5 ways Zakir Naik sold his curious brand of Islamic supremacy

Zakir Naik, the Mumbai-based doctor, is in the news for allegedly inspiring two of the five attackers who killed 20 people at Dhaka's Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1-2, 2016.

Bangladesh authorities, in the course of their investigation, found that one of the five attackers, Rohan Imtiaz, was a follower of Zakir Naik on Facebook. Rohan propagated Naik's views urging "all Muslims to be terrorists" on Facebook last year.

Another attacker, Nibras Islam, 22, was a follower of two alleged recruiters for Islamic State (Shami Witness and Mehdi Biswas) on Twitter since 2014.

After Bangladesh's claims, Indian authorities have promised to probe the matter. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the Mumbai police to submit a report on Naik. Police have been asked to review his controversial and inciting speeches and talks as well as the murky sources of his fundings.

Naik is currently on a religious tour to Mecca.

Who is he?

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Zakir Naik is the founder of Islamic International School and Islamic Research Foundation. Both the organisations claim to support Islamic students and scholars.

According to IRF's website, Dr Zakir Naik "clears misconceptions about Islam" and is well known for "critical analysis and convincing answers to challenging questions posed by audiences after his public talks".

Huge fan following

Naik has also received the King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) in 2015 awarded by the House of Saud, or the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

A medical practitioner, Naik also owns Peace TV, which claims to have a viewership of around 200 million. The channel, is legally banned in India, but is easily available through cable operators.

The 50-year-old televangelist is an influential figure and has a vast following. He has around 14 million followers on Facebook, a medium he frequently uses to propagate his ideas.

Banned in countries

However, Naik is banned in United Kingdom, Canada and Malaysia for his inflammatory speeches.

Naik's ideologies and speeches have been a matter of grave concern for governments around the world who are fighting the war against terrorism and Islamophobia.

After claims of him being the inspiration of two attackers involved in the Dhaka attack, Naik accepted the fact that he is famous in Bangladesh, but at the same time denied any connection with the attacks.

DR ZAKIR NAIK'S RESPONSE TO THE MEDIA ON BANGLADESH TERRORIST ATTACKS https://t.co/21QSUTWIwq

— Dr Zakir Naik (@zakirnaikirf) July 8, 2016

An impactful orator, Naik is known to frequently quote from religious texts from different faiths, thus trying to "impose Islamic dominance" over other religions. Although some claim that Muslim clerics hate Zakir Naik for his salesmanship, his followers love him for giving Islam "an aura of supremacy".

Unlike other preachers of Islam, Naik dresses in suits, wears a tie accompanied by a skullcap. His sermons are mostly in English, rather than Urdu or Arabic.

Time and again, Zakir Naik has been in the news for his controversial statements. Some of his polemical comments are reproduced below.

On Islamic State

Zakir Naik considers ISIS "un-Islamic", but doesn't feel Osama Bin Laden is a terrorist. According to Naik, "If Bin Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him. If he is terrorising America-the terrorist, biggest terrorist-I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is that if he is terrorising the terrorist, he is following Islam. Whether he is or not, I don't know, but you as Muslims know that, without checking up, laying allegations is also wrong".

On women's education

Naik feels that girls shouldn't be sent to schools. According to him, "Girls shouldn't be sent to schools where they lose their virginity by the time they pass out. Schools should be shut down. They should not be allowed to wear gold ornaments."

On evolution

Zakir Naik has also shunned the theory of evolution. In a speech, Naik claims that what Darwin said was only a "theory" and no book says that it was a "fact". "Hypothesis goes against the Qur'an - theories go against the Qur'an," Naik added.

On Sania Mirza

Zakir Naik has condemned Indian tennis superstar, Sania Mirza for dressing "inappropriately" during tennis matches. Naik said, "Sania Mirza should dress modestly while playing. No Indian politician would like to send his daughter to play beach volleyball even if it becomes an international sport."

On homosexuality

Despite being a medical practitioner, Naik believes that homosexuality is a disease.

"LGBT Community are patients suffering from a sinful mental problem," he said in this video. "It's because they watch pornographic movies. The TV channels are to be blamed," he said.