Renowned scholar Dr. Zakir Naik arrives Gambia today Africa » Gambia Wednesday, October 08, 2014 The world renowned Islamic scholar and a dynamic international orator on Islam and comparative religion, Dr Zakir Naik is expected to arrive in The Gambia this evening with a high-powered delegation including his spouse, as a special guest of the President of the Republic. Dr. Naik, the president of Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), Mumbai, is among the guests invited to the 20th anniversary of the July 22nd Revolution by His Excellency Sheikh Prof. Alh. Dr. Yahya Jammeh. A medical doctor by profession, Dr. Zakir Naik is visiting The Gambia for the first time with his wife, Farhat Naik, also a scholar. Known for his great persuasive skills, Dr. Naik clarifies Islamic viewpoints and clears misconceptions about Islam, using the Qur’an, authentic Hadith and other religious scriptures as basis, in conjunction with reason, logic and scientific facts. He is popular for his critical analysis and convincing answers to challenging questions posed by audiences after his public talks. While in The Gambia, Dr. Naik will grace the celebrations on Friday, conduct some public lectures as well as pay a courtesy call on the Gambian leader and the authorities of the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council. He is also expected to visit some projects sponsored by the President. The top-notch scholar will deliver lectures on selective topics such as terrorism and Jihad, an Islamic perspective; religion in the right perspective; Muslim’s choice: Da’wah or destruction; as well as the misconceptions about Islam, to be held at various locations in the country. He is also scheduled to hold an Islamic conference with Imams in The Gambia. About Dr. Naik Dr. Zakir Naik is the president of Islamic Research Foundation, Mumbai. He is 49 years old. In the last 18 years (by the year 2014), Dr. Zakir Naik has delivered over 2000 public talks in the USA, Canada, UK, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Botswana, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Guyana (South America), Trinidad, Mauritius and many other countries, in addition to numerous public talks in India. In April 2012, his public talk in Kisangani, Bihar, in India was attended by over one million people. Amongst the billion plus population of India, Dr. Zakir was ranked No.82 in the ‘100 Most Influential People in India’ list published by India Express in the year 2009 and ranked No.89 in 2010. He was ranked No.3 in the ‘Top 10 Spiritual Gurus of India in 2009’ and topped this list in 2010. He is ranked 70 in the list of the ‘500 most influential Muslims in the world’, published by George Washington University in the year 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. He has successfully participated in several symposia and dialogues with prominent personalities of other faiths. His public dialogue with Dr. William Campbell (of USA) on the topic, “The Qur’an and the Bible in the light of Science” held in Chicago, USA, in April 2000 was a resounding success. His Inter-faith dialogue with prominent Hindu Guru Sri Ravi Shankar on the topic: “The Concept of God in Hinduism and Islam in the lightly of Sacred Scriptures” held at Palace Grounds, Bangalore, on 21st Jan. 2006, was highly appreciated by people of both the faiths. Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President & Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, presented the prestigious Dubai International Holy Quran Award’s ‘Islamic Personality of 2013’ award on 29th July 2013, for providing outstanding services to Islam and Muslims at a global level in media, education and philanthropy, to Dr. Zakir Naik, along with a cash reward of UAE Dirhams one million (approx. Indian Rupees 1.7 crores) which he promptly donated to start a Waqf (endowment) fund for Peace TV Network. Dr. Zakir at 47 years was the youngest recipient of the award. Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, the king and head of state of Malaysia, conferred on Dr. Zakir Naik the highest award of Malaysia the ‘Tokoh Ma’al Hijrah, Distinguished international personality award for the year 2013’ for his significant service and contribution to the development of Islam, on 5th November 2013. Also presented to Dr. Zakir was a citation plaque signed by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak. Shaikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council of UAE and ruler of Sharjah, presented Dr Zakir Naik the ‘Sharjah award for voluntary work’ for the year 2013, for his voluntary services for Islam on an international scale, on 16th January 2014, at a special ceremony in Sharjah. Dr. Zakir Naik appears regularly on many international TV channels in more than 200 countries of the world. He is regularly invited for TV and radio interviews. More than a hundred of his talks, dialogues, debates and symposia are available on DVDs. He has authored many books on Islam and Comparative Religion. The ideologue and driving force behind Peace TV Network is Dr. Zakir Naik. He launched Peace TV English in January 2006, being the largest watched ‘Islamic’ as well as any religious satellite TV channel presently in the world, with over 100 million viewership of which 25% are non-Muslims. In its footsteps he launched Peace TV Urdu in June 2009 and Peace TV Bangla in April 2011. He plans to expand Peace TV network to cover the 10 major languages of the world. Meanwhile, a lineup of events have been drawn to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the July 22nd Revolution commencing October 10 Friday to the 19th. Already five heads of state have confirmed their participation on Friday at the invitation of their Gambian counterpart. Author: Musa Ndow
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 16:45:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015