Islamic scholar and televangelist Dr Zakir Naik is once again at the centre of a controversy. But this time the controversy is a different and more serious one as reports have emerged that perpetrators of the Dhaka terror attack were inspired by him.
Naik has now said that the term Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is “un-Islamic”.
The Indian Express has quoted, Naik (50), the Mumbai-based founder of the Islamic Research Foundation, as saying, “By using the name Islamic State, we are condemning Islam? They are the anti-Islamic state of Iraq and Syria that has killed innocent foreigners. The name is given by enemies of Islam.”
When questioned about the Dhaka attackers reportedly being inspired by his preachings, Naik, speaking over the phone to the Indian Express from Mecca, said he has 14 million followers on Facebook, besides 200 million viewers of Peace TV in multiple languages, including Urdu, Bengali and Chinese.
“The largest percentage of my Facebook followers are from Bangladesh. Ninety per cent of Bangladeshis would know me, including senior politicians, philanthropists, common men, students and more. Fifty per cent would be my fans. Am I shocked that the attackers knew me? No.”
He however added that this does not mean that he endorses their methods saying that a lot of people “come close to Islam” because of him who then listen to other speakers, including some who, in the name of Islam, misguide thousands.
“Such a person would be a hardcore fan of Prophet Muhammad. Does that mean Prophet Muhammad told him to kill people?” he asked, saying further that the Quran explicitly states that when a person kills another, of any religion, “it is as though he has killed the whole of humanity”.