ZAKIR NAIK – ‘DEED AT PLUS’ – IN NIGERIA If, by the time you are reading this, you are in Abuja and otherwise not engaged, it will do you a lot of good to proceed to the Abuja Velodrome near the National Stadium and listen to Dr. Zakir Naik, the Indian Muslim preacher who is visiting Nigeria this week. The lecture series in Abuja (originally billed for the Old Parade Ground near Defence Headquarters but relocated to the Velodrome) is organised by the same groups that Ramadan last year invited Shaikh Khalid Yasin to Abuja and Lagos. From Abuja, Zakir is proceeding to Lagos, much like Yasin’s schedule last Ramadan. The organisers have appealed to Muslims to bring along their Christian compatriots, and admission to event is free. It will be apt here to quote, at length, the literature about Dr. Naik himself, from his own PEACE TV (peacetv.in) and ISLAMIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION (irf.net) and his personal website ( zakirnaik.org): “A medical doctor by professional training, Dr Zakir Naik is renowned as a dynamic international orator on Islam and Comparative Religion. Dr Zakir Naik is the president of Islamic Research Foundation, Mumbai, India. Dr Zakir clarifies Islamic viewpoints and clears misconceptions about Islam, using the Qur’an, authentic Hadith and other religious Scriptures as a basis, in conjunction with reason, logic and scientific facts. He is 47 years old. “He is popular for his critical analysis and convincing answers to challenging questions posed by audiences after his public talks. In the last 17 years (by the year 2013) Dr Zakir Naik has delivered more than 2000 public talks in the U.S.A., Canada, U.K., Italy, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Botswana, 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. “He is ranked in the top 62 list of the ‘500 Most Influential Muslims in the World’ published by George Washington University in the year 2011 and 2012. He was also listed No. 82 in the ‘100 Most Influential People in India’ published by Indian Express in 2009 and listed No. 89 in 2010 amongst the billion plus population of India. He was listed No. 3 in the ‘Top 10 Spiritual Gurus of India in 2009’ and he topped this list in 2010. According to Google search engine Dr. Zakir Naik’s result varies between 5 to 12 million (which changes daily) which is not only one of the highest amongst the Muslim religious speakers but also one of the highest amongst any religious speaker in the world. “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, U.S.A., in April, 2000 was a resounding success. His Interfaith Dialogue with prominent Hindu Guru Sri Ravi Shankar on the topic “The Concept of God in Hinduism and Islam in the Light of Sacred Scriptures” held at Palace Grounds, Bangalore, on 21st Jan. 2006, was highly appreciated by people of both the faiths. “Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, the world famous orator on Islam and Comparative Religion, who had called Dr Zakir “Deedat Plus” in 1994, presented a plaque in May 2000 with the engraving ‘Awarded to Dr. Zakir Abdul-Karim Naik for his achievement in the field of Da’wah and the study of Comparative Religion. Son, what you have done in 4 years had taken me 40 years to accomplish, Alhamdulillah’. “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 and VCDs. He has authored many books on Islam and Comparative Religion.” The organisation that Zakir set up and nurtured to be a global leader in Islamic Da’awah, (irf.net/) is the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), based in Mumbai, India, is a registered non-profit public charitable trust. It was established in February 1991. It promotes Islamic Da’wah - the proper presentation, understanding and appreciation of Islam, as well as removing misconceptions about Islam - amongst less aware Muslims and non-Muslims. Peace TV lists its speakers to include, apart from Naik, the late Ahmad Deedat, AbdurRahim Green, Yassir Fazaga, Yusuf Estes, Bilal Philips, Hussain Yee, Fariq Naik (son of Zakir) among many others. Peace TV itself says the following about itself: “Telecasting ‘free to air’ state-of-the-art TV programmes in English, Urdu and Bangla, the TV programmes feature internationally famous scholars and orators on religion and humanity-centred topics such as: QUEST FOR PEACE: ‘War for Peace’ has become the unjust slogan of many tyrants and oppressors on this earth. True peace seems to elude humankind. Entertainment and corporate media do not provide the peace they proclaim. They have in reality made the people more fearful, lustful, violent and greedy. Escapism from faith in God, humane values and good deeds are their mirages. Islam means Peace – internal and external. It is essential, therefore, to know, practise and propagate Islam to attain peace in this life and the hereafter. MEDIA AND ISLAM: Islam, today, is the most misunderstood religion. It bears the brunt of misconceptions and hate propaganda. The powerful mass media, aligned to deceitful political and corporate interests, spread these misconceptions virulently worldwide. While portraying Islam, integrity and reliability are bypassed by the media with professional charm and finesse. Wise and apt Islamic viewpoints are seldom covered in the mainstream media, whereas aberrations by a few misled Muslims are highlighted. Muslims hardly have any hold or influence on major media, especially TV. They instead exhibit an apologetic attitude and an inferiority complex. REACH OF THE TV MEDIUM: Today, more than 20,000 TV stations around the globe reach out to 5 billion people worldwide, such that TV plays a major role in shaping public opinion. With more than US $400 billion invested in TV productions and distribution alone, it is serious business laden with cut-throat competition, political manipulations and corporate interests. Global scale media mergers in the industry have led to limiting the viewpoints having access to mass media, specially the Islamic viewpoint. This scenario needs to be countered with a global reach for the truth of Islam. As the Qur’an (Chapter 21 Verse 18) advises: “When truth is hurled against falsehood, falsehood perishes, for falsehood by its nature is bound to perish”. WHY PEACE TV: Peace TV is not just another Islamic TV channel. Nor will it promote any particular Islamic sect or dogma. Peace TV provides its viewers with state-of-the-art TV programmes be based on authentic teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith, backed by the best available media technology, creativity, research and operational management. Peace TV would be a respected global media outlet presenting Islam and removing misconceptions about Islam; promoting inter-faith dialogues, common teachings of scriptures of major religions and world peace. It would in sha Allah make both Muslims and non-Muslims realise the effectiveness of Islam in solving problems of humankind. Solutions, derived from their Creator - the All Aware. There is a promo video on Dr. Naik’s Nigeria tour on (zakirnaik.org/dr-zakir-naiks-nigeria-tour/). See you at the Abuja Velodrome at 10am and 3.30pm today.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 05:12:14 +0000
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