Biography

Zakir Abdul Karim Naik was born on 18 October 1965 in Mumbai, India. He attended St. Peter's High School in Mumbai. Later he enrolled at Kishinchand Chellaram College, before studying medicine at Topiwala National Medical College and Nair Hospital and later the University of Mumbai, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). In 1991 he started working in the field of Dawah, Naik says that his goal is to "concentrate on the educated Muslim youth who have become apologetic about their own religion and have started to feel the religion is outdated."[11] He considers it a duty of every Muslim to remove perceived misconceptions about Islam and to counter what he views as the Western media's anti-Islamic bias in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks (also known as 9/11) in the United States.[12] Some of his articles are published in magazines such as Islamic Voice. Naik's style of memorizing the Quran and Hadith literature in various languages, and his related missionary activity, has made him extremely popular in Muslim and non-Muslim circles.[11] Many of his debates are recorded and widely distributed in video and DVD media and online. His talks are usually recorded in English and broadcast on weekends on several cable networks in Mumbai's Muslim neighborhoods, and on the Peace TV channel, which he co-produces.[14][15] Topics he speaks on include: "Islam and Modern Science", "Islam and Christianity", and "Islam and secularism". Naik is the founder of the Islamic International School in Mumbai.

Lectures and debates

Naik has held many debates and lectures around the world. He says Islam is a religion of reason and logic, and that the Quran contains 1000 verses relating to science, which he says explains the number of Western converts.[18] A popular theme of Naik's is to try to demonstrate how scientific theories were prophesised by the Quran. For example, he says certain verses of the Quran accurately describe embryological development.

published two booklets written by Naik: The Concept of God in Major Religions and The Qur'an
and Modern Science:

Apostasy: Naik has said that any Muslim is free to convert from Islam if the person so chooses,
but added that if a Muslim converts and then speaks against Islam or propagates this other religion, it should be considered treason (as in treason to a country). Naik stated that under Islamic law this is punishable by death.

TERRORISM
Naik's views and statements on terrorism have at times been criticised in the media. In a YouTube video, speaking of Osama bin Laden, Naik said that he would not criticise bin Laden because he had not met him and did not know him personally. He added that, "If bin Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him," and that "If he is terrorizing America the terrorist, biggest terrorist I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist.".[31][32] When Time hinted that this remark could have inspired Najibullah Zazi's terrorist activities, Naik insisted: "I have always condemned terrorism, because according to the glorious Koran, if you kill one innocent person, then you have killed the whole of humanity" In a lecture delivered on 31 July 2008 on Peace TV, Naik commented on the September 11 attacks: "it is a blatant, open secret that this attack on the Twin Towers was done by George Bush himself".[34] "carefully crafted image of moderation", because of his gentle demeanor, his wearing of a suit and tie, and his quoting of scriptures of other religions.