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What are the children learning in schools run by Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation?
If Zakir Naik’s speeches are perceived as a threat to the country then it is time to conduct a deep probe into the things taught at the schools run by the Islamic Research Foundation.
The tragic terrorist attack in a tony Bangladesh cafe had an Indian connection. It is said that one of the terrorists was inspired by the work of Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. This has prompted the Indian machinery into action and a team is now going through the CDs of Naik’s speeches with a fine toothed comb to see if his speeches may have potentially damaging content.
However, Indian investigators, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), may turn up short of initiating any legal action. The reason is simple. Naik’s speeches, where the Islamic preacher seemingly advocates the supremacy of Islam in fluent English and exhorts his ‘fans’ to fight against ‘Islam’s enemies’, are full of contradictory statements. Legal experts say, at the best, Naik can be booked for hurting religious sentiments or charges of hate speech.
While Naik getting away with a light rap on his wrist is one problem, there is another graver problem. If Naik’s work is identified as a threat to religious harmony and the secular fabric of the country, then it imperative to take a closer look at the operations of the school which is conceptualised and run by Naik in Mumbai.
The institution, Islamic International School (IIS), which describes itself as an institution which was "conceived, planned and developed by Dr Zakir Naik… a visionary-par-excellence." Naik is the chairman of the IRF Educational Trust and President of the Islamic Research Foundation in Mumbai.
The IIS website claims that Naik has visited several ‘Islamic’ and ‘other’ educational institutions worldwide and interacted with many experts on school and university education to grasp their approach towards Islamic orientation, teaching methodology, curriculum implementation and management. “The pragmatic insights gained from these meetings and latest research and learning on effective education strategies help in the continuous improvement and development of IIS, to be contemporary and Islamic… to fulfill the students’ educational needs for this ‘duniya’ (world) and the ‘Aakhirah’ (hereafter).” The school also has a branch in Chennai.
The problem with cornering Naik through his speeches lie in determining how much of his speeches and actions fall within the purview of tangible violation of law. That’s where the investigators seem to be grasping at thin air.
Let us elaborate with an example from a speech that he delivered. It is seen that Naik is aggressively exhorting his ‘fans’ to take on enemies of Islam and proclaimed that he would side with anyone, including Osama Bin Laden, if the fight is against the enemies of Islam like the America, "the biggest terrorist".
"If he is terrorising America, the terrorist, biggest terrorist, I’m with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is that if he is terrorizing the terrorist, he is following Islam," Naik says. Now this should prick the ears of the law enforcement team. However, before they can react, in the same breath, Naik distances himself from potential trouble and says, "Whether he is or not, I don’t know. Now don’t go around outside saying Zakir Naik is for Osama Bin Laden” and “I don’t know him personally. I don’t know what he is. I cannot base my judgment only on news. But, you as Muslims, without checking up laying allegations is also wrong."
Naik has been extremely tactful and here he washes his hands off after putting across the obvious idea he wanted to convey to thousands of listeners. One can argue that how the preacher concluded that America is the ‘biggest terrorist’, presuming that Naik’s knowledge of that country is through media.
Most of his talks have a similar pattern. This is where the investigators walk into a cul-de-sac and Naik will have the final laugh.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet colleagues know the power of ‘hate speeches’ and that they are a threat to India’s secular society. Preachers like Naik, who even justify suicide attacks if it is for the sake of religion and against the enemies of Islam, can guide, misguide and instigate a young mind to the path of terrorism and killing of several innocents. That’s a bigger threat. This is why educational institutions run by the likes of Zakir Naik need closer scrutiny.
To be sure, that may not be the intention of Naik (in his subsequent video messages, Naik vows that he never asked anyone to kill innocent people) and the Bangladesh daily, which reported Naik inspired terrorists too have backtracked from that statement. But, the fact is that his speeches often amount to encouraging religious fundamentalism. This is something even leaders within the Islamic community have pointed out.
Union minister for information and broadcasting, M Venkaiah Naidu too said that Naik’s Peace TV is affecting country’s peace and is broadcast is illegal. “Peace TV had applied for license in 2008 but it was rejected. So its broadcast is already illegal. I appeal to the people that if they see any unauthorised channel on their cable networks, they should inform the Information and Broadcasting Ministry," said Naidu.
The bottom line is that if the government is indeed convinced that there is a problem to the secular fabric of the country on account of the ideas disseminated by Naik through his speeches, there is certainly a case to probe the functioning, curriculum and the religious learning of the educational institution conceptualized and operated by Naik.