KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Nothing useful can be gained from Dr Zakir Naik’s talks on comparative religion if the ultimate goal is merely to espouse Islam and to convert non-Muslims, former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said today.

In his latest blog posting, Zaid pointed out that Dr Zakir is well-known as a Muslim preacher who has belittled the practices of other faiths.

“There is nothing useful that can be obtained from having an ‘understanding’ of different religions, if the main purpose is to convert the listener,” he said.

“Zakir Naik is proud to be described as a Muslim preacher who has converted many unbelievers to Islam. 

“When you start talking of how great your religion is, you would, in the same breadth, put down some aspects of the other religions; otherwise how do you score points?” Zaid asked.

He also questioned whether the government would accord non-Muslim evangelists and preachers the same treatment as Dr Zakir.

“Would the government grant the same freedom to Christian and Hindu evangelists  from India and elsewhere ?

“I doubt it. The less preaching we have in the country, the better it is for peace and harmony,” he said.

Zaid claimed that the Malay community was attracted to anything remotely religious, which is the reason why Dr Zakir has been able to come here so often.

“Islamic resurgence has contributed to the rise of many successful preachers in this country, as you can see from the success of Ustaz Azhar Idrus, and many others on TV,” he said.

Dr Zakir is due to give two lectures this week, one in Bukit Jalil tomorrow and another in Malacca the day after.

The Malacca event, which had been to compare Hinduism and Islam, was initially cancelled by the Inspector-General of Police, who said such a topic was not beneficial here.

The talk was reinstated after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim met with Ahmad Zahid and IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, who directed the preacher not to compare religions for his lectures here.

Dr Zakir previously angered the Hindu community in Malaysia by allegedly insulting their deities along with the vegetarian practices of the faith.

Hindu and Indian groups still insist that Dr Zakir’s lectures should not be allowed to proceed, with some also calling for his deportation.