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Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who is on a month-long visit to Pakistan as a state guest, is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. From slamming Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for not waiving charges for extra baggage to his contentious interaction with a Pashtun girl, Naik has left many in the neighbouring nation upset read more
 "How Pakistan guest Zakir Naik, meant to irk India, turned into an embarrassment")
Fugitive Islamic preacher Zakir Naik reacts during a prayer at a mosque in Melaka, Malaysia, September 7, 2019. Reuters
Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik is making headlines again for all the wrong reasons.
Naik is presently on a month-long visit to Pakistan and is slated to deliver lectures in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.
From slamming Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for not waiving charges for extra baggage to his contentious interaction with a Pashtun girl, the fugitive hate preacher has left many in the neighbouring nation upset.
Slamming PIA
Addressing supporters in Karachi, Naik has slammed Pakistan International Airlines for not waiving charges for extra baggage while he was travelling to the country from Malaysia, and instead offering him a 50 per cent discount.
The Mumbai-born preacher said a situation like this would never occur in his home country.
“While I was coming to Pakistan, our baggage weighed about 1,000 kilogrammes. I spoke to the CEO of PIA. The station manager assured me that he would do anything for me. When I told him that I had 500 to 600 kilogrammes of extra luggage, with some six people travelling with me, he offered me a 50 per cent discount. I told him that I would bring four more people since it would get even cheaper. I asked him to give it for free or leave it. I rejected the discount,” he said.
Global Muslim Solidarity took a big hit when PIA asked Zakir Naik to pay for extra luggage 😂
These guys fight over petty stuff & want everyone to believe “ham sab ek hai”
Fact: 5% Syed won’t let 85% Pasmanda even close .. pic.twitter.com/0JZX4PXMe7
“This is India, where people see Dr Zakir Naik and readily waive 1,000 kilos to 2,000 kilos extra baggage. But in Pakistan, I am a guest of the government and state guest is written on my visa. And your (PIA) CEO is offering me 50 per cent discount?” he queried.
Naik also complained that the airlines charged him 101 Malaysian ringgit (~Rs 2,137) for every kilo of extra baggage. “I was so hurt that the PIA could not even allow me to carry 300 kilos of extra baggage as a state guest. I don’t want your discount. I am saddened to speak the truth, but this is the state of affairs in Pakistan. In India, even when a Hindu sees me, they say ‘Dr Naik will always speak the truth’. In today’s date, India is not wrong, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is. The respect that I get in India… People in Pakistan also like me nonetheless.”
His comments went viral on social media, where he was ridiculed and trolled by netizens.
‘Wrong question’
During a public gathering in Karachi, Naik engaged in a heated exchange with a Pakistani girl who raised concerns about the widespread societal issues like paedophilia, in Islamic societies.
The girl, who identified herself as a Pashtun, asked the Islamic preacher why, in spite of her region’s extremely devout ethos, problems like drug addiction, adultery, and paedophilia still exist there. She also asked why these issues are not addressed by Muslim academics, or ulemas.
Zakir Naik, the most famous Muslim scholar in South Asia, gaslights a Pashtun girl when she questions the collapse of society caused by religious extremism.
At first, Zakir Naik joked dismissively, saying that men should follow women’s example and avoid going out without a purpose. The girl tried to go into more detail and expressed worries about the increasing normalisation of paedophilia in her community, but Zakir Naik kept interrupting and asking her to keep quiet so he could respond.
Denying her claims, he asserted, “There is no mention of paedophilia in the Quran or any Islamic scripture,” and accused her of defaming Islam.
Naik added, “A Muslim can never commit sexual abuse against children,” advising her to “think 10 times before making such accusations”.
When the girl tried to further explain her point, Zakir Naik sharply told her, “This is a wrong question and you should say sorry to God.”
When pressed further, he said, “I wouldn’t reply and wanted her to say sorry first.”
‘Pakistan have better chance of going to Jannat’
Zakir Naik had before made the controversial claim that people living in Pakistan have a better chance of going to ‘Jannat’ (paradise), than those living in the United States. The claim was denounced by Pakistanis.
Additionally, he criticised Muslims for emigrating to non-Muslim countries, claiming that following Allah’s commands rather than following in the footsteps of others is the only way to achieve true happiness in life.
This man #ZakirNaik is not only a #fraudster but takes ridiculousness to a whole new level.. he's a disgrace.
He's saying that the chances of ending up in paradise is several times more while living in Pakistan in comparison with those residing in the US. However, I think he's… pic.twitter.com/1rdpno4OEm
Reposting the same, a Pakistani national wrote, “This man Zakir Naik is not only a fraudster but takes ridiculousness to a whole new level… he’s a disgrace.”
‘Don’t call them daughters’
Reporter and researcher Usman Chaudhary, who lives in Pakistan, posted a video showing Zakir Naik being welcomed by girls from an orphanage on a stage. Just before this, an official from the group was going to give him a gift to commemorate his arrival.
However, Naik was seen leaving the stage in a hurry, while the girls looked on, puzzled.
In a post, prominent UK social media user Imtiaz Mahmood said that Zakir Naik was upset that the girls had been introduced as “daughters” by the orphanage administrators, and that’s why he fled the stage.
“You cannot touch them or call them your daughters,” Zakir Naik reportedly said, referring to them as “non-mahram.”
Mahmood said Naik’s “argument is that these little girls are of marriageable age”, due to which they cannot be introduced as his daughters.
“Mahram” is derived from the word “haram,” and in Islamic terminology, it denotes a person who is not allowed to be married, such as a father and a daughter. “Haram” itself denotes anything sacred or forbidden. As a result, a “non-mahram” refers to someone who is either single or whose marriage is not considered “haram” in Islam.
Also read: How Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, a fugitive in India, became Malaysia’s guest
‘No Indian guru capable of debating me’
When a Hindu boy questioned Naik about hardline Islam at one of his speeches, he became irate and proceeded to criticise other Indian spiritual figures.
“No Indian guru including, Ravi Shankar, Jaggi Vasudev and Baba Ramdev is capable of debating me. I won’t talk to you because you are a kid,” he added.
Top government sources informed CNN-News18 that Naik is “Maulvi-type hardcore and he is trying not only to insult India but Indian religious figures” in his remarks, which caused him to cause a stir on social media. “Now the onus is on the Pakistan government to stop him so that the sentiments of any Indian and Hindus staying in Pakistan is not affected,” the sources said.
“India is very clear that Pakistan is doing this insult deliberately and we will definitely take this agenda in related forums,” it added.
India condemns Naik’s Pakistan visit
India had earlier on Friday called Pakistan’s honouring of Naik “condemnable,” but it was also stated that it was not “surprising.”
“We have seen reports that he (Zakir Naik) has been feted in Pakistan. He has been warmly welcomed there,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.
“It is not surprising for us that an Indian fugitive has received a high-level welcome in Pakistan. It is something which is disappointing and condemnable but at the same time it is not surprising,” he said.
Wanted in India
Naik is wanted in India for using hate speech to incite extremism and money laundering.
His channel, PeaceTV, is outlawed in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, because of its controversial content. The UK and Canada have refused to let him in.
In 2016, Naik escaped and settled permanently in Malaysia. Jaiswal added that during Anwar Ibrahim’s August visit to Delhi, India had brought up the Naik issue with the Malaysian PM. In response, Ibrahim stated that the nation would “not condone terrorism” if enough proof was shown in the case involving the fugitive preacher.
He has hit the headlines in the past for his remarks on Osama Bin Laden. “If bin Laden is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him. If he is terrorising America, the biggest terrorist, I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist," Naik reportedly said. However, Naik claims he was misquoted.
Naik was also in the news for demanding the death penalty for homosexuals and apostates. He argued that men have the “right” to beat their wives “gently”. He also defended the Islamic State’s practice of keeping sex slaves and destroying non-Muslim places of worship.
“How can we allow this (churches or temples in an Islamic state) when their religion is wrong and when their worshipping is wrong,” Naik was quoted as saying, as per India Today.
With inputs from agencies
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English (US) ·