Zakir Naik

Zakir Abdul Karim Naik is a fast-talking Indian Muslim charlatan and Islamic demagogue, and the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).Dr Zakir Naik: Introduction & Timeline - IRF He has been implicated in the Dhaka Attack, money laundering schemes and is currently on the wanted list by Interpol and the Indian National Investigation Agency.Daily News & Analysis Zakir Naik appeals to Interpol to turn down red notice plea Sept 1, 2017
Naik is best known of his ability to fast-talk an audience dropping names (of non-existent persons) and pulling made up facts right out of his posterior to impress his gullible and mostly uneducated audience. In India he was known to have brought with him his own cheering squads from local mosques to applaud him so as to impress the rest of the non-Muslim attendees.
==Life==
Naik was born in Mumbai, India in 1965 to Abdul Karim Naik, a medical doctor and educator, and Pochamma Naik. He attended St. Peter's School, a coeducational Catholic parochial school in Mumbai. He went on to study at the Kishinchand Chellaram College, a junior and degree college, and at the Topiwala National Medical College, also in Mumbai. He interned at the Nair Hospital which is associated with the TNMC.Zakir Naik Biography He earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Mumbai. He is married to Fariq Naik and has two children, Fariq and Rushdaa.
In 1987 Naik met Ahmed Deedat, an Islamic preacher who made an impression on Naik so much so that Naik went into the Dawah (proselytization) business himself in 1991. In 2006, Naik founded Peace TV, an all English satellite television network based in Dubai, UAE, which promotes Islam as the solution for all of humanity. He also founded the Islamic International Schools in Mumbai, Chennai and Dubai. The schools in India had operated under the aegis of the IRF which ran the schools. Since the IRF has been banned in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act these schools have been declared illegal.Staff Reporter, Zakir Naik's Islamic International School in Mumbai illegal, says government The Economic Times June 15, 2017
Naik has claimed in the past to be an Islamic scholar and educated in comparative religion. After several rulings against him by Islamic courts he has refrained from claiming scholarship in Islam.
Naik belongs to the Salafist branch of Islam.Dehlvi, Ghulam Rasool Zakir Naik and Salafism: Why Islamic scholars can dismantle influence of extremist theology, July 14, 2016 Firstpost
==Islamic rulings against Naik==
Naik is known to misrepresent Islam to make it more palatable to a Western audience. This has not sat well with many Muslim councils. There have been about 50 fatwas issued by several Ulemas (councils of Islamic scholars, the specialists in Islamic jurisprudence) condemning him as a kafir (unbeliever). The Darul Uloom (Hanafi) one of the most respected Ulema in Sunni Islam, issued a fiqh (an Islamic judicial ruling) against Naik, indicating that while they respect him as an apologist (daii) to the Western World, that no one who is a already a Muslim should give credence to what he has to say on matters concerning Islam as he is not an alim (scholar). Naik, not knowing Arabic, is unable to read source material like the Qur'an, ahadith, Sirat and tafsirs which are all in Arabic. His knowledge of the Qur'an is through phonetic memorization. Without knowledge of the Arabic he cannot attain source knowledge. For this reason he was rejected as a ghair muqallidin (someone who cannot read source material and has no knowledge of the four schools of Sunni Islam). Which leaves one wondering if it is appropriate to spread falsehood about how good Islam is in the Western World to make converts yet be unable to instruct Muslims with the same falsehoods.
==Criminal investigation==
He is wanted for questioning in India in relation to a pay for conversion scheme conducted by the IRF. The allegations are that IRF and Naik paid Rs. 50,000 (~ $775) to each of the converts to Islam which was paid for by Saudi Arabia.Anand, Kunal Zakir Naik’s Men Paid Rs. 50,000 Each To Get Hundreds To Convert To Islam, Says Anti-Terrorism Squad India Times July 27, 2016 Paying for conversions is a criminal offence in India. He is also wanted as a person of interest in Bangladesh and in India in relation to the July 2016 Dhaka terror attack.
While originally claimed to have wanting to go to India, but claiming to be unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts, he has since dropped the pretense and has decided not to visit countries which might deport him back to India.
==Claims made by Naik==
* Naik believes that he can prove the existence of God through logical argument; but it requires a serious lack of critical thinking ability to be persuaded by him. One argument he made actually depended on the argument that "at the time when the Qur’ân was revealed, people thought the world was flat",Islam 101: Proving the Existence of Allah (SWT) to an Atheist thus adapting the old creationist slop about the Biblical scientific foreknowledge in . However, the Qur’ân itself alludes to the earth being flat in Qur’ân 18:86 and 18:90 which describe Dhul-Qarnayn reaching "the setting place of the sun" and finding it in a muddy spring.
* However, not only is his reasoning extremely fallacious, the premise is completely false, and his claim should set alarm bells ringing in anyone with an elementary knowledge of history. Aristotle proved the earth was spherical as early as the 4th century BCE;How do we know the Earth is spherical? the Qur’ân was written in the 7th century CE, by which time this knowledge had spread. 
* He also doesn't seem to believe in evolution, stating that "most scientists today do not agree with Darwin's theory" and explicitly denies that humans evolved.Someone give that kid a medal Other fallacies employed include loud shouting, "just a theory", that Darwin didn't have conclusive evidence (ignoring 150 years of further research), asking for more transitional fossils, straw man, argument from authority, ad hominem (making fun of the questioner's English, and shouting "you need to learn about science" when the questions start becoming too difficult. In other words, the creationist bs that you see from his Christian counterparts too.
* Naik has also claimed that "Science tells us that even plants can feel pain", but that humans cannot hear plants crying out in pain because the sound is not within audible range.http://www.islamicvoice.com/december.98/zakir.htm
* About the 9/11 attacks, Naik said that it was an "inside job" and done by W himself.https://www.memri.org/tv/indian-muslim-cleric-zakir-naik-911-was-carried-out-george-bush-himself
* When asked for proof of an afterlife, Naik attempted to prove the existence of an afterlife by claiming that since there might not be adequate punishment for a crime in this world, there must exist a place where such crime can be punished.Dr Zakir Naik - Question & Answer In English In Dubai 2017 This assumes perfect justice exists and begs the question. He asks how a person who robs and rapes with impunity would receive justice, while suggesting the Mafia as an example. Perhaps Zakir Naik might have found a better example if he had a greater knowledge of Islam. Mohammed the prophet of Islam raided Meccan caravans (Al-Qarada raid was one of these) which eventually precipitated the Battle of Badr. After the Battle of the Trench all men of Bedouin Judahite sub-tribe of Banu-Nadir were executed but their girls were distributed among Muhammad's companions. The night after the battle, after the torture by fire and execution of Kenana ibn al-Rabi, her husband, execution of her father Huyayy ibn Akhtab and her brother, Mohammed raped, but they call it married Safiyyah bint Huyayy in his tent while an armed guard was posted outside.
*Like other popular online Islamic speakers, Naik has engaged in historical revisionism regarding Islam in Iran, and has denied any atrocities taking place committed by the ummayid caliphate, while claiming that Iran was in the dark ages under Zoroastrianism, with him believing that Islam brought enlightenment and education.Was Persia Forced to Accept Islam? - Dr Zakir Naik YouTube 
== External links ==
* Official Website
* Official YouTube channel
===Video gallery===
==Notes==
==References ==
Category:9/11 truthers
Category:Anti-Christian bigots
Category:Anti-LGBT bigots
Category:Antisemites
Category:Atheophobia
Category:Conspiracy theorists
Category:Creationists
Category:Cult leaders
Category:Homophobes
Category:Internet kooks
Category:Living people
Category:Muslim apologists
Category:Muslims
Category:Pseudoscience promoters
Category:Racists
Category:Religious leaders
Category:Sexists
Category:Transphobes
Category:We're on a mission from God
Category:Webshites