By RINA,
Peace Conference concludes In Mumbai
New Delhi: In his concluding speech in the Peace Conference organized under auspices of Islamic Research Foundation in Soumiya Ground in Mumbai, the moving spirit of the Foundation Dr. Zakir Naiak said, “International media has dedicated all its forces for anti-Islam propaganda and to make people believe that Islam is spreading terrorism, whereas both these facts are baseless and false.”
Addressing more than two lakh people on the topic of ‘Media and Islam: War or Peace?’, Dr. Zakir Naik dwelt on various forms of media and said, “Media, whether print or electronic, is so much potent that it can make any person either a villain or a hero as per its own choice. Probably it is this power of the media that the West has taken on its hold. It can make people believe a day as a night.”
Citing the example of an accident by a Mercedes car in which driver will always be blamed for the mishap and not the car, Dr. Naik said, “By presenting the instances of astray Muslims, the international media tries to create the impression that this is normal behaviour of Muslims. The first thing that the media opts for defaming Islam is interpretation of wrong information and the other thing is presentation of examples out of context.”
Dr. Naik said, “The verse no. 5 of the Chapter of Taubah, is often quoted as a ‘proof’ that Islam allows killings and pillage, which is totally wrong because the verse has been revealed in context of war. Could US commander order his troops to not kill Vietnam forces during the war?” He blamed journalist Arun Shouri, especially his book ‘World of Fatwas’, for attacking Islam with the help of similar out of context quotes.
Alleging that there are men who comment on Islam by observing a few Muslims, Dr. Zakir Naik said, “They should refer to the Qur’an for understanding Islam. If you want to understand Islam do not see Muslims, study the Qur’an. But if you really want to see a Muslim, fix your eyes on the Master of Madinah, the Ruler of the two Worlds (S. A. W.), the best Being among all other beings” referring to Prophet Mohammad.
Explaining the term ‘Jihad’, Dr. Naik said, “This world is driven from the concept of utmost struggle, so, when a man combats with his own self, it is called Jihad and again, when he strives for reformation of the society, it is called Jihad. Similarly, when he confronts the enemies in the battlefield, it is called Jihad. This means that following Allah’s commands with utmost care is Jihad.” On ‘Holy War’, he said, “The term was coined by Christians and today, the media is using it wrongly.”
Meanwhile, a section of Muslims, especially some Barelvi and Shiite Ulema in Lucknow, have started a fierce campaign against Dr. Zakir Naik. In a press conference in Lucknow, All India Sunni Jamiatul Ulama (AISJU) endorsed its agreement with the fatwa issued by Barreilly’s Shara’ee Council calling Dr. Naik as an infidel for his statements against ‘Tawassul’ (intermediation) of the Prophet (S. A. W.) and Muslim saints and visiting graves and mausoleums as well as for praising Yazeed and calling Karabala incident as a political skirmish. AISJU also appealed Muslims to boycott Dr. Zakir Naik’s programs all over India. Dr. Naik, later clarified and corrected his mistake signing a letter to that effect just before the Peace Conference.
Peace Conference lasted for ten days and saw many speakers from India and abroad talking on different topics on Islam. According to the conference organizers, on the last day of the Conference, fifteen persons embraced Islam, a total of 65 became Muslim during the ten-day conference.