By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: India’s prominent Muslim spiritual guru Zakir Naik has been ranked at No. 3 among top 10 spiritual gurus from across religions in the country.
Country’s esteemed newspaper Indian Express has prepared a top 10 list of opinion makers, sports personalities, film stars, economists, bureaucrats, legal voices and others. In the category of spiritual gurus, the jury of the paper, which excludes from all lists, has put Naik, who has delivered 1,200 public talks over 13 years across the globe, at No. 3. Spiritual gurus Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravishankar are at No. 1 and 2 respectively. Satya Sai Baba is at No. 5 and Sister Nirmala at No. 8.
Describing Zakir Naik the paper says: “Comparative religion specialist Dr Zakir Naik has emerged as a cult figure of sorts among Muslims.” In the last 13 years Zakir Naik has authored several books.
In a separate list of 100 most powerful Indians in 2009, Naik, 43, has been ranked at No. 82. This list has Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh at No. 1, 2 and 3 respectively. L K Advani, Pranab Mukherjee and Mayawati are at No. 4, 5 and 6 respectively.
Naik’s public talks are broadcast on Peace TV. The channel is aired in 125 countries. Trained as a surgeon, Dr Naik quotes from the Quran, Vedas and Bible with equal ease.