A team of Mumbai Police arrived on Wednesday morning to question Naik's Islamic Research Foundation's office bearers at his office in Dongri, Mumbai.
Who is Zakir Naik?
- Dr Naik is a doctor by profession and is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation. He also owns the free-to-air Peace TV channel.
- He is known as an "authority on comparative religion" but has also been described as a "radical televangelist".
- His full name is Zakir Abdul Karim Naik. He was born on Oct 18, 1965 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He currently resides in Dubai with his wife, Farhat, who is originally from Pune. They have a son named Fariq and a daughter named Rushdaa. Both his children have followed in his footsteps to become preachers.
- Zakir is a medical doctor who graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Mumbai.
What does he praeach?
- In an interview to a daily he said that the term Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is “un-Islamic”. Speaking about the perpetators of Dhaka, he said that “90% of his followers are from Bangladesh and others came closer to Islam because of him.”
- The 51-year-old radical Indian preacher had once claimed that “every Muslim should be a terrorist” has been banned from entering Britain, Canada and many more other nations.
- Dr Naik had been filmed on a website making inflammatory comments. He said: “When a robber sees a policeman he’s terrified. So for a robber, a policeman is a terrorist. So in this context, every Muslim should be a terrorist to the robber.”
- Naik has also been filmed saying: “There are many Jews who are good to Muslims, but as a whole … The Quran tells us, as a whole, they will be our staunchest enemy.”
- In a web posting from 2006 he said: “Beware of Muslims saying Osama Bin Laden is right or wrong. I reject them … we don’t know. “But if you ask my view, if given the truth, if he is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him. I don’t know what he’s doing. I’m not in touch with him. I don’t know him personally. I read the newspaper.”
- The Dhaka attackers were not the only ones inspired by the controversial speeches of Zakir Naik. Islamic State's Hyderabad module head Mohammad Ibrahim Yazdani told the National Investigation Agency (NIA) during his interrogation that his inclination towards violent outfits working to establish Shariah law was also because of Naik .
- In the year 2012, he claimed to have addressed a massive audience of over 10 lakh in Bihar’s Kishanganj.
- Dr Naik, who received the Malaysian government’s Tokoh Maal Hijrah award in 2013, previously angered the Hindu community here by allegedly insulting their deities along with the vegetarian practices of the faith.
- In July 2013, Zakir was named as the Islamic Personality of the Year, announced by the 17th Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA).
WATCH: 'Teacher of Terrorists': Bangladesh Attack: Indian Cleric Zakir Naik inspired 2 attackers
Some of his controversial statements
- Homosexuals should be sentenced to death
- "I tell Muslims that every Muslim should be a terrorist. Terrorist means a person who terrorizes. When a robber sees a policeman, he is terrified. So for a robber, a policeman is a terrorist. So in this context every Muslim should be a terrorist to the robber," he said in 2010.
- 9/11 attack was a job of George W Bush"
- Muslims who leave Islam must be put to death"
- Islam is the only religion that can bring peace to the whole of humanity"
- "Quran allows Muslims to have sex with female slaves"
- If bin Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him."