MUSLIMS are disunited and in dire straits worldwide because they are easily taken in by money, power and fame, said renowned preacher Dr Zakir Naik.
Muslims should logically be strong because one out of every four people in the world is a Muslim, said the controversial missionary from India.
“But the people who are the most troubled are the Muslims,”said Zakir at a public lecture in Kuala Perlis on “The importance of unity in the Muslim ummah (community)”.
“It’s very easy to divide Muslims, very easy. Give them some money, they are divided. Give them some power, they are divided. Give them some fame, they are divided.
“The religion that is most practised in the world today is Islam but we are looked down upon. People are afraid to call themselves Muslim.
“This situation is because Muslims have strayed from the Quran and Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet). And because we are divided.
“The Prophet used to say that he was not worried about the poverty in the community at the time. He was more afraid of when Muslims gained wealth.”
This is because greater wealth and materialism turns them further away from the teachings of Islam, he said.
As an example, Middle Eastern Muslim countries are among the richest in the world because of their oil wealth.
“But they are using that money to help the enemies of Islam to attack other Muslims.”
The lecture was the third in a series called “The Perlis Tour”, Zakir’s latest large-scale public event since a year ago when his presence in Malaysia irked non-Muslim religious leaders.
Last March, a group of activists filed a civil suit seeking to get the government to declare Zakir a threat to national security and to arrest and deport him immediately. The suit was struck out by the high court.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism said Zakir has been quietly spreading negative views of non-Muslims.
MCCBCHST leaders want his permanent residency revoked. He was also banned from entering the United Kingdom in 2010.
When Pakatan Harapan took over the government after the 14th general election, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Zakir could stay as long as he did not cause any trouble.
The 53-year-old last night focused on his fellow Muslims, whom he chastised for being intolerant of different opinions.
“Today, the practice of labelling another Muslims as unbelievers is so widespread,” Zakir said.
In contrast during the time of the Prophet and his four successor caliphs, which Muslims considered the golden age of Islam, Muslim leaders respected each other’s differences.
“Today, Muslims fight and call each others kafir (infidel) over the smallest of things.”
Why Zakir Naik is a hit with Malaysian Muslims
LOGISTICS company clerk Mohamad Nor Mohamad Jaafar spent a three-day weekend in Perlis just so that he could listen to Muslim preacher Dr Zakir Naik in the flesh.
The 30-year-old has followed Zakir’s web videos and listened to his recorded talks but when he found out that the missionary from India was on a tour in Perlis, it was opportunity Nor could not pass up.
“I stayed at my in-law’s house over the weekend and took Monday off so I could listen to all the lectures,” said Nor, who took leave yesterday so that he could attend Zakir’s talks over the weekend.
Nor was one of about 500 attendees at last night’s lecture at the Al-Rahmaniah mosque in Kuala Perlis, the third in a four-part series in Zakir’s Perlis tour.
Just like the other lectures, the crowd consisted of a mix of former government officers from Perlis, English-speaking Malay-Muslim professionals who teach at the state’s universities and colleges, teachers and pupils from local tahfiz as well as local and foreign students from Universiti Malaysia Perlis.
Nor is representative of Zakir’s middle- and upper-middle-class fan base in Malaysia, despite the fact that the 53-year-old is equally distrusted by non-Muslim Malaysians.
Christian and Hindu leaders, as well as human rights activists have waged an unsuccessful campaign to get him deported to his native India, where he is wanted on a string of criminal charges.
In February, the high court threw out a suit by activists who attempted to get the government to declare Zakir a threat to national security and to arrest and deport him immediately.
When Pakatan Harapan took over the government after the 14th general election, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Zakir could stay as long as he did not cause any trouble.
Nor did not believe Zakir’s controversies with non-Muslims.
“I have seen his videos on the internet. He does not run down other religions. He talks about them but it’s based what is written in their scriptures.
“I’ve never seen him condemn other faiths. If he did, I myself would not watch them, as Islam teaches us not to insult other faiths,” said Nor.
Last night, Zakir focused on how Muslims were weak and divided because they had strayed from the central tenets of Islam.
Zakir said Muslims were divided as they fell too easily for money, power and fame.
For Nigerian PhD student Shamsuddeen Mohamad, Zakir’s memory of the Quran and hadith (sayings of the Prophet) impressed him.
“He delivers his lecture well and backs up his arguments by referring to proof in the Quran,” said the 33-year-old from Universiti Malaysia Perlis.
Al-Rahmaniah mosque committee member Ramli Berahan said Zakir was the mosque’s first religious figure of international standing.
“When it first started raining before our programme, we became worried that only handful of people will show up. But as the night wore on, the main hall became packed with people.
“There were local residents in the audience but also his fans, who followed him from Kangar. He spoke in English but still people wanted to stay and listen.”
Physician Maryam Abdullah caught a ferry with a friend from Langkawi to see Zakir in Perlis.
“I think he is a good teacher, as he is broad-minded and wants Muslims to engage with the outside world,” said Maryam, who is originally from Germany.
“Muslims in Malaysia tend to be inward looking but Zakir wants them to look outside and engage with the modern world. I find that attractive.” – THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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