Islamic scholar Dr Zakir Naik, who is banned from entering the UK, addressed the Oxford Union last Friday through a video-link. He was met with both applause and pointed questions from students as he spoke from the set of his Islamic television station, Peace TV, based in Mumbai.
Naik, President and founder of the Islamic Research Foundation, is currently denied entry to Britain by Home Secretary Theresa May. Last year she described several of his public statements as evidence of “unacceptable behaviour” that justified an exclusion order by the Home Office.
Among the remarks that resulted in the Home Secretary’s order were Naik’s public statements regarding jihad and terrorism, posted on the Internet in 2007.
In one of these videos Naik remarked of Osama bin Laden, “If you ask my view, if he is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him.” He has also said, “Every Muslim should be a terrorist for the antisocial elements of society.”
The Union sought to provide an arena for the discussion of Naik’s opinions as well as the current status of his legal challenge of the exclusion order.
The talk soon moved from theology to politics and he accused the Western media of spreading a false image of Islam and of Muslims.
“The media picks out the black sheep and portrays them as though they are exemplary Muslims,” Naik said.
Naik addressed several of his past remarks that prompted his exclusion order.
He told the audience that he publicly condemned such terrorist aggression as the 9/11 attacks, the 7/7 bombing and the Mumbai bombing in 2006. He stressed that “Islam condemns terrorism” more plainly than any other faith.
He also said that his advice for husbands to use caution when beating their wives, another tape widely circulated on the internet, has been distorted. Naik insisted that any beating should not leave a mark and is to be done “with something like a toothbrush.”
Naik was asked by Union Secretary Izzy Westbury whether or not it is “patronising and degrading” to deny women the a choice in wearing the hijab, or traditional Muslim head covering. Naik said that different cultures have different ideas of modesty, though he also stated “Islam cannot force anyone to adopt the hijab.”
Speaking of his efforts to challenge the Home Office’s exclusion order, Naik said, “I have faith in the judicial system, and I hope that in the future I will have the chance to meet Theresa May and explain to her the peaceful message of Islam.”
