Muslim clerics in India unite against superstar televangelist Zakir Naik
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Muslim clerics in India unite against superstar televangelist Zakir Naik
Sunni and Shia clerics demand a ban on Naik’s TV channel, books and
online lectures for misinterpreting the Quran and misleading Muslims.
8 hours ago
Updated 3 hours ago
Uzair Hasan Rizvi
Superstar Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik claims to be a messenger of
peace and harmony. Through his channel, Peace TV, he broadcasts his
messages to around 200 million people across India and the world.
Despite this, he has never been able to unite the different branches,
sects and sub-sects of Islam in India. One sign of this is the fact
that these various groups continued to celebrate Eid on different days
earlier this month.
However, Naik seems to have finally united India’s Muslim clerics.
Showing unprecedented solidarity, Muslim clerics from all sects have
come forward to urge strong action against Naik and his channel for
misinterpreting the Quran and misleading Muslims with his evangelism.
Naik’s Islam is a particularly conservative brand of Salafism, the
ultra-conservative reform movement within Islam, which aims to go back
to what its proponents call the fundamentals of the faith.
In the aftermath of the July 1 attacks in Dhaka, there were reports
that Naik’s provocative speeches had inspired the militants behind the
attack in which 20 people, mostly foreigners, were killed. On Sunday,
Bangladesh banned Naik’s channel.
Many clerics in India have now demanded a ban on Peace TV, which is
broadcast from Dubai. In 2012, the channel was blocked in India after
the Intelligence Bureau red-flagged it for broadcasting malicious and
so-called anti-national content. However, illegal broadcasts continue
and Naik’s sermons are also available online, thus making it hard for
the government to limit Naik’s popularity.
Condemnation across the board
In his Eid sermon, one of the most powerful Muslim leaders in Bengal,
Syed Mohammad Nurur Rahman Barkati, criticised the Muslim
televangelist for misleading people and suggested a ban on all his
preaching materials in India. “Zakir speaks rubbish,” said Barkati,
who is the shahi imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan mosque. “He is only
amassing huge wealth. Who is funding him? The government should also
investigate this.”
Clerics from the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam, which gets its name
from Bareilly – the town in Uttar Pradesh where it originated from –
also accused Naik of delivering anti-Islamic speeches. During his Eid
sermon last week, Maulana Asjad Raza Qadri, head cleric of Bareilly,
demanded a ban on Naik for his hate speeches, and said that his
activities were against Islam and the culture of India.
In the past, Naik has criticised Sufism – the mystical form of Islam
that has been present in India for over 1,000 years. The preacher
condemned those who revere Sufi saints and visit their tombs as “grave
worshippers”.
Last year, members of the All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board, an
organisation of Sufi Muslims, protested at the India Islamic Cultural
Centre in Delhi after the centre invited Naik for a conference. The
members even lodged a complaint against Naik at a local police
station, and demanded that he be arrested under the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act.
Condemnation from Shias
Naik has also been criticised by the Shias – the second-largest branch
of Islam after Sunni Islam.
Shia clerics in Lucknow have accused the televangelist of propagating
ideas that attracted Muslim youth to extremism.
Prominent Shia Muslim cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad Naqvi demanded a
complete ban on Naik’s books, speeches and lectures. “Zakir Naik is
spreading terrorism,” he said. “Naik is a part of the Saudi
Arabia-funded Wahhabi terror network, which creates scholars and
clerics who in turn brainwash young Muslims.”
Another Shia cleric, Maulana Yasoob Abbas, led a demonstration against
Naik in Lucknow during which Abbas burned Naik’s effigy and labeled
him as anti-national and anti-religious. The protestors at this
demonstration carried a banner, which read: “Protest Against
Terrorism” and carried the photograph of Zakir Naik along with those
of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and Pakistan-based
Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed.
[Also look up: <http://scroll.in/article/
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RELIGIOUS MATTERS
Muslim clerics in India unite against superstar televangelist Zakir Naik
Sunni and Shia clerics demand a ban on Naik’s TV channel, books and
online lectures for misinterpreting the Quran and misleading Muslims.
8 hours ago
Updated 3 hours ago
Uzair Hasan Rizvi
Superstar Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik claims to be a messenger of
peace and harmony. Through his channel, Peace TV, he broadcasts his
messages to around 200 million people across India and the world.
Despite this, he has never been able to unite the different branches,
sects and sub-sects of Islam in India. One sign of this is the fact
that these various groups continued to celebrate Eid on different days
earlier this month.
However, Naik seems to have finally united India’s Muslim clerics.
Showing unprecedented solidarity, Muslim clerics from all sects have
come forward to urge strong action against Naik and his channel for
misinterpreting the Quran and misleading Muslims with his evangelism.
Naik’s Islam is a particularly conservative brand of Salafism, the
ultra-conservative reform movement within Islam, which aims to go back
to what its proponents call the fundamentals of the faith.
In the aftermath of the July 1 attacks in Dhaka, there were reports
that Naik’s provocative speeches had inspired the militants behind the
attack in which 20 people, mostly foreigners, were killed. On Sunday,
Bangladesh banned Naik’s channel.
Many clerics in India have now demanded a ban on Peace TV, which is
broadcast from Dubai. In 2012, the channel was blocked in India after
the Intelligence Bureau red-flagged it for broadcasting malicious and
so-called anti-national content. However, illegal broadcasts continue
and Naik’s sermons are also available online, thus making it hard for
the government to limit Naik’s popularity.
Condemnation across the board
In his Eid sermon, one of the most powerful Muslim leaders in Bengal,
Syed Mohammad Nurur Rahman Barkati, criticised the Muslim
televangelist for misleading people and suggested a ban on all his
preaching materials in India. “Zakir speaks rubbish,” said Barkati,
who is the shahi imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan mosque. “He is only
amassing huge wealth. Who is funding him? The government should also
investigate this.”
Clerics from the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam, which gets its name
from Bareilly – the town in Uttar Pradesh where it originated from –
also accused Naik of delivering anti-Islamic speeches. During his Eid
sermon last week, Maulana Asjad Raza Qadri, head cleric of Bareilly,
demanded a ban on Naik for his hate speeches, and said that his
activities were against Islam and the culture of India.
In the past, Naik has criticised Sufism – the mystical form of Islam
that has been present in India for over 1,000 years. The preacher
condemned those who revere Sufi saints and visit their tombs as “grave
worshippers”.
Last year, members of the All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board, an
organisation of Sufi Muslims, protested at the India Islamic Cultural
Centre in Delhi after the centre invited Naik for a conference. The
members even lodged a complaint against Naik at a local police
station, and demanded that he be arrested under the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act.
Condemnation from Shias
Naik has also been criticised by the Shias – the second-largest branch
of Islam after Sunni Islam.
Shia clerics in Lucknow have accused the televangelist of propagating
ideas that attracted Muslim youth to extremism.
Prominent Shia Muslim cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad Naqvi demanded a
complete ban on Naik’s books, speeches and lectures. “Zakir Naik is
spreading terrorism,” he said. “Naik is a part of the Saudi
Arabia-funded Wahhabi terror network, which creates scholars and
clerics who in turn brainwash young Muslims.”
Another Shia cleric, Maulana Yasoob Abbas, led a demonstration against
Naik in Lucknow during which Abbas burned Naik’s effigy and labeled
him as anti-national and anti-religious. The protestors at this
demonstration carried a banner, which read: “Protest Against
Terrorism” and carried the photograph of Zakir Naik along with those
of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and Pakistan-based
Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed.
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