8][9] Naik says that his goal is to "concentrate on the educated Muslim youth who have become apologetic about their own religion and have starte d to feel the religion is outdated."[10] He considers it a duty of every Muslim to remove perceived misconceptions about Islam and to counter what he views as t he Western media's anti-Islamic bias in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.[11] Some of his articles are published in magazine s such as Islamic Voice.[12] Anthropologist Thomas Blom Hansen has written that Naik's style of memorising th e Quran and Hadith literature in various languages, and his related missionary a ctivity, has made him extremely popular in Muslim and non-Muslim circles.[10] Ma ny of his debates are recorded and widely distributed in video and DVD media and online. His talks are usually recorded in English and broadcast on weekends on several cable networks in Mumbai's Muslim neighbourhoods, and on the Peace TV ch annel, which he co-produces.[13][14] Topics he speaks on include: "Islam and Mod ern Science", "Islam and Christianity", and "Islam and secularism". Naik is the founder of the Islamic International School in Mumbai.[15] Lectures and debates Naik has held many debates and lectures around the world. One of Naik's most-cit ed debates was with William Campbell in Chicago in April 2000 on the topic of "T he Qur'an and the Bible: In the Light of Science".[16] Naik has said that "despite the strident anti-Islam campaign, 34,000 Americans h ave embraced Islam from September 2001 to July 2002." He says Islam is a religio n of reason and logic, and that the Quran contains 1000 verses relating to scien ce, which he says explains the number of Western converts.[17] He argues that sc ientific theories were prophesised by the Quran. For example, he says certain ve rses of the Quran accurately describe embryological development.[18] On 21 January 2006 Naik held an inter-religious dialogue with Sri Sri Ravi Shank ar in Bangalore about the concept of God in Islam and Hinduism.[19] In February 2011 Naik addressed the Oxford Union via video link from India.[20] Peace conference Every year since November 2007 Naik has led a 10-day Peace Conference at Somaiya Ground, Sion, Mumbai. Lectures on Islam have been presented by Naik and twenty other Islamic scholars.[21] Naik's views Biological evolution Naik has said that the theory of evolution is "only a hypothesis, and an unprove n conjecture at best".[22] According to Naik, most scientists "support the theor y, because it went against the Bible not because it was true."[23] Apostasy

Naik has said that any Muslim is free to convert from Islam if the person so cho oses, but added that if a Muslim converts and then speaks against Islam or propa gates another religion, it should be considered treason. Naik stated that under Islamic law this is punishable by death[24] Terrorism Naik's views and statements on terrorism have at times been criticised in the me dia. In a YouTube video, speaking of Osama bin Laden, Naik said that he would no t criticise bin Laden because he had not met him and did not know him personally . He added that, "If bin Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him," and that "If he is terrorizing the terrorist, if he is terrorizing America the terro rist, biggest terrorist I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The t hing is that if he is terrorizing the terrorist, he is following Islam. Whether he is or not, I don t know, but you as Muslims know that, without checking up, lay ing allegations is also wrong."[25][26] When Time hinted that this remark could have inspired Najibullah Zazi's terrorist activities, Naik insisted: "I have alw ays condemned terrorism, because according to the glorious Koran, if you kill on e innocent person, then you have killed the whole of humanity".[25] In 2010, Naik said that he had been quoted out of context regarding the remarks on terrorism. "As far as terrorist is concerned," he said, "I tell the Muslims t hat every Muslim should be a terrorist. ... What is the meaning of the word terr orist? Terrorist by definition means a person who terrorises. So in this context every Muslim should be a terrorist to each and every anti-social element. I m awa re that terrorist is more commonly used for a person who terrorises innocent hum an beings. So in this context no Muslim should ever terrorise a single innocent human being."[27] In a lecture delivered on 31 July 2008 on Peace TV, Naik commented on the attack s of 11 September: "it is a blatant, open secret that this attack on the Twin To wers was done by George Bush himself".[28] Propagation of other faiths in Islamic states Dr Naik says that propagation of other religions within an Islamic state is forb idden while he appreciates people of other religions allowing Muslims to freely propagate Islam in their country. Naik explains this by saying that, for example , mathematics teachers must teach that 2+2=4 and not 2+2=3 or 5. Likewise, Naik argues, regarding building of churches or temples, how can we allow this when the ir religion is wrong and when their worshipping is wrong? [29] Other countries Visit to Australia and Wales In 2004 Naik, at the invitation of the Islamic Information and Services Network of Australasia, made an appearance at Melbourne University, where he argued that only Islam gave women true equality.[30] He said the more "revealing Western dr ess" makes women more susceptible to rape.[31] Sushi Das of The Age commented th at "Naik extolled the moral and spiritual superiority of Islam and lampooned oth er faiths and the West in general", further criticising that Naik's words "foste red a spirit of separateness and reinforced prejudice".[32] In August 2006 Naik's visit and conference in Cardiff caused controversy when We lsh MP David Davies called for his appearance to be cancelled. He said Naik was a "hate-monger", and that his views did not deserve a public platform; Muslims f rom Cardiff, however, defended Naik's right to speak in the city. Saleem Kidwai, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Wales, disagreed with Davies, statin g that "people who know about him [Naik] know that he is one of the most uncontr oversial persons you could find. He talks about the similarities between religio ns, and how should we work on the common ground between them", whilst also invit ing Davies to discuss further with Naik personally in the conference. The confer

ence went ahead, after the Cardiff council stated it was satisfied that he would not be preaching extremist views.[33] 2010 exclusion from the UK and Canada Naik was denied entry into the United Kingdom and Canada in June 2010.[34][35] H e was banned from entering the UK by Home Secretary Theresa May after arranging to give talks in London and Sheffield. May said of the exclusion order, "Numerou s comments made by Dr Naik are evidence to me of his unacceptable behaviour".[34 ] Naik argued that the Home Secretary was making a political decision and not a legal one, and his lawyer said the decision was "barbaric and inhuman". He also claimed that his comments were taken out of context.[36] Film producer Mahesh Bh att supported Naik, saying the ban constituted an attack on freedom of speech.[3 7] It was reported that Naik would attempt to challenge the ruling in the High C ourt.[38] His application for judicial review was dismissed on 5 November 2010.[ 7] Naik was forbidden from entering Canada after Tarek Fatah, founder of the Mus lim Canadian Congress, warned MPs of Naik's views.[35] Reception Naik was ranked 89 on The Indian Express's list of the "100 Most Powerful Indian s in 2010".[39] He was ranked 82 in the 2009 edition.[40] According to Praveen S wami, Naik is "perhaps the most influential Salafi ideologue in India".[41] Sanj iv Buttoo says he is acknowledged as an authority on Islam, but is known for mak ing negative remarks about other religions.[34] Sadanand Dhume writes that Naik has a "carefully crafted image of moderation", because of his gentle demeanor, h is wearing of a suit and tie, and his quoting of scriptures of other religions.[ 42] He is also listed in the book "The 500 Most Influential Muslims" under honou rable mention, in the 2009[43], 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions.[44] Criticism In The Wall Street Journal, Sadanand Dhume criticised Naik for recommending the death penalty for homosexuals and for apostasy from the faith.[45] He also criti cised him for calling for India to be ruled by Shariah law. He added that, accor ding to Naik, Jews "control America" and are the "strongest in enmity to Muslims ." He maintained that Naik supports a ban on the construction of non-Muslim plac es of worship in Muslim lands as well as the Taliban's bombing of the Bamiyan Bu ddhas. Dhume argues that people reportedly drawn to Naik's message include Najib ullah Zazi, the Afghan-American arrested for planning suicide attacks on the New York subway; Rahil Sheikh, accused of involvement in a series of train bombings in Bombay in 2006; and Kafeel Ahmed, the Bangalore man fatally injured in a fai led suicide attack on Glasgow airport in 2007. He concluded that unless Indians find the ability to criticise such a radical Islamic preacher as robustly as the y would a Hindu equivalent, the idea of Indian secularism would remain deeply fl awed.[45] The Times of India published a profile of Naik entitled "The controversial preac her" after he was banned from the United Kingdom. According to The Times, "the f act is that barring the band of Muslims whose bruised egos Naik suitably massage s through his Islam supremacist talks, most rational Muslims and non-Muslims fin d his brand of Islam a travesty of the faith". The Times also claimed that "the Wahabi-Salafist brand of Islam, bankrolled by petro-rich Saudi Arabia and propag ated by preachers like Naik, does not appreciate the idea of pluralism."[46] The article quotes Muslim scholar Wahiduddin Khan: "Dawah, which Naik also claim s to be engaged in, is to make people aware of the creation plan of God, not to peddle some provocative, dubious ideas as Naik does". He adds: "The wave of Isla mophobia in the aftermath of 9/11 and the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan hav e only added to the Muslims sense of injury. In such a situation, when a debater like Zakir Naik, in eloquent English, takes on preachers of other faiths and def eats them during debates, the Muslims chests puff with pride. A community nursing a huge sense of betrayal and injustice naturally lionises anyone who gives it a

sense of pride. Never mind if it s false pride".[46] Indian journalist Khushwant Singh says he "disagree[s] with almost everything [N aik] has to say about misconceptions about Islam". Singh argues that Naik's pron ouncements are "juvenile", and said "they seldom rise above the level of undergr aduate college debates, where contestants vie with each other to score brownie p oints".[47] Singh also says Naik's audiences "listen to him with rapt attention and often explode in enthusiastic applause when he rubbishes other religious tex ts".[48] Yoginder Sikand wrote in 2011 that influential sections of the Deobandi communit y in India were beginning to hold a negative view of Naik. They said he was not abiding by ijma (Islamic consensus) and qiyas (analogical deduction of the Quran and Hadith), and therefore, in Sikand's view, was undermining their authority.[ 49] Torkel Brekke, a professor of religious history in Norway, calls Naik a "very co ntroversial figure" because of his rhetorical attack on other religions and othe r varieties of Islam.[50] He writes that Naik is "strongly disliked" by many mem bers of the Indian ulema for ignoring their authority and stating that anybody c an interpret the Quran.[50] Conservative Deobandi mullahs have accused Naik of " destroying Islam" by driving Muslims away from the correct religious authorities .[50] Khaled Ahmed criticised Naik for "indirectly support[ing]" Al-Qaeda by referring to Osama bin Laden as a "soldier of Islam".[51] In 2008 an Islamic scholar in L ucknow, shahar qazi Mufti Abul Irfan Mian Firangi Mahali, issued a fatwa against Naik, saying that he supported Osama bin Laden, and that his teachings were unIslamic.[52] Praveen Swami considers Naik to be a part of the ideological infrastructure crea ted to feed "Tempered Jihad", which he defines as Jihad calibrated to advance Is lamist political objectives.[41] Swami argued that some of Naik s teachings are si milar to those of organizations advocating violence, although Naik himself empha tically rejects terrorism.[53] According to Swami, Naik's IRF has proved to be a "magnet" for figures linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, while his message has mesme rised violent Islamists, and his works "help make sense of the motivations of In dian recruits to the jihad."[41]