Is Zakir Naik worth the trouble?

His continued presence in Malaysia appears to be disrupting our way of life.

COMMENT

Controversial preacher Zakir Naik has become a national dilemma, with even the usually moderate and reasonable Perlis Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin weighing in on the matter of his status as a wanted man in India.

The mufti, in a poem that critics have labelled as racist, referred to “cow worshippers” going after “our preacher”. Asri has defended the poem by stating he aimed his comments at the Indian prime minister, but the damage was already done and his credibility has been undone, at least among Malaysia’s Hindu community.

India has banned Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation for five years, citing his “objectionable and subversive” speeches last November and making note of his links to a TV channel that allegedly features pro-jihad comments.

Naik is a controversial figure to say the least, and while his defenders may argue that the preacher calls for harmony, there is a distinct waft of cultural and religious imperialism in his recorded comments, among which is the infamous statement to the effect that an Islamic country should not allow churches to be built because Christianity is a religion that is “wrong”.

In comment sections all over the internet, many of his supporters, in defending his point with regard to Islam’s absolute monotheism, do not even seem to know that constitutionally, Malaysia is a secular country with Islam as its official religion.

Unfortunately, despite Islam’s privileged position in our society, there are a few who take any criticism as deeply personal and somehow a threat to the religion practiced by the religious majority.

The quarrel here is not with Islam, but with the idea of giving safe harbour to a man known for making inflammatory statements and who, furthermore, is officially being investigated for terror related activities and financial fraud.

India has not yet asked Malaysia to assist in the arrest of Naik, but should investigations yield solid proof, New Delhi may lean on Putrajaya to take action. If it does, the Malaysian government will be hard pressed to rebuff an important trading partner. US$ 10.5 billion worth of trade flows between Malaysia and India and that amount is predicted to double by 2020.

Is Naik truly worth the rift he is causing in our society? One look at the headlines would tell us that “no” would be a reasonable answer. His continued presence appears to be a disruption to the Malaysian way of life.

Scott Ng is an FMT columnist.