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Muslim Preachers, Zakir Naik & Bilal Phillips, Denied Entry into UK

June 23, 2010 Islamophobia
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The Internet Muslim Community has been buzzing with reports of Dr Zakir Naik being denied entry into the UK. Dr Zakir Naik was scheduled to host his Famous Peace Conference in the UK this year but was denied a visa on the accusation of him being a supporter of terrorism.

The controversy continued when several other Islamic orators were denied entry as well.While Dr Bilal Philips who was scheduled to speak at a conference on Sunday was denied entry at the airport and sent back to Qatar. Dr Bilal posted the following on Facebook on Monday:

Well, the inevitable finally happened. At least the British Home Secretary called Dr Naik in Mumbai prior to his trip and told him not to come. I arrived to London this Saturday morning, 19 June, at 8am only to denied entry and put back on a plane at 11am back to Doha!!! So, I was unable to attend the Qur'aan conference on the 20th as planned!!!

When asked to comment on the situation, Dr Bilal told me the following:

They are only shooting themselves in their own feet as it is we who are enlightening Muslims to the true teachings of Islam to warn them away from extremism and terrorism in the name of Islam. When they ban us, they leave a vacuum which the extremists will fill using what has happened to us as proof of their evil intent. It's all good in the end  for Allah will complete His guidance despite their hatred of it.

I attended the first ever Peace Conference in Mumbai 2007 and I can tell firsthand that the entire conference was a promotion of peace, tolerance and truth. Neither Dr Zakir nor Dr Bilal nor any other speaker at the conference preached anything hateful and violent. Rather there were many lectures aimed at denouncing terrorism and religious violence. You can read more  about my experience at the conference here.

Dr Zakir Naik wanted to host the exact same conference in the UK and I cannot understand how anyone can see such a conference as a security threat. If the UK wants peaceful Muslims, this conference and these speakers will produce that. As of this moment, there are many initiatives online to protest against the ban of these orators.

May Allah bring only good out of this situation and use it as a means to increase awareness of the true teachings of Islam. Expect this incident to lead to Zakir Naik and Peace Conference being two of the highest searched phrases on Google this month. :)

The offending quotes by Dr. Naik:

“As far as terrorist is concerned, I tell the Muslims that every Muslim should be a terrorist… What is the meaning of the word terrorist? Terrorist by definition means a person who terrorizes. 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… Every Muslim should be a terrorist to each and every antisocial element. I'm aware that terrorist more commonly is used for a person who terrorizes an innocent person. In this context, no Muslim should even terrorize a single innocent human being. The Muslims should selectively terrorize the antisocial element…”

and

“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. If he is terrorizing the terrorist, if he is terrorizing America the terrorist, the biggest terrorist, he's following Islam.”

Dr. Naik's organization explains it thusly:

“Many journalists ask Dr. Zakir Naik regarding his views about Osama Bin Laden. Due to the fact that he (Osama Bin Laden) has not been convicted in respect of 9/11 and as Dr. Zakir Naik cannot verify the claims against him, he neither considers him a saint nor a terrorist.

There is not a single statement of Dr. Zakir Naik after 9/11 in which he has praised Osama Bin Laden or supported his activities.

With regards to the extract of a quote on Osama Bin Laden taken from a video on YouTube, this clip was taken from a lecture Dr. Zakir Naik delivered in Singapore in 1996, almost five years before 9/11 and not in 2006, as has been posted.

It is therefore not possible to link this quote to Osama Bin Laden in the context of the 9/11, when the atrocity had not taken place; and took place after almost 5 years in 2001.

The lecture was recorded by some local people (in Singapore) and was later edited and uploaded on You Tube by a prejudiced group. Unless and until we have the rushes (original unedited tapes) of the program, it is not possible to know which portions of the lecture have been edited.

It is therefore not reasonable, in the light of Dr. Zakir Naik's known views about 9/11 and all other atrocities such as 7/7 (London, UK) and 7/11 (serial train bomb blast in Mumbai, India) to link these manipulated and very old comments to recent world events.

Dr. Zakir Naik has emphatically and regularly condemned any and all persons responsible for these appalling atrocities, killing innocent civilians.”

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About author

Ismail Kamdar

Ismail Kamdar aka Abu Muawiyah began his study of Islam at the young age of thirteen. After completing a seven year Aalim course under Deobandi scholars, Ismail sat with and studied the works of many other scholars from a variety of schools of thought in his search for authentic Islamic information. He also studied various courses through the Islamic Online University and is a student of Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. He currently lives in Durban, South Africa with his wife and four children, and serves as a private Arabic Tutor as well as a Tutorial Assistant in Uloom Al-Qur'an, Arabic and The Evolution of Fiqh for the Islamic Online University. Abu Muawiyah appears regularly on multiple Islamic radio stations and his articles feature in multiple Islamic magazines and blogs. Abu Muawiyah is also the author of the book "Having fun the Halal way: Entertainment in Islam" (IIPH, 2011)

View all posts by Ismail Kamdar

  • Mirza Shahebaz Baig

    Salamualaikum,
    Thank you for posting this. Absolutely they are shooting in their foot. Do you think the lawyers could overturn Mrs May’s Fatwa and allow him an UK entry, before a scheduled time?

    I also read that they are approaching Indian Prime Minister to support their case, as its clearly a politically motivated decision and not legal one, on the face of it.

    May Allaah Preserve our Ulama and Daee of Islaam. Ameen.

    • MARIO fernandes

      DR zakir naik is not trying to bring peace in the world, but the conflict. yes he is the supportor of terrorism. few things when asked , he says ‘I DONT KNOW’. for all other things he does research and has a answer. in law you cannot terrorize anyboby even if he is a culprit. there are laws to do that. but mr naik supports that. to support his claim that september 11 was a inside job, he says that there are more than 40 videos from americans saying that it is inside job. but he never mentions about so many books that says al qeeda is responsible for that attack. he picks something what suits his claims.

      recently he is banned in UK. and i feel it is a good decision. his presence can spoil peace among muslims in uk. i will give u an example. in one of his talk in uk, he was asked by a muslim boy whether wishing merry christmas to christians is ok or not. Mr Naik said it is haram because when you wish , it means you are supporting the claim that Jesus christ is a begotten son of god, which muslims dont agree. in this context muslims should not stay in uk with christians for the same logic given by Mr Naik.can he ask all the muslims there to pack their bags for this reason. similarly, with the same logic of his, a muslim should not study in a catholic school. why ?. because they beleive that the Jesus christ is the begotten son of god. Mr Naik did his schooling in convent school. why ?. why dont he tell all the muslims to be away from christian schools ?. believe me, if muslim start believing mr Naik, then their will be conflict in the world.

      • http://www.drmaxtor.blogspot.com DrM

        Wrong on all counts. Zakir Naik has serious doubts like many Americans on 9/11, does that make them terrorists as well? Ofcourse not. You’re just another lying hypocrite trying to stifle free speech simply because it doesn’t fit your inferior and ignorant mindset.

        Get back to us when you find those Iraqi WMDs(7 years and counting), warmonger.

      • Afeef

        Hello Mario,

        If Dr Zakir Naik picks and chooses things to suit him, it’s wrong and when the British Government does the same thing it is the “right decision”? At least Dr Zakir Naik chooses a neutral thing that doesn’t violate anyone’s rights or hurt them. So what he says he doesn’t know about Osama Bin Laden? Is he supposed to have an opinion on every issue under the sun? No! Are people now being banned to NOT have an opinion even? What is the matter with the world?

        Wishing explicitly is a problem. It is a matter of religion. But studying in a school is a worldly thing and has got nothing to do with your beliefs.

        Please, do not be blinded by extremism.

      • mozam

        I wouldnt go as far as he is supporting terror or fueling world conflict.
        His Merry xmas view is his own, I dont have a problem saying merry xmas as I regard it as the bday of one of God’s messengers however I will avoid participating in a xmas party/carolling as the begotten son claim arises, which is what I think he meant.

    • Md. Shakil Ahmed

      ALTHOUGH I JUSTIFY KILLING OF HOMOSEXUALS AND APOSTATES IF THEY ARE IN A COUNTRY WHERE SHARIAH LAWS ARE EXECUTED BUT I AM REALLY FED UP OF THE GREAT FRAUD DR. ZAKIR NAIK HERE IS THE PROOF OF HIS FRAUDLENTS::http://stevenson1101.blogspot.com/2011/02/suicide-bombing-and-double-standard-of.html

      • Mohammad Rashid

        Just curious, how do you justify killing of Apostates and Homosexuals if they are in a country where Shariah law is implemented? The statement is very open-ended. Do you have any definitions and parameters that you apply to this or is it meant to be open-ended and a general rule?

  • Shakti Kumar Banskar

    These decisions are indicating the mentality of these people. They say, ” you are trying to clear the wrong image of Islam; We can’t allow this because we have spent a lot of money and manpower to create this wrong image and our all major foreign policies are depended on this image. How dare you to try to clear this image?

    • Hassan Adnan

      Assalam O Alikum,
      Yes wonderful point. They are worried about their money that they have spent in portraying the distorted image of Islam. SubhanAllah Islam calls the fitrah of the man to accept it. And the light will only continue to be perfected by Allah SWT. Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder (men) from the Path of Allâh, and so will they continue to spend it; but in the end it will become an anguish for them. Then they will be overcomed. And those who disbelieve will be gathered unto Hell. [Al Anfal-Ayat:36] They (the disbelievers, the Jews and the Christians) want to extinguish Allâh’s Light (with which Muhammad SAW has been sent – Islâmic Monotheism) with their mouths, but Allâh will not allow except that His Light should be perfected even though the Kâfirûn (disbelievers) hate (it). [At-Tawba Ayat :32]

    • danny panther

      Absolutely brother Shakti , its very true ,they have invested billions and are running away even from public debates , which culd have cleared the misunderstanding that people have .

  • Hassan Adnan

    Assalam O Alikum Wr Wb,
    I find it as a turning point, where Allah SWT has disclosed there hatred for Islam, and their hidden motivation have come to surface which reveals their dual face, of proclaimers of bringing justice and peace and talking big with their mouths about it: today the facade of their hypocrisy has fallen down. I believe this is the start of religious oppression for the Muslims, they can expect other such news in the coming. May Allah Keep us steadfast in religion. Ameen.

  • Kashif

    Assalamoalaikum

    Dr. Bilal’s point of filling this gap by extremists is really worth pondering for all the world. may ALLAH SWT bless our scholars and Ummah.

  • Mohammad Sabah

    SubhanAllah. With incidents like these, Allah Subhanahu wa Taala is preparing the Ummah to become strong and upright again in sha Allah, and is revealing clearly the hidden intentions of the kuffars. One of the primary driving forces behind this is to hinder the clear message of Islam from coming through and affecting numerous hearts and minds, but nobody can hinder Allah’s plan. Let’s use this opportunity to strengthen our thirst for ilm, for implementing it in our lives and for spreading it in sha Allah.

    wasalam.

  • http://irf.net syed mohammmed

    i will protest in bangalore that .why bluddy uk politician n government not to entre my brother zakir if they born to ther mother they will welcome bro zakir becoz he spoil’s the base of shaitan……………………………………….

    • sanwin

      Hey Einstein, why don’t you get an education first ?

      What’ does ‘bluddy’ really mean ?

      Moron.

      • muffassir

        He has got an education and knowing English well is not the only sign of a good education. Hence you need to advise him with the best of manners that is the character of a muslim.

      • sam

        wat an idiot u are sanwin

  • http://www.muslimmatters.org/authors/amad amad

    Rest assured, some part of the UK Israel lobby is behind this…

    freedom of speech is being squelched in every way possible… but only Muslim speech. Otherwise all other speech and insults against muslims are welcome. Even in America, a recent decision to ban even humanitarian support to terrorist groups can be prosecuted as aiding terrorists! That means if you feed a kid in Gaza, you may be considered a supporter of terrorism!

    UK conservatives going down the Bush route…

    I hope that the UK muslims stand up against this gross injustice and fight May all the legal system, because I can see where this is going. Pretty soon only the Quilliam-approved speakers will be allowed into the UK!

  • Muslim Stranger
    • UmA

      Can someone post a synopsis in the original post of what Zakir Naik said for those of us who can’t go through all the videos? Jazakallahu khayra

  • Sayf

    This is a great shame, however I do advise you brother Ismail to show the readers some idea of why Dr.Naik was banned. He did have a youtube clip in which he said things about bin laden that he really really shouldn’t have. Still though, the British government has to be really narrow-minded to not look at what his positions actually are and the good things he promotes.

    With that being said, Dr. Bilal Philips too? That’s strange. I remember they also rejected Amir Muhadith – the rapper formerly known as Loon, entry into Canada… he was supposed to give a nice talk at YorkU – well he still did, video conferencing ftw!

    • Hassan Adnan

      A.A Brother Saif,
      The youtube video that you pointed out, Zakir Naik has clarified in a Peace TV interview that to say that anything is an evidence that only exists on the youtube is not wise. He has challenged to show anything that he has said related to that topic on PEACE TV productions that is out of the sanity of a responsible person. Youtube videos can be altered, and the things is it is very easy to do that. I have seen Stephen Hawkings(Scientist+Atheist: and a threat to Religious Philosophy ) accepting Islam on Youtube. One must be shrewd in making claims atleast on public media sources until he knows the trace back source. I suggest you watch the interview, rather it is a must watch for everybody to understand the Scenario At Hand. JazakAllah khair.

    • erfan

      as salaamu alaikum

      brother, everything was taken out of context and distorted. check out dr zakir naik’s response in which he refutes all allegations:

      “western women are more susceptible to rape” – Dr. Zakir Naik
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J_AzIsmJhk

      “If Osama bin Laden is terrorizing America, I am with him” – Dr. Zakir Naik
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcoxaF9PW9o

      “every muslim should be a terrorist!” – Zakir Naik
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf1f1U1zixk

    • Sayf

      Jazakallah khair! That clears things up nicely.

    • Sameer

      Well I actually saw that video in which Dr Zakir Naik alledgely supported terrorism. But if you see that video, he did not at all supported terrorism. What he was saying one should be terrorising terrorist. According to him, USA is a terrorist country

  • Muslim Stranger

    Zakir Naik Exclusion:

    http://www.zakirnaikexclusion.com/

  • Jamal Khan

    Mashallah I think this is a fantastic decision by the British government. People who are popular yet unqualified should not be giving scholarly speeches on subject areas that are beyond their field. Although Zakir Naik is excellent on comparative religion he has branched out into other areas he has no understanding or grounding in and consequently led thousands of people astray (who see him as a role model). Some Ulema have even put a fatwa of Kuffar on Naik!

    As someone who has followed Zakir Naik and Billal Philips for many years, I have no doubt that both hold anti Western views. They are both popular speakers who have been funded by the Saudi oil machine to spread their version of Islam across the world. A version that is hard-line, formulative, anti western, segregationist and not in line with traditional Islam or British society!

    Btw has anyone counted how many wives Billal Philips has had since he converted to Islam?

    • muffassir

      Well a person who has fooled himself of thinking that the UK government has denied entry to these slaves of Allah (SWT), who are working to remove the misconceptions of Islam and for the spread of Islam, on the basis of them being not qualified to be giving scholarly speeches on subject areas that are beyond their field, deserves no reply, however you were fortunate to get one. Be grateful. Regarding Bilal Philips personal life, that is none of our business, and do you know how many wives the Prophet (SAWS) had before and after he propagated the message of Islam? Don’t bring the arguments of the orientalists, and as long as one is following the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah and doing the Halal, we must not be suspicious.

    • http://www.muslimmatters.org/authors/amad amad

      Okay,
      please clarify further:
      1) Thousands of people astray? How? And how is it relevant to a British decision. Will they control what ideology is allowed or not (and i am not talking about violent ideology)?
      2) Some ulema have put fatwa of kufr on Naik. I will find you fatwas of kufr on pretty much every aalim in the world. And how is this relevant?
      3) What defines an anti-western view? If I don’t like many things in the West, would I be anti-Western? Who defines the criteria? And who is its judge?
      4) Assuming that there is some “Jamal yardstick” of anti-western sentiments, since when did having anti-West views become illegal? For instance, the Amish don’t like Western technologies either, they could be anti-West in some sense. Some people may not like the Western democratic systems, while others may not like the West at all. This includes people born and bred in the West. What do you suggest we do to them?
      5) What is the difference between UK and Saudi then if people cannot have anti-whatever views?

      We Muslims may have differences among ourselves, but let not those differences become a source of injustice and enmity. We cannot let the islamophobes use sectarian differences between Muslims to cause hatred and permit injustices to the “other sect”, as long as it is not promoting violence.

      Finally, your question about Bilal Phillips’ wives, from what I know, he doesn’t have any more than the Quran permits. Wanna take that up with the Home Office… maybe they’ll give you a fatwa against the Quranic injunction?

    • guru

      assalamo alaikum brother,,,,

      as u have said that zakir naik has been ventured into other areas ,,,,my question to u r what r other areas….i guess u r talking about fiqh…..

      Now,,,,let me tell u something,,,,,zakir naik whenever talks about any matter,,be it fiqh matter,,he give u proves from quran and hadees..he almost never talks without proves from quran and hadees,,….if u want to prove him wrong prove him wrong from quran and hadees….

      Zakir always tells u while talking on any matter from where he is taking this point,,he even tell u sura no, ayat no,volume no, book no, hadees no…..he is not like any other mulaas who just talks,,,wiithout giving any proof…..

      So if u want to prove zakir wrong,,,prove him wrong through quran and hadees…. .if u want to furthur discuss this matter email me- d_s.tyl_guru@yahoo.com…….jazakallah

    • http://mystrugglewithin.wordpress.com mystrugglewithin

      “Some Ulema have even put a fatwa of Kuffar on Naik!” .. you shouldn’t have mentioned this, it nullified your argument, no offense.

    • abubakar

      Is western view line with the teaches Islam? the answer is no, then they have to be anti western view

  • zohair

    I am very happy to know that Zakir Naik and Bilal Philips are banned by the British Government. Both are hate preaches and are stooges of the Saudi Wahabi fanatics. They misuse their knowledge and come out with their own version which preaches hate give a bad name to the religion of peace.

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

      “Saudi wahhabi fanatic”… Interestingly King Abdullah still has an open invitation to UK.

      Quite sad really to see people being controlled by sectarian motivations to support a draconian British ruling. Remember, today it could be “your sheikh”, tomorrow it will be “our sheikh”.

    • Roshan

      Mr.Zohair,

      Can you explain where they have given hate speeches?. Thay always preaches peace as per the ISLAM

      • zohair

        Check youtube buddy and see how they preach Peace in islam by hating others especially Bilal Philips. You will get enlightened.

        • tabman

          Assalam u Alaikum Zohair,

          Can you please post some youtube links here about the accusation that you made above ?

          Thanks

    • Mohammad Sabah

      zohair: in sha Allah it will benefit you to review this excellent post on MM before using mythical and meaningless terms like ‘wahabi’: http://muslimmatters.org/2007/04/01/the-wahhabi-myth-debunking-the-bogeyman/

      wasalaam.

    • http://Jamshedpur Shahid

      The person (Mr. Zakir Naik) who always speaks in the light of Hadees and Quran (with detailed refrences). How do you say him a messenger of Hate. He is the person who openly challenges his versions if he is wrong some one should prove it. You a crazy people filled up with pollution of wahabi sunni…..wahabi sunni…matters) don’t drag your dirty opinion i this column. You handful of people are the reason why we are not coming together. You just tell to me.. where every references are being given from Qauran and authentic Hadees……. where from this question comes whether Wahabi or sunni ideology is being imposed.

  • Rajesh

    -foul comment removed. Rajesh, why don’t you focus on the violent hindu fundamentalism, with Modi still in power, before pointing fingers to a man who has never been implicated in any violence.

  • SYED TEHREEM

    ITS A PITY ON UK GOVERNMENT THAT THEY HAVE NOT ALLOWED DR ZAKIR TO SPREAD PEACE .

    • Believer

      I don’t think Zakir Naik ever carried the message of Peace – he is a munafiq and a fasiq to the core

  • http://www.farazomar.com Faraz Omar

    It has spread to Canada now….

  • Arshada

    Brothers and Sisters,

    Signs like these command you as their students to step up and attempt to fill their void. You might do it stumbling, with mistakes, but we must rise to the occasion. You do not need validation of a Madinah University degree or a huge Facebook Fan page. You just need to be revive sincerity, seek knowledge and work like crazy. Work like crazy like they do. And if it happens you become a YouTube phenomenon and are silenced by the authorities, then there will be many behind you to carry the message, bidniallah

    Arshada

    • Arshada

      There is a book called, “Who Moved the Cheese ?” I feel the conversation on this thread will be like the group of mice that were just shocked and chatted about why the cheese was moved & not so much about the other group of mice that said, how can we get the cheese.

      Loved to be proven wrong

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/ismail-kamdar/ Ismail Kamdar

      Interesting point, perhaps the students of these scholars who are ready should take this as an opportunity. We always need more Shuyookh and Orators.

  • Roshan

    It is pity that UK bans great peace loving muslim personality like Brother Zakir Naik, the propagator of PEACE, which leave a vacuum which the extremists/Terrorist/Islam haters will fill using what has happened to us as proof of their evil intent. It’s all good in the end for Allah will complete His guidance despite their hatred of it. Allah hu akbar.

  • Kashif H

    salaam aleikum,

    2 things:

    1. It is interesting how Wilders is allowed into the UK and is even allowed to show a film denigrating the Quran in the UK parliament:

    http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/03/201035161739232601.html

    this is most especially after he wanted to burn the Quran on TV and advocates for it to be banned as well:

    http://static.rnw.nl/migratie/www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/ned070808mc-redirected

    2. All this and Muslims and secularized apologists and “pro-regressive” modernist Muslim types want Muslims to say and do nothing when cartoons of the Prophet (saw) are published or when Islam/Muslims or the Prophet are insulted in Western TV programs, since we are to embrace “freedom of speech”.

    This hypocrisy is what is needed to be drawn attention to and exposed for the hollow value/ideal that it is.

  • Zayna

    Asalamalikum,

    First comment here, and usually I just read. I was at Dr. Naik’s “peace conference” – didn’t learn anything and if at all, I felt that he was just promoting himself! Other’s may have another take, but I just feel that he’s one of those pay per view early in the morning evangelical preachers we see on tv. Allah knows best.

    • Javvad

      Pay per view? Last I knew, he had TV channels that are free to watch and the majority of his lectures are free to enter. If you have seen Zakir Naiks work, live or on tv (and it doesn’t sound like you have), you would be able to differentiate between an Evangelical preacher promoting himself and someone who is teaching people using information from the Quran and Hadith.
      Yes “Allah knows best” but it seems people shouldn’t take that statement as a go ahead to detatch themselves with intelligence and make silly comments that have no weight.

      • Zayna

        I didn’t say he was pay per view.. I said he sounds like an evangelical preacher. It’s not a silly comment, and I think people should be free say whether they like him or not. Granted, I think the peace talks are great and it should happen, Dr. Naik would not be my candidate for this. He loves to wrap himself around some sort of controversy, and what not.

        • Javvad

          It is fine to have an opinion but if you have an argument against something, you back it up with why you are against it. In this case you say he sounds like an Evangelical preacher but preachers normally never talk accurately about what is in their bible and have a myriad of different views about what is acceptable in Christianity. Most are out to garner money for their own ends and mislead their masses into many years of service for the sole purpose of benefitting their own lives in the Dunya.
          In this respect I think it is at the very least, disrespectful, to compare Dr. Naik to an Evangelical preacher and it is why I commented to you about this.
          As for whether he is suited for a role as a spokes person for peace, I really don’t see why not. Dr. Naik is a person who tackles issues effecting Muslims and to do that, there will definitely be controversy. It doesn’t mean he goes out looking for trouble but that trouble comes to him after he has tried to enlightned people on an issue.
          I have some issues with the good Doctor but I won’t let those effect my judgement of the job he has done, which very little people have had the guts to do.
          Peace is not about rolling around like a puppy, looking for your next treat from your master. That is servitude.
          Sadly this is what a lot of “practicing” muslims have to do, simply because practicing their faith now means that they are looked upon by society as outcasts and with paranoia.
          Peace is about being free, without being oppressed by society and this is what Islam dictates for Muslims to fight for if it is needed.
          I’m not saying we need to fight physically but we need to take on the responsibility of what Zakir Naik has been doing, which is to demystify Islam and tackle all the lies being said against it in the world today, intellectually.
          As far as this goes, I don’t see many other people better suited to talk at a Peace conference.

        • Mohammad Sabah

          Assalamo alaykum.

          Zayna: Yes you have the right to differ but please use logic , reasoning and proof when bringing up your argument. Just because you did not learn does not mean that the conference wasn’t good or the speaker was not good. Remember there are two components to communication (the speaker and the audience), and the problem could well have been on the other side, meaning the listener viz. you.

          Secondly, you have to pay careful attention to the talks that Dr. Naik gives where he backs his argument and speeches with proof from the Quran and Sunnah. If you miss this, you have missed everything. From all I have seen, I have seen Dr. Naik and Dr. Phillips only promote Islam and dispel misconceptions – where did you see Dr. Naik promote himself?

          Thirdly, tell me of ANY scholar who follows the Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamaah who hasn’t been involved with controversy. It is not because the scholars (may Allah reward them) do not have the right intention; infact they have the most noble intentions – it’s because of ignorance, arrogance or plain malice of the audience. There are too many incidents to list out when people take statements out of context to suit their goals.

          Fourthly, let’s realize the seriousness of the issue here, and NOT digress into judging scholars and daees like Dr. Naik and Dr. Phillips – that is not our job, only Allah Subhanahu wa taala judges. The fact of the matter is they have been denied entry in UK on questionable and wrong evidence, and done to malign the name of Islam. No one can deny Dr. Naik and Dr. Phillips have been active in spreading the correct understanding of Islam for a long time Alhamdulillah. If we cannot physically support them, then let’s atleast not malign or slander them or judge them. This incident sets a dangerous precedent. Let’s strengthen our resolve to strengthen our understanding and application of Islam in our lives, and work on supporting our scholars and daees who are working constantly for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa taala.

          wasalam.

        • Yaqeen needed

          Keep involving in gheebah and the like against a Muslim and on the day of Judgement call up on Cameron or his home secretary to give your intercession or air support.

          Remember Yawmal Taghaaboon . Yawmal Hisaab

  • m.k.moinuddin

    Dear all

    If you heared mr.zakir naik allhamdulillah his speach in way of right things and peace messages not jihadi speaches, every body know that how media blame the islam and their spokers any how when europen country did something or printed cortoons against prophet and islam no body speach out and tell that its freedom, I think now UK and other countries affraid about spreading islam in peace full manner

    every muslim and other religions also support mr.naik and condem UK gov ban

  • http://facebook Adeeba

    Respected Authority,

    “So in this context every Muslim should be a terrorist to the robber”………..

    This statement of Dr Zakir Naik,clearly states that he fights for the cause of ALLAH with his preaching and teaching of the HOLY QURAN by the way of the PEN not by sword,bombs gun firing like it is being portrayed by cunningly choosing and trying to impose that he is a TERRORIST.

    If so why aren’t we also having fights like they do in GAZA(Palestine) and Iraq and Iran??????
    Why ???

    Like Dr.Bilal Philips says that the Scholars are trying to qualify the right way of striving in the cause of ALLAH.
    PEACE not WAR.

    So why are the educated Consulates not making it feasible for the same.

    Do they want the people to remain ignorant and follow the “wrong extremist” and again blame the Muslims.

    We live in a dignified and civilized SOCIETY so Why the unnecessary confusions and chaos hampering everbodies PEACE and feeling REMORSE.

    Be wise they are not conquerers!!!

    They are Scholars of their respective PROFESSION and doctors as well ALHAMD’ULILLAH!!!
    So why are the consulates making late all the important scheduled duties for them,grow up stop beating around the bush,who is the terrorist???
    The Scholar or the ?CONSULATE???
    With due respect a student.
    No harsh feelings.
    I LOVE ALLAH and MY PROPHET MUHHAMMAD(may peace,blessings and mercy of ALLAH be upon him),
    I LOVE EESA(JESUS)son of MARYAM(MARY) (may ALLAH be pleased with him),

    and I also LOVE all those brothers and sisters who strive to convey the MESSAGE with wisdom,patience and constancy.

    Brother consulate or anyone representing as the HEAD of the department kindly allow the WISE AND PEACEFUL work of the scholars to continue.

    Let us stand for HUMANITY in every facet and begin a fresh.
    Thanking You in ANTICIPATION,
    Mrs.Adeeba.Suhaib.Bukhari.

  • Jamal Khan

    It really upsets me when I see my dear brothers and sisters in Islam following ignorant speechers. I have no doubt that many are completely sincere in thinking they are following the ‘correct Islam’ based on Quran and Sunnah. However, the bitter truth is neither is Zakir Naik and Billal Phillips are not qualified, nor do they have Ijaza (Islamic Licence) to either teach or preach very complicated sciences that could be the difference between your Jannah & Jahanam!

    Let us not be naive and blind follow them when they say its ‘Peace TV’ and we follow ‘Quran and Sunnah’. Fantastic catchphrases but is it actually true? They poison your mind and sow subtle hatred towards other Muslims (Sufis, Shias etc) and further extend it to non-Muslims. This is not the way of our beloved Prophet (swt). How can we spread the deen if we have enmity in our hearts for people?

    In a time where religious knowledge in the Ummah is at an all time low, we should not follow default speakers who look the part and quote you things out of context. It ultimately boils down to who you trust. Is easier to trust someone if you do not know any better. I urge you to keep an open mind about these speakers.

    Naik has a history of making ignorant comments, in a time where young Muslim men are confused and angry he adds fuel to the fire. I have been listening to his lectures since 1999, before he was the Muslim celebrity of today. I found myself becoming more hardcore and extreme. After meeting him on a number of occasions (even attending his courses) it became evident to me he is just a man who has a great memory but little substance. As a traditional Sunni has praise of Yazeed (Killer of Imam Hussian), his cheesy evangelical promos on Peace TV, and his cult of Zakir Naik wannabes (with there cheap Indian suits) is sickening. Although, I do find the mini Naiks funny.

    I’m sorry if I offended anyone but ‘for evil to spread all it takes is a few good men to remain quite’.

    Allah Swt knows best.

    -Edited. Any more personal attacks on ANY scholars, and you will be banned.

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

      The more you comment, the more you reveal your true self.

      The British used Ahmedis and Braelwis to try to break the ranks of Muslims in the subcontinent pre-partition. I see that they continue to use them to this day in their own enclave. People who use their own ideological differences to support injustice (you can never destroy an injustice with another injustice as a golden rule) have been this ummah’s traitors.

      It is your right to despise both ZN and BP. I may find that position reprehensible and unjust, but its your right. But if you want to be a positive influence, then you have to consider the basis for the government’s decision, and whether that is not sound. That is the issue, not the ideology of these individuals. It’s funny you are happy that these individuals got stopped but you are not sad that some of the individuals that Sabirah mentioned and other Islamophobes are allowed into Britian all the time. I mean you have Geert Wilders, who has said more things against Islam than all the Muslim scholars combined have said against other religions. Hypocrisy that is so obvious that we don’t even need to stretch the truth for it. And we think by being hypocritical, we will be able to convince the extremist Muslim that the West is not anti-Islam?? Every day, we are helping terrorists with such absurdities.

      As for what is “traditional” sunnism, and his comments on shias, I am sorry but the views on Yazid/Shias is not limited to the “wahhabi bogeyman”. Even Imam Ghazalli considered Yazid a sunni Musilm and the sufi-leaning forums have refutations of rafidahs. Check it out yourself.

      Should we now ban the sufi scholars too who have strong words against shias or don’t curse Yazid?

      Think carefully of the stance you want to take on any issue based on the mechanics of the issue, not on the personality.

      • Javvad

        I have but one issue with your reply.
        How did the British use “Braelwis” exactly? Yes I agree with Ahmedis being used to poison the muslims. They were funded by “Christian” organisations and still have a tight community who look out for each other, yet follow a hugely corrupt form of Islam.
        Braelwis on the other hand have had neither. They have not had people successfully claim to be prophets influencing the masses (on any type of large scale), and have not been funded by any non-Islamic organisations with an agenda against Islam. They have not corrupted Islam with most of their practices because an intelligent and knowledgeable Braelwi scholar will also show you Hadith and Ayats from the Quran to support their practices.
        I am not a Braelwi but I have researched (and am researching) the different aspects of Islamic practice between different sects. It is up to people to research what they are told these days and not blindly follow. It is also important for scripture and hadith to not be taken out of context, which requires quite a bit of knowledge of Islam.
        I can say that “Wahabi-ism” is another form of Islam that follows a lot of truths but also has views which are not entirely neccessary or correct. It is also supported by the puppet regime of Saudi Arabia, who are a family hellbent on making money for themselves.

        So in closing, my problem with your reply is that you’ve bundles Ahmedis and Braelwis together when they are nothing alike. The former having been rejected from the folds of Islam and the latter are just guilty of what every other Islamic sect has been guilty of.
        Confusing Muslims intentionally by the select few who claim to possess knowledge about Islam, for personal gain.

      • Believer

        I guess you – Zakir Naik and Ghazali have reached a point in muafiqat where the line between the murdered and the murderer is quite blurred and clearly proves the traditions of the followers of Abu Sufyan !

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/ismail-kamdar/ Ismail Kamdar

      Dr Bilal Philips has no qualifications? He has a B.A. in Islamic Studies from the University of Madeenah, an M.A. in Islamic Theology from the University of Riyadh and a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Wales, UK.

      If that is underqualified, I wonder who is?

      • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

        He didn’t kiss Tahir Qadri’s feet yet, so his qualifications are equal to naught.

      • another white brother

        Boggles my mind too. He pretty much maxed out on everything possible to achieve in Madinah. He was even giving/translating dars in the haram at one point wasn’t he?

        I’d even go so far as to say hes the most reputable scholar the English speaking muslims have.

  • sabirah

    salam
    while I opt not to participate in the discussions about the credibility of Drs Bilal Phillips and Zakir Naik, I would like to note that the UK has a very random policy when it comes to allowing/denying entry.
    Some famous people refused entry into the UK on grounds of convictions/extremisms are Singer Chris Brown… televangelist Benny Hinn (I don’t know why my fingers want to type Benny Hill), Martha Stewart, Mr and Mrs Mugabe, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Geert Wilders, Former Israeli Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzchak Shamir (until they became Prime Ministers) and Osho…. etc…

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

      This is PURE politics. Pandering to the islamophobes to show how “tough” conservatives are on terrorism. And they are making a fool of themselves and only opening the doors for more hatred of the West and more fodder for the terrorists. Honestly, these politicians should think more for the good of their country and less for the good of their polls! Shameless!

      • suhail

        Amad i want to read your analysis on the new decision that Supreme Court made about the terrorism law. When are you gonna post that.

        • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

          Did I say I was? :)
          No really, I am hoping one of our lawyer brothers can do a job on that. That will be great. Br Abu Noor / Tariq??

  • Adam Afsal

    we r oll with u naik. we will pray for u, go ahead.( friends of Maldives)

  • Abu Abdillah

    While it is certainly evident that Dr. Zakir Naik’s comments were taken completely out of context, I believe that as an intelligent and capable individual Dr. Zakir should know to avoid giving ammunition for these dirty politicians and hate mongers to utilize. That and the fact that his comments regarding how every Muslim must “terrorize the robber” or how police terrorize robbers were completely unnecessary and pointless in the bigger picture (i.e there was no reason for it).

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/ismail-kamdar/ Ismail Kamdar

      I agree with you. When I first heard him make this statement I thought to myself was that necessary? People will definitely quote it out of context, but no human is perfect and even brilliant orators let their tongues slip up.

      he is still an awesome Da’ee and what the UK did is plain wrong and deceitful.

      :)

  • Nourah

    “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. If he is terrorizing the terrorist, if he is terrorizing America the terrorist, the biggest terrorist, he’s following Islam.”

    Excuse me? As an Arab-American Muslim, I find this extremely offensive. How is killing innocent people by hijacking a plane and flying it into the Twin Towers following Islam? How is generating revenue from opium Islam? How is taking advantage of the poor and the uneducated Muslims Islam?

    Islam is not aimed at terrorizing anyone. Islam is about finding peace by submitting to Allah and following His laws.

    While I cannot support the ban on Naik because I would not wish to harm a Muslim, I believe he needs to think carefully before he speaks and set a better example. Repudiate all the terrorists and their completely un-Islamic ways. How can anything good come out of blatant sin? Unite the Ummah, educate the Muslims, and encourage the Ummah to practice good deeds and we are guaranteed success by Allah. There’s no need for any sort of terrorism. I’m disappointed that Naik does not realize that.

    There is a certain way you get a message across. Insulting others will only make them turn away from you and hold onto their views all the more.

    As we say in the USA: “You can attract more flies with honey than vinegar.”

    • muffassir

      This was said in 1996, research before commenting.

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

      To be honest, when I heard that statement, maybe 2 years ago, I sent a note to some shayookh saying that these words will come to haunt ZN. Not because they were inciting violence or that he supported OBL, because his other works clearly are not even in the realm of terrorism. But because they weren’t wise and could be easily used out of context against him. Especially in this time and age where freedom of speech is only allowed in Islam-bashing.

      However, the question is not “wishing to harm a Muslim (ZN)”. I think a Muslim should be just and if there are other Muslims who are unjust or promoting any form of violence, we should stand up against them. But the question is since when is being unwise a sufficient reason to be banned? And if you do want to ban someone on the basis of offensive speech, then that opens up the pandora box where most of the Islamophobes should be banned (Geert, Spencer, Geller, and so on) too!

      Again, agreeing with you that these statements weren’t wise, the man’s entire record has one blot of a gaffe, I mean everyone makes gaffes. He is not on record for supporting any acts of terrorism beyond words that he claims are out of context and I acknowledge his explanation. Actions speak louder than words.

      The Brit govt is opening up a door that will quickly swallow an entire swath of Muslim scholars because even if a scholar quotes some Quran verse and only that verse is pulled out of context, then the shaykh can be called someone “undesirable” and unwelcome.

  • Javvad

    Though I agree with your position on the killing of innocent people and what you think Islam is, I see that you are very much one of the masses that believe everything they read without researching it for themselves.
    Zakir Naik does not condone terrorism and never has. It is quite clear to anyone who has watched his lectures and debates on this subject. This has even been proven in this very forum.
    You will see this if you take the time to scroll up and find the appropriate comments.

    Also, please research some more before you make up your mind and solidify your position on a subject.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E3oIbO0AWE

    Watching this link will be your first step to opening your eyes on what Muslims did and did not do.

    • ed

      That is called “conspiracy theory”. Not a single mainstream credible MEDIA/INTELLECTUAL believe them!

      Debunking Loose change / 9-11 conspiracy theories :
      http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/news/1227842
      http://www.debunking911.com/

      You might find some engineers/architects/ so called Truth finders/politicians/ parents-relatives of 911 casualties but not a single CREDIBLE SCIENTIST/ARCHITECTS/ACADEMICIAN behind these conspiracy theories.

      Oh you should watch this video.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUB4j0n2UDU

      • Javvad

        That is because it is the same mainstream that promoted them in the first place.. it is the mainstream that makes those “CREDIBLE SCIENTIST/ARCHITECTS/ACADEMICIAN” and the rest a bunch of jokers.

        However I will view those links, though there is very little you can really ‘debunk’ after the truth that is right in front of you.

      • Javvad

        I’ve looked over your links. They are nothing but a farce, trying to cover up the un-answered and obvious questions that Loose Change 9/11 brought up, through any means neccessary.

        Now here’s a link for you, a debate between the loose change researcher/presenter vs the people who want to debunk 9/11 conspiracies.
        May have to be patient, this video is an hour long.

        http://www.archive.org/stream/dn2006-0911_vid/dn2006-0911_512kb.mp4

        • ed

          i’ve seen that earlier. Nothings new, some college kids attempt to shake the world making a conspiracy docu.

          • Javvad

            Those “college kids” are who made the link I posted, to which you replied.
            The debate is about them versus the people who are behind the links you posted.
            If you’ve indeed seen this before, it should be quite clear that this “conspiracy theory” has been anything but debunked.

            Like I said, the only responses to loose change are by arrogant, know-it-all, bureaucrats who have the agenda to cover up what actually happened during 9/11. These responses are nothing better than rolling eyes at people and passing them off as conspiracists or idiots.

            Anyone who can see past the smoke can tell where the truth is coming from.

          • Javvad

            I never called you or anyone else an idiot in my reply.
            I said that those people who are trying to debunk 9/11 (like the website you posted), make out people who created the Loose Change documentary, to be idiots.
            They rubbish all claims made and dis-credit people in their responses.
            It is the most effective way they have to fight the truth.

  • muffassir

    Everybody is free to teach better way of explaining to Dr. Zakir Naik and I am sure he is willing to listen and improve upon his already amazing way of explaining points. However this is not the time or place to do this, the issue is about the unjust ban on a human being, and who is also being defamed.

  • Aftab Faiz

    It is extremely shocking news that a most non-controvesial figure like Dr.Zakir has been banned from UK;
    Till date i was one who always supported UK. I used to say that among many European countries UK is the most tollerant one and the discrimination if present is just minimal. This was also proved by many people who live in UK and return to their land either for vacationing or for business.
    But today after the irrational and illegal order passed by the UK homesecretary it is definitely going to have a very negative effect in my mind. The britishers have at last qualified themselves to be called racist, communal and true to their salt

  • rick

    this is just the beginning, rightwing groups are popping up all over europe. people are learning the word takia, In islam there is a thing called takia, which means you can lie if you are a muslim to promote islam.
    islam is bent on dominating the world and imposing sharia law. people are beginning to distrust muslims because all we hear is “religion of peace” yet honor killings, acid attacks ,terrorism ect, (the list goes on) is all we see, the muslims freak out over cartoons yet stay silent when women are beat or apostates killed for leaving islam. i see islam shooting itself in the foot. the west is waking up to the evil of islam.

    • http://www.drmaxtor.blogspot.com DrM

      You’ve got it the other round, fanatic. It is the western world which is hell bent on dominating the world and bleeding it dry. Pick up a history book is you can read that far. You’re a victim of your own propaganda and lies, which explains why your culture is not only shallow but inferior. You need to get off Jewhad Watch aka Geehad Watch Kool aid, ricky. Show us where the word “takia” is in the Qur’an. No? I didn’t think so. Get back to us when you’re not high on Robert Spencer’s excrement.

  • anon

    You have Takia (or more like taqiyya) understood way wrong, your understanding of it seems similar to how many shi’a understand/follow it though.

    In Sunni Islam you can’t lie to promote Islam or benefit it, that is completely haram. Only if it is a life/death situation where by lying you would save your life (or someone else’s) where the harm is clear and certain would you be able to lie.

    Just about everything you said was nonsense so I won’t address the rest.

    • Javvad

      He sounds like a typical brainwashed minion of the media. I can only pray that idiots like him are nullified by the truth seekers out there.

  • nas

    jealous jealous d west is jealous,they scared coz islam is fastest growing in west

  • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

    By the way, a lot of the youtube videos have been put up by the followers of the Ahmedi cult, or the Ahmeddiya / Qadiani movement.

    http://thecult.info/

    • Farhan

      I write for them!!

  • Riad

    Congratulation to everyone who voted for the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats – maybe you will wake up now!

  • http://muslimmatters.org/author/ismail-kamdar Ismail Kamdar

    Update from Dr Bilal Philips (posted on his Facebook page):

    In order to justify banning me, the Home Secretary has pulled out of her bag of tricks a truncated statement of mine relative to suicide bombing being a military tactic. The statement was made in a 1994 recording (16 years ago) for Sharjah TV. The 2009 date given which they claim is incorrect. The program was replayed in 2009, as, since I left the UAE in 2003, I have not returned. The original statement was made in the beginning of the Palestinian struggle, when use of this tactic was directed at troops and not civilians – similar to “suicide missions” well known in military operations. Once use of the tactic changed and civilians were targeted, my position also changed. Consequently, in my hundreds of lectures (on youtube and elsewhere) I have clearly condemned suicide bombing as haraam (forbidden) in Islam [outside of military necessity] especially where directed at civilian populations. In fact I was among the first to condemn 9l11 and 7/7 when they occurred.

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

      Another proof that Israel lobby is involved in all this. Honestly, there is not a more dangerous and more sick lobby than that for the West. The more they use their dirty tactics, the more it creates hatred for the West, and the more it fuels extremism. And the moderate Muslims’ job becomes harder to convince the West against Islamophobia, and the East against extremism!

  • Muslim Stranger

    Dr Zakir Naik fights back UK ban – Press Conference Trailer:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXCx2hJ6QBY

    Human Rights Activists Support Dr. Zakir Naik:

    Majeed Memon:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLPqHvzflyg

    Mahesh Bhatt:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmgLK4hqr54

  • shafkat

    As salaam alykum,

    This was to be expected… especially after the Israeli propaganda machinery took a beating and was exposed during and after the Israeli attack on the Flotilla…

    The enemies of Islam continue to use ALL means at their disposal to attack us on ALL fronts … SO PLEASE BE PREPARED..

    Strengthen your IMAAN … Come back to Islam FULLY … Put into practice what you have learnt and strive to learn MORE.. Strive to become TRUE PRACTICING MUSLIMS… Make ALLAH (swt) your helper and guide…

    Remember that every one of us has a responsibility to portray ISLAM in its TRUE form… using HIQMAH ..

    Become living examples of what a true MUSLIM really is … to himself / to his family / to his relatives / to his neighbors / to his community / to the less fortunate / to the Ummah ( Muslim and non-Muslim) at large ….

    Let your AKHLAQ (Character ) mirror the akhlaq of the Prophet (sws) and be the biggest reason why anyone who encounters you on our journey of Life on Allah’s Earth, would wish to become a Muslim….

    Remember, no further prophets will come after the last prophet, and the responsibility of spreading the TRUE word of ALLAH rests squarely on our shoulders, and we WILL be help accountable on the day of Judgement …

    Wa billahi Taufiq ..

  • zafarul

    salam walikum

    western power have fear of Islam .they know power of Islam .they can’t stop it .so they are trying to stop the Muslim .but they can’t do this.we condemn it .they talk about freedom of speak but what they are doing who tell them.

  • Bilal Saeed

    It is astonishing to see how writers of “supposed” calibre in the newspapers (reference to times here) deliberately quote out of context and yet be allowed to carry on. I was surprised how one of the writers for times online completely misinterpreted what Dr. Zakir said in one of his talks on Islam and Terrorism and went on about it in the wrong sense. Criminal act, stirring up hate.

    إِنَّهُمْ يَكِيدُونَ كَيْدًا وَأَكِيدُ كَيْدًا فَمَهِّلْ الْكَافِرِينَ أَمْهِلْهُمْ رُوَيْدًا
    Surah Tariq.

  • syed imam azam

    the controversy started only after his statement about yazid.This caused hatred among shias while some shias became his enemies and started spreading hate against him.shias hate zakir naik only for praising yazid .but this does not mean that they request government to ban him.only these so called Muslims are responsible for it .i’m ashamed of some scholors of india who welcomed the ban.some even say he is kafir.they all are jealous with his fame and there is no proof that yazid killed imam hussain but there is proof that shias killed him becauuse people of kufa who invited imam hussain but ran away they were shias.yazid never ordered killing of imam hussain and his family.this was propoganda started by people of kufas

  • syed imam azam

    most of the muslims scholors of indis and pakistan dont like zakir naik.they are sunnis as well as shias or some other but they fail to realise that they themselves are making others to laugh at them,becacuse all these people know tha he is true

  • syed imam azam

    DR ZAKIR NAIK IS QUOTED OUT OF CONTEXT BECAUSE THEY CAN’T QUOTE HIM WITH CONTEXT BECAUSE IF THEY QUOTE HIM WITH CONTEXT PEOPLE WILL ACCEPT IT AND THEY WILL LOOSE EVERYTHING WHAT THEY HAVE DONE FOR MALIGNING ISLAM.THEY HAVE SPENT SO MUCH MONEY ON WRITING BOOKS,MOVIES,MEDIA, SO CALLED MUSLIMS LIKE SOME SUNNI AND SHIA MUSLIMS.THEY FUND THESE SO CALLED MUSLIM SCHOLAR FOR SPREADING HATE AMONGST AND AGAINST MUSLIMS, OUR BIGGEST ENEMIES ARE NOT JEWS MUSHRIKS BUT THESE ILLITERATE MUSLIMS WHO DONT HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF ISLAM.

  • Muhammad Abdullahi

    Keep up the good job muslimmatters.org. Islam will triumph all over other religions very soon. Islam for Life!!! Insha Allahu

  • http://mezba.blogspot.com Mezba

    I cannot shed too many tears on their ban as some of what they said was clearly wrong. I don’t need to be explained their context as I was THERE during some of the speeches, as well as when Dr Naik was here previously. Also, if as alleged, one of the speakers has multiple wives while living in a non-Muslim country where it’s against the law, he is not fit to be called a scholar.

    Yet the Canadian ban on these guys is hypocritical when Ann Coulter is allowed entry here.
    http://mezba.blogspot.com/2010/06/on-ban-of-dr-naik-and-his-gay-bashing.html

    • shafkat

      As salaam alykum,

      ‘ I cannot shed too many tears on their ban as some of what they said was clearly wrong. I don’t need to be explained their context as I was THERE during some of the speeches, as well as when Dr Naik was here previously. Also, if as alleged, one of the speakers has multiple wives while living in a non-Muslim country where it’s against the law, he is not fit to be called a scholar.’…..

      I have no comments …….

      I can only pray for our brother that Allah (swt) give him and us HIDAYAH, and the strength to search with IKHLAS for the Sirat-tul-Mustaqeem ( that we beg HIM for, more than FIVE times in our daily prayers) leading to Jannat-tul-Firdaus in the hereafter…. Ameen.

      Wa billahi Taufiq.

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/ismail-kamdar Ismail Kamdar

      Also, if as alleged, one of the speakers has multiple wives while living in a non-Muslim country where it’s against the law, he is not fit to be called a scholar.

      It is completely permissible for a Muslim man to have a maximum of four wives. To say a Muslim with four wives is not fit to be a scholar, then you can’t follow Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) either as he had a lot more than four wives.

      Learn your religion before attacking scholars.

      • http://mezba.blogspot.com Mezba

        In Islam you have to treat all your wives equally. A man who by law of the land cannot have more than one registered wife is not treating his other wives equally, because the 2nd, 3rd and 4th wife do not have equal rights, the same right as the 1st wife, under law.

        Therefore a man hell bent on marrying more than one wife, sharia-wise, should migrate to a country where multiple marriages are allowed. Otherwise he is not treating his wives equally, and is committing a major injustice. Therefore in my eyes he is NOT fit to be a scholar because he is not doing justice to his family – the ones who have the greatest right on him.

        • http://muslimmatters.org/author/ismail-kamdar Ismail Kamdar

          So much wrong with this statement, the biggest problem is the assumptions that:

          1. He is married to multiple wives in a country which does not allow it
          2. You need to register your marriage for it to be accepted in Islam
          3. If one marriage is registered and the others are not then you can not treat them equally.

          Attacking a Muslim scholar for practicing polygamy is wrong, saying he is not fit to be called a scholar for doing so is plain ridiculous.

          Resulting to personal attacks on a scholar’s private life to justify banning him from lectures is completely uncalled for and unislamic.

    • muffassir

      Well you can shed your tears for sodomites and music lovers.

      • http://mezba.blogspot.com Mezba

        obviously you are well versed in the Islamic knowledge of adaab and etiquette.

    • Abû Mûsâ Al-Ḥabashî

      It’s against the law to have them registered as marriage under the eyes of the law. How does that prevent someone from marrying according the sharî`ah but “officially” not being married? Especially considering that the law would have no problem if a man had 100 girlfriends so long as he wasn’t married to more than one of them at the same time.

      Saying someone isn’t fit to be a scholar over this is simply ridiculous.

      • http://mezba.blogspot.com Mezba

        How can someone be married ‘shariah’ wise if one cannot be married officially? In Islam the marriage IS official registration of the marriage, telling everyone about it. If the second and third and fourth wives are not official wives, then what are they?

        • Sayf

          You’re making the huge assumption that the first wife is government-approved, you’re also making the fatwa that it is fardh for the nikah to have the government’s stamp of approval on it.

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftp2qRg2xz4

      • Sanju

        In the case where the husband is injured, only immediate family (AKA first wife) would be allowed to see him. That is proof enough that the wives aren’t equal.

        • http://muslimmatters.org Ahmad AlFarsi

          It is proof that the government and hospital system are not fair to the husband’s second wife, but the husband can still treat them fairly himself…

          • Sanju

            Pff what, how can it be fair where only the first wife is ever officially recognized? Don’t avoid logic, please. xD

          • http://muslimmatters.org Ahmad AlFarsi

            I’m not avoiding logic, rather you are unfortunately failing to grasp my logic.

            It is the government who is not being fair to the husband’s 2nd wife by not recognizing her. The husband can still himself treat his wives fairly.

    • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad amad

      You should shed tears not because of the views of the scholars with which you disagree, but rather because of the arbitrary and hypocritical stance of the governments involved.

      Do not let hatred [of some people] cause you to be unjust… as Allah Himself commands (approx).

      As for the multiple wives thing, that’s really a nonsensical argument if there was ever one. Even the Western governments don’t resort to foolishness such as this. What any person does in his personal life is his business… And it is irrelevant to this entire discussion except to show more of your hatred for the individuals. I bet you if the same guy was homosexual, you wouldn’t have brought the issue up!

      • Muslim

        Bottom line here, we shouldnt be arguing over anothre person statement or their action.
        Another thing is if a person commits sin it is between him and Allah(swt) not for any person to judge.
        We worry so much about other peoples faults, we forget about correcting our own.
        Personally dispite whatever faults Zakir Naik and Bilal Philips hasve, i look up to them where knowledge and spreadng deen is concerned.

      • Peace

        Dear Amad

        “Mr. Zakir Naik has some videos online where he says that penalty for “apostates” is death. Do all you supporters of Mr. Zakir Naik agree with that?”

        Thanks.
        Peace

        • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

          Dr. Zakir is entitled to his own opinion. I supported Obama but it doesn’t mean I agree with all his opinions.

          If you look at the corpus of Dr. Naik’s work, you will see that he is a warrior for peace, and one or two disagreeable opinions doesn’t change that.

  • Hassan Adnan

    Assalam O Alikum,
    As it turns out after 12 days of this article been published here at MM, the quality of comments have been a bag full of things that should either not concern them, personal hitting, imbalanced and out of context stuff. Seeing this state of our intellectual, character and dark minded pessimistic morals how can we act as the representative of the religion, act challenging and establish the ideal socio structure of Islam. And it is yet again sad to see that very few talk while giving the references from Quran and hadith to settle disputes among themselves, this is very ignorant of us. There is no talk better than the talk of the Quran and hadith, only these should form the basis of argumentation in our talk. In the current scenario I think it is just enough for us to know who are the eternal enemy of Islam and secondly before pointing finger we should judge ourselves first. The first question to ask ourselves is What are we doing for Islam before we say other did such and such? JazakAllah khair.

  • http://islamdunktv.com jibreelk

    Freedom of speech hey?
    Double standards and taking things out of context have been around for a while.
    Let’s get used to it. The only thing we can do is educate towards peace and let them do
    whatever they want.
    Visit islamdunktv.com to join our effort in educating the masses.

  • Peace

    Dear All
    Mr. Zakir Naik has some videos online where he says that penalty for “apostates” is death. Do all you guys agree with that?
    Thanks.

  • http://navedz.wordpress.com/ Naved Zia

    As Dr Zakir Naik stated in his statement, this appears to be a political decision rather than a legal one. Meanwhile, Dr Naik who was to head next month’s Journey of Faith Conference in Toronto, will not be allowed into Canada as well.

    So what if Dr Zakir Naik as a person, as an individual, shouted against these super-powers? Is he wrong in saying that Nato forces are terrorists to Iraqis and Afghanis? It is his mistake that he tried to attach religion to his arguments. Otherwise, what he says is right, the rich are terrorizing the poor and weak nation. Am I wrong? There has to be somebody to shout the truth. Super-powers are terrorists in many nations.

    Read my post and watch the videos, broken down as per topic here: http://navedz.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/zakir-naik-the-open-hypocricy-of-west/

    JazakAllah Khair!

  • Sarah Amena

    Asaalam Alaikum~

    This situation totally breaks my heart! I absolutely LOVE Dr. Zakir Naik! I have learned so much about Islam and tolerance and treating non Muslims with respect. I have listened to many of his speeches on Peace TV and many more on the internet and I remember listening to his comment about Osama Bin Laden and that all Muslims should be terrorists but it was not in the same context the U.S. or England describes a terrorist! Why is the Western world so afraid of Islam? Why are they trying to prevent something that will benefit society? But at the same time, when there is a will and Allah swt is on our side then good will manifest InshAllah!!!

  • ghufran, pakistan

    the ban of Naik is persuading the people around the world to know what is the matter. The people who did not know Naik, have been incited to know about him. The same situation happened when twins tower were collapsed and muslims were blamed behind it. But that was the time Islam promoted around America. The Qurran was sold like a hot cake by non-muslims to know what islam is basically. due to this Islam promoted and spread. History repeats, now in British people are studying islam and Naik, His video cassettes, books and magazine are being sold world wide. The british ban has given him and his speaches big promotion. I am sure once day will come when millions of non-muslims will enter into the fold of Islam.

    A true Muslim never hates any creature of Allah. A true Muslim work is to promote right things but not thrust them. If the one agrees, it is O.K. If one doesn’t, It is O.K.

  • Saher

    Banning the entry of Dr.Zakir Naik, Bilal Phillips and the like thereof would be “unjust” if Muslim nations wholeheartedly accepted non-Muslims into their nations and allowed them to preach the message of their faiths. But obviously, that isn’t the case. Far from it, actually. Non-Muslims found preaching or even discussing their religions in public in many Islamic nations are often victims of attacks and even murder. This has been documented on a number of occasions. But I don’t see Muslims crying out against that. Hence, I don’t see this ban as a form of jusitce. Reciprocal behaviour, at most. but not unjust. As the Britain secretary of defence, or whoever she was, said – entry into their country is a privilege and not a right. It’s not like he was attacked on their land or anything…they only denied him entry. So why are Muslims so geared up, when they do the exat same things to non-Muslims in their own countries? That’s what I call a double standard.

    and no, before some goon starts whining and screaming – this is not a Muslim-bashing post. I happen to be Muslim myself, and love my Deen. But the amount of double standards I see in the Ummah is disgusting.

  • Shafkat

    As salaam alykum,

    The banning of Zakir Naik and Bilal Phillips by the British and Canadian Governments was very ill thought / wrongly advised decision… more like a knee-jerk reaction with very little research put into it …

    PEACE TV advocates the spread of PEACE … NONE of their programmes are Hate oriented, out to cause a rift or animosity between the different religions of the world..

    It tries to advocates ‘ The MIDDLE PATH ‘ but always based on TRUTH and TAUHEED.. and this does not rub well with many of our so called ‘ Secular Muslims’ doing a ‘balancing act’ on the wall between the ‘ True Believers’ and the ‘ Munafiqoon’ … May Allah (swt) give us all the clarity to always seek the Truth in any given situation.. Ameen.

    As far as the decision by the British and the Canadian Governments is concerned, it would have been prudent to have spoken to the individuals who you perceive to have been ‘extremists’ in their views and talks and to have worked together with them to ‘correct’ the misconception and use the same individuals to promote PEACE further … (IF THAT IS WHAT THE GOAL OF THESE GOVERNMENTS REALLY IS)…

    By banning these Peace Activists, you have missed out on yet another excellent opportunity to bring different cultures and religions together ( at least in their understanding and appreciation of each other) and further alienated yourselves from many…

    We will however continue in our quest to fight for PEACE on this earth, and wish and pray you join us in this
    WAR…

    Wa billahi Taufiq.

  • http://truth SAJJAD

    I am pleased that Dr.zakir only says truth in any adverse situation.I want to say that respected Dr.zakir please come to my city singrauli(M.P. INDIA) and teach people the truth.I want contect number of Dr.zakir.THANK YOU

  • http://muslimatters.org PRADEEP

    DEAR PEOPLE,

    IF YOU FEEL PROUD OF WHAT IS GOOD IN ISLAM .THEN PLEASE BE PROUD OF WHAT IS BAD IN ISLAM;
    WOMEN ON THE NAME OF ADULTERY ARE STONE PELTED TO DEATH;FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION AS MR.BILAL SAYS IS TRUE ACCORDING TO ISLAM????????

    OTHER THAN THIS; THERE IS THE PROBLEM OF CASTE AND SECT AND TRIBE?????????????

    BE PROUD OF THIS???????????????? AND SO MANY HONOUR KILLING?????????????????

    TRY QUESTION YOURSELF AND TAKE A NOBLE PATH TO JOIN BUDDHISM OR CHRISTIANITY

    • Muslim

      These are all lies, propaganda, and misinformation, that is well known by people who want to remain ignorant, but what is true and a fact is how according to hinduism a women has to burn herself and die along with the death of her husband. Hundred of thousands of innocent hindu women have been murdered by following Hinduism. I hope no one forces Julia roberts to burn herself if her husband dies! Wonderful oppressive concept of sati invented by brahmins!

  • funda

    assalam walaykum jamal have u ever read sahih bukhari go there and u will find that those who call a beleiver kafir their kufr returns to them.so the ulema who have said zakir naik as kafir are actually kafir themselves.and zakir naik is a skilled person that every other ulemas r jealous of him

  • Irfan

    Guys, to be honest, Bilal Philips and Zakir Naik present a picture of Islam that is intellectually dishonest and untrue. I’d rather read works/ watch videos of Osama Bin Laden and Sayyid Qutb or Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Ibn Warraq (the latter two claim to be not muslims anymore) or read the quran, hadith and religious texts to acquaint myself with Islam.

    • sabirah

      weird choice of people to read about islam that you have listed there. why collecting information about society/religion from their fringe elements?

      • Irfan

        That is because my primary concern is intellectual honesty and truth, wherever that takes me.

  • muffassir
  • Yaqeen needed

    The truth was spoken in more solid clearer terms than that in the Qur’an and by al Mustafa- alaehi salam. Now if you do not like what Allah or his messenger said, you have a serious problem with your aqidah. Just bc the truth is too hot for u to handle does not mean others should not let it out as is. Those who follow there hawaa are described as taking such hawaa as ilaah -deities. This is based on ayaat from the Qur’an

    Musa- alaehi salam- was stern and clear in his message to fir’awn. So was Mustafa in delivering his message as a WARNER to the people of Quraish when called them out starting with wa sabahaa.

    Hikmah is not what you deterrmined to be hikmah from a britished-up form of Islam which is obviously far away from true islam- as far as the distance between the east and west.

    To believe Isa is the son of Allah is to disbelieve. And if you do not know where disbelievers will end up- according to the Qur’an, you have a problem much more serious than a heart attack

    This ‘I’ mentality common among us western muslims is no more than following the path of shaytaan- again check this out in the Qur’an where he challenges Allah that he was better than Adam. If Allah has decided a matter (Isa is not and cannot be the son of Allah and a muslim CANNOT directly or indirectly affirm that) a true believer has no choice. Now ask your self if you are a Muslim- submitting to these ayaat and ahadis

  • Javvad

    I don’t know what you’re nit picking about here. He is obviously saying that a girl in a mini skirt is more likely to have guys stare at her. A woman guarding her modesty appropriately, will have less people if any at all.
    It’s also obvious the woman needs to wear loose clothing, so as not to accentuate her body, along with Hijaab. Anyone staring at her then will be doing nothing but admiring her clothes.

    “a better explanation will be – it is ordered by Allah and honors women by preserving her modesty”

    I thought that was what he was saying… just in a more expanded way for people to understand WHY these laws exist.

    As far as wishing non-Muslims merry christmas, I wouldn’t have a problem with it and i’d wanna see the lecture which you’ve quoted. However, it should be clear that saying Merry Christmas can be compared to saying “Good Morning”. It is nothing but a salutation and a Muslim saying it is just being polite. Afterall, its not like the knowledgeable Muslim believes Isa (PBUH) was born on December 25th.

    Nit picking gets this Muslim Ummah nowhere.

  • Mohammad Sabah

    Muslimah:
    Assalamo alaykum. I won’t comment on the points that you have raised as I don’t want this digressing to continue.

    Excuse my being blunt here, but It’s ironic that you keep talking about hikmah and yet it is you who are displaying a lack of it here. Let’s realize that this is not the time and place to be nitpicking. I am sure ZN and all other daees and scholars would appreciate your giving them feedback directly, and it will be much more effective than complaining here. I hear Sh. Yasir Qadhi once said that if you were to look for the perfect scholar to learn from and constantly keep finding faults with every one, you will remain ignorant (paraphrasing). Let’s take the best we have from everybody and ignore the faults of your Muslim brothers and sisters – we all make mistakes.

    Let’s use some wisdom and focus on the main issue here, and realize how dangerous it is. I would just quote Br. Amad as he said it precisely: “The Brit govt is opening up a door that will quickly swallow an entire swath of Muslim scholars because even if a scholar quotes some Quran verse and only that verse is pulled out of context, then the shaykh can be called someone “undesirable” and unwelcome.”

    wasalam.

  • Javvad

    Yes men should avert their gaze but a lot of men are weak, especially in modern society.
    For instance, we can avert our gazes from posters and movies which show lewd women but there is so much that most men can handle, especially being bombarded the way they are through the media and world around them.
    The fact that we have grown up in this society now, makes it subconciously acceptable for us to think that it is ok for women to dress in tight or skimpy clothing just to fulfill their own silly insecurities about looking attractive enough.
    Therefore it is not unacceptable at all for Zakir Naik to target women on the streets who dress without a care for their modesty since this is the root of the problem.
    These women are the tools being used to poison the minds of people. They must be educated and the people, educated about them.

  • Javvad

    A woman receives sin from showing herself to men, as do men by looking at her. I agree whole heartedly that men should fix themselves as well but I wish it was that simple.
    I don’t think you’ve understood what I was saying though.
    There is already a problem with women not guarding their modesty. It is prevalent in society and that is why I see Zakir Naik targetting this problem and educating women.
    This problem exists because people choose to ignore the Islamic way to practice modesty, be they men or women. This problem gives rise to many other problems in society as well.

    As an analogy, take the Oil Spill off the US coast for example. The spill has already happened, so it must be dealt with. If people start to point fingers at why it happened and who caused it, there will be much more damage to deal with and it will spread, out of control.

    The same way, the problem of women being treated like objects is like this oil spill and it must be stopped. However it has already spread out of control.
    Now the women must be educated so they aren’t led astray by anyone.
    Yes men must be educated too but if a self respect isn’t instilled and reason for why the Hijaab exists as a benefit to women isn’t explained, why would women even wear it or have a reason to be modest?

    I think you are taking this far too personally against women and seeing them as victims when all that is trying to be done is to fix a problem that exists in society.

    ps. In my experience, the majority of women will always be insecure and it will be a driving force for their decisions in life, unless they are educated otherwise.
    You can thank the media for that, putting puppets on a pedestal of what women should model themselves after.

  • muffassir

    Are you also going to read about all the cases that were taken up by Majeed Memon? What is wrong with you, bringing all the irrelevant discussions into the topic. Please stick to the topic of “Muslim Preachers, Zakir Naik & Bilal Phillips, Denied Entry into UK”, not about some answer about Zakir Naik which was not said with Hikmah or about movies about Mahesh Bhatt, giving all the wrong ideas to Muslims and opening a doorway to Shaitaan. Hence I advice you to post and reply wisely.

  • danny panther

    Allah-hu -akber

  • http://muslimmatters.org/author/ismail-kamdar Ismail Kamdar

    So if your country bans Tahajjud, is a scholar “not fit to be called a scholar” if he prays Tahajjud there? Since when do we base our Deen and criteria of scholarship on western principles?

  • muffassir

    So watching Mahest Bhatts bollywood movies and having such type of fun is allowed. Well no thanks for your advice to loosen up and have fun.

  • muffassir

    i’m gonna watch all mahesh bhatt movies from now on

  • Muslim

    Asalamukalaikum,
    How about we stop the argument!
    We all agree here that Zakir Naik and Bilal Philips should have NOT been banned from th uk.
    JazakAllah.

  • Muslim

    lol seems like someons always got to the last word eh?
    Calm down,
    im not tyring to people what to do, it seems by the conversatiion there was any argument going on so i tried to stop it…..muslimah

  • Sanju

    Women are also told to lower their gaze, so are men also earning sin for having women look at them?

    Don’t give me the whole women-don’t-look-at-men-that-way. That’s utter bullcrap and I can tell you as a woman who has women as friends. Just because women are more shy and looked down upon if they give wind about their libido doesn’t mean women don’t appreciate hot stuff. Allah didn’t only tell men to lower their gaze you know.

    And speaking of which, men are told first and foremost to lower their gaze, so men should worry about that instead of looking at others. Why do you look at the twig in someone’s eye before you look at the log in yours?

  • Javvad

    er Sanju, are you replying to me? If you are then I don’t see the point you’re making. Also, I understand women just fine having been raised by one and also being married to one. Women aren’t the big enigma to ALL men. They’re really not that difficult to understand. ^_^
    If your reply is not for me then, peace out :)

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