Miracle Debunked, the Big Bang in the Quran

5:00

22 Jan 2009

Zakir Naik

This vlog (video blog) presents two short clips from Zakir Naik and responds with corrections about the scientific material. Although the Islamic material is correct as far as it goes, the critic falls into essentialized constructions of Islam and Muslims.

The first Zakir Naik clip is from his April 2000 debate with William Campbell, held at Niles West High School in Chicago, IL. The second clip, towards the end of the video, is from a talk titled “The Concept of God in Major Religions,” held on October 26, 1997 at the Birla Matushri Auditorium in Mumbai, India.

Evaluation:

The unnamed critic in this video is derogatory towards Islam, making essentialist statements about Muslim beliefs, while at the same time drawing on literal interpretations of the Qurʾān and tafsir (works that provide interpretations of the Qurʾān).

The history of science presentations in the video are correct.

Science aspects of the video are limited to rebuttals of Zakir Naik’s presentation on the Big Bang.

About Zakir Naik

Dr. Zakir Naik is a Muslim preacher and international orator from India. He was born in Mumbai on October 18^th, 1965 and studied medicine at Topiwala National Medical College and the University of Mumbai. He has a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). In 1991 he turned away from practicing medicine to found the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), a non-profit charitable trust in Mumbai, whose operations were closed down by the Indian government in November 2016. The IRF serves to promote dawah, or the proselytization of Islam. He has additionally founded the Islamic International School, which is managed by the IRF, and is the founder and president of the Islamic educational television network Peace TV.

As a speaker Naik has achieved recognition and awards within India as well as internationally. He was honored with the 2013 Islamic Personality of the Year Award presented in Dubai. He has additionally been recognized twice by Indian news publication Indian Express as one of the “100 Most Influential People in India” and four times by George Washington University’s “500 Most Influential Muslims in the World,” most recently in 2014.

Naik’s subject matter, style and platform have all contributed to his prominence as a fairly well-known and fairly controversial preacher. Naik promotes a strict, literalist version of Islam, and is famous as a preacher for extensively quoting from the Qurʾān. He has been called an exponent of the Salafi ideology, although he himself does not use this label as he rejects any form of Islamic sectarianism. He has maintained that the only absolute authority is the Qurʾān itself, and has made a name for himself with his Qurʾānic knowledge and memory.

Naik also holds the dubious distinction of being the speaker on science and Islam most commonly spoofed. One may occasionally find videos using his name in the title in an effort to draw viewers, even if he does not appear in the video.

In July 2016, Naik was linked to bombers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the Indian government began investigating him. The IRF in India has closed (including its web sites), and Naik has remained out of the country to avoid arrest. It has been reported that Naik has taken citizenship in Saudi Arabia. He continues to give lectures outside of India.

For a longer discussion of Naik, click here.

Select bibliography:

“Dr. Zakir Naik.” Islamic Research Foundation. Islamic Research Foundation, n.d. Accessed 18 Nov. 2014.

“King Salman grants Dr. Zakir Naik Saudi citizenship.” The Siasat Daily, 19 May 2017. Accessed 4 July 2017.

“Zakir Naik.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Nov. 2014. Accessed 18 Nov. 2014.

Biswas, Shreya. “Who Is Zakir Naik? Were the Dhaka Attack Terrorists ‘Inspired by Him’?” India Today, 6 July 2016. Accessed 13 Sep. 2016.

Hassan, Rashid. “Ban on Peace TV Will Be Lifted Soon: Zakir Naik.” Arab News. Arab News, 6 July 2014. Accessed 18 Nov. 2014.