Dr. Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (born October 18, 1965 in
Mumbai) is president and founder of the
Islamic Research Foundation (
www.irf.net) and an Islamic
apologist of moderate fame, especially around
India. Between 1996 and 2003 (I don't know about later than this- I haven't seen him on the television for
a while) he gave over 700 lectures on
comparitive religion (concentrating largely on
Islam,
Christianity and
Hinduism) in many different countries including the UK, the USA, Hong Kong, South Africa and Australia, and tho he lectures primarily in English his
audience is generally Indian.
Most of his lectures have been televised on the IRF's own network,
Peace TV, and are broadcast all over the world.
Altho he is a medical doctor by training (he recieved an MBBS from the University of Mumbai), Dr. Naik gave up the medical profession to concentrate
on propagating Islam. His lectures all have a very similar outline and it's fair to say that if you've seen one Dr. Zakir Naik lecture, you've seen them all.
The spectacular thing about him is his inhuman ability to memorise entire scriptures (he seems to know in their entirety the Bible, the
Qur'an, and various Hindu scriptures including the Vedas, the Bhagawad-Gita and the Manusmriti), and recite verses from memory, giving book,
chapter and verse references every time.
His lectures all follow one basic outline. They are split into 2 parts- the first half is the lecture. The second part is the open question and answer
session. His audience are generally left satisfied.
The lectures generally follow the basic formula of first, giving a straight factual description of what the Qur'an and Hadith say about whatever topic he's
speaking about at the time. Then he will analyse the verses and use science and logic to bring his audience around to accepting
them. He will also prove how similar Hinduism and Christianity (as I say, even tho he's an international speaker, it's usually just Indians who have heard of
him) are to Islam, and then how outdated Hinduism and Christianity are and how progressive Islam is (for example, when answering a question about polygamy
in Islam he explained how the Qur'an is the only scripture to explicitly place a specific limit on the number of wives one man is allowed, pointing out
Solomon's ridiculously large harem).
Dr. Naik's lectures are also available on VHS and transcripts of a few of them are available to buy in book form. His tapes can be bought from stands at
his lecture venues. The books can either be bought or downloaded in PDF form. A complete list of videos and books follows:
Videos:
Universal Brotherhood (3 tapes, 3 hours in all)
The Qur'ân & the Bible in the light of Science (a debate with a Dr. William Campbell in Chicago. 5 tapes, 4 hours 15 minutes in all)
Is Non-Vegetarian Food Prohibited or Permitted? (a debate between Naik and Rashmi Bhai Zaveri. 5 tapes, 5 hours in all)
The Concept of God in Major Religions (3 tapes, 4 hours)
The Qur'an & Modern Science (5 tapes, 4 hours)
Focus on Islam and Universal Brotherhood (3 tapes, 2 hours 40 minutes)
Press Debate (3 tapes, 2 1/2 hours)
Women's Rights in Islam- Modernising Or Outdated? (4 tapes, 3 hours 40 minutes)
Is the Qur'an God's word? (3 tapes, 3 hours)
Al-Qur'an - Should it be read with understanding? (3 tapes, 3 hours)
Da'wah or Destruction? (1 hour 15 minutes)
Books:
(The first 4 are available to download in PDF form from www.irf.net)
Replies To The Most Common Questions Asked By Non-Muslims
The Qur'an and Modern Science- Compatible or Incompatible?
The Concept of God in Major Religions
Islam and Terrorism
Women's Rights in Islam- Protected or Subjugated?
Al-Qur'an- Should It Be Read With Understanding?
Is The Qur'an God's Word?
Sources: www.irf.net