Why Zakir Naik, the doctored preacher, is misinterpreting Islam
Dr Zakir Naik holds a degree of a medical doctor and in one recent interview, he claimed that his statement on Osama Bin Laden was "doctored".
He is a suspicious character today.
The Dhaka attack perpetrators followed Zakir Naik. The killers were inspired by his preaching. His "out of context" statement made someone so impassioned that they dared to kill many in the name of Islam.
Islam, a religion of peace and prayer, today has come under scanner again by some acts of terror and "erroneous" preaching of a doctor.
Dr Zakir Naik is a phenomenon. One will be surprised to know that he stutters a lot during general talks. So he recites a particular verse of Koran, that literally means "Oh Allah! Bless my voice and give powers to my words".
In his Islamic Research Centre, there are more sound scholars, who carry out research on all written texts in every religion and brief him extensively.
Today, he is an orator with exemplary knowledge. He holds a commanding memory which shines through in his statements and can amaze anyone by his page-para-specific recital of verses from non-Islamic religious scriptures. He can shred any argument by his vocal eloquence and eidetic memory.
But, at last, his arguments derive a conclusion of his choices.
He is a Sunni and his speeches clearly hint that he hates other sects of his religion. He doesn't like any mixture, be it Barelvi, Sufi or Ahmadiya.
His passion is the enemy of multiculturalism.
When he says ninety per cent population of Bangladesh knows of him and why to wonder if hatemongers stick to his preaching, he, in fact, is popularising his beliefs that have had him banned in many western countries.
He is not Osho, who openly challenges the roots of religion and idol worship. Dr Naik achieves his goal by tarnishing the imagery of other religions and hoodwinking the crowd to reach his own twisted conclusions.
In his most famous encounters with the Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, he almost terrorised the milieu by throwing unpalatable facts and minute details of Hindu religion to "prove" that he is right and others are wrong.
India has often seen leaders and phenomena challenging the system and demolishing the standard. It is always interesting to see how a man becomes an ideology unto himself and later blackmails the political and social system to accrue benefits. Religious fanaticism mostly starts from a distorted ideology. The scriptures and oral beliefs of a religion can take shape into a man's utopia, if he knows how to command the people accordingly.
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| The more Zakir Naik unveils the problems of other religions and proves his supremacy, the more would he propagate a one-sided view of religion. |
Dr Naik is a perfect example. But the land he is using to flourish his intellectual crop today has become more complex and critical. So now he has to face some challenges within his religion.
Islamophobia is a reality today. We normally accept that Muslims are eager to fight for their religions and they can easily be misused for any fanatic purpose. The second largest community of this world surely has many questions to answer.
In the age of both information and so much of misinformation, the truth can be hidden easily.
The more Zakir Naik unveils the problems of other religions and proves his supremacy, the more would he propagate a one-sided view of religion. He can garner popularity and fetch good results in terms of power and money, but he has to understand that while his views may be fine with the holy book, but the world is now a different place to live in.
Osama bin Laden fought his all wars hiding in caves and using video messages to terrorise the world. That his soldiers damage reputations of other religions and their practitioners in order to "save Islam", was what he wanted.
Wahhabis and other fanatics may rule over the minds of millions but the reality is that the world needs something else altogether.
Preachers of peace and harmony, not hatred and violence, are the need of the hour.
But, despite all the media bashing of Mr Naik, will he cool down and come up with a new view of world and its equal inhabitants