A video of fugitive Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik just lately surfaced on social media and reveals him berating a lady who questioned the prevalence of social evils, comparable to pedophilia, in Islamic societies.
The heated alternate occurred throughout a Public assembly in Karachi, Pakistan.. The lady, who identifies as Pashtun, begins by asking Naik: “Why are there so many evils like pedophilia, adultery and drug habit the place I reside, although individuals are strictly spiritual? Why are they ulama (Muslim students) not name them?”
She additionally expresses concern about girls’s restricted freedoms.
Naik first provides a flippant reply to her query, joking that males ought to comply with the instance of ladies and never depart the home for no motive.
When the lady tries to clarify her standpoint and claims that pedophilia is turning into normalized in her area, the hate preacher interrupts her and repeatedly asks her to close up so he can reply her query.
He then says: “There’s a contradiction in what you might be saying. There is no such thing as a point out of pedophilia within the Quran or any Islamic scripture.”
Naik, identified for his inflexible protection of Islamic teachings, accuses the lady of defaming Islam. “A Muslim can by no means commit sexual abuse towards kids. You must suppose ten instances earlier than making accusations towards one other,” he says.
When the lady tries to defend her query, he blurts out, “You are incorrect,” and calls for that she apologize for her feedback.
The preacher’s conduct sparked widespread criticism on social media, with many accusing him of deceptive the lady and belittling the intense issues she raised.
Naik, a Mumbai-born Islamic preacher, was labeled a fugitive by India and faces a number of costs of terrorist financing, cash laundering and hate speech.
The federal government banned his group, the Islamic Analysis Basis, and revoked his passport. Naik has been residing in Malaysia. since 2017, the place he continues to provide lectures and sermons.
Critics argue that Naik’s teachings typically misread Islamic texts and promote a slim and illiberal interpretation of Islam. They preserve that his speeches have contributed to the radicalization of younger Muslims.