Muslims for Secularism and Democracy has called Zakir Naik a hypocrite who has warped the logic of the religion.
Muslims for Secularism and Democracy, a group opposed to preacher Dr Zakir Naik's views on comparative religion, has called him a hypocrite and his logic warped, before asking Muslims to "expose" him.
The group held a press conference at the Marathi Patrakar Sangh an hour after another group held a meeting in Naik's support. They showed nine clips wherein Naik was "spreading prejudice" against other religions, if not "contempt and hate".
It also asked a section of the media to stop the witch-hunt against Naik and let the investigating agencies do their work. Speakers included journalist Javed Anand, Islamic scholar professor Zeenat Shaukat Ali, Irfan Ali Engineer from the Center for Study of Society and Secularism, Noorjehan Saia Niaz of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan and Kapil Patil, member of legislative council.
"Naik is no messenger of peace and he is not propagating peace. He is spreading prejudice, if not contempt and hate for other religions," said Javed Anand. "When the question of terrorism is staring, should you (Naik) not be thinking about how you are flirting with words? How is an 18-20-year-old supposed to interpret him? He has not said anything openly against Osama. He is irresponsibly getting youth at crossroads, which is a very dangerous thing. He is peddling gateway drug to terror."
Some videos played in the press conference showed Naik telling a youth that saying 'Merry X'Mas' was blasphemy, endorsing the view that other religions should not be openly preached and propagated, that Taliban were educating Buddhist monks when they blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas, that women should not wear short clothes to avoid harassment, and that Lord Shiva could not even identify his son, among other things.
"He is insulting other religions. Tomorrow he will say 'do not say Mubarak during Diwali and other festivals'. Chopping of hands is being banned in Islamic countries and he probably does not know what is happening there. He has still not clearly said that Osama was a terrorist, when everyone in the world has said the same. Saying that worship places of other faiths should not be there, he is being nothing but a hypocrite," said Feroze Mithiborewala.
"It pains me to see that some Muslims are supporting him," said Engineer. "In fact, one of the first verses of Quran have come from music. His understanding of Islam can never be accepted," said Zeenat.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that "preachers of hate' were a threat to society, Anand said, "I agree with him. But like Naik, there are others such as Sadhvi Pragya and a number of ministers in his cabinet, who should be brought to book."
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