JULY 14 ― It’s a worthwhile question to ask. Who is he that so many people are crawling out of the woodwork to defend him? He should mean absolutely nothing to most of us Malaysians. Just another loudmouth foreign preacher preaching hard-line and radical views which are not exactly alien to our ears.

Yet in his case, both conservative and liberal religious leaders of this country have come out in support of Zakir. Perkasa has lodged a police report against the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism for linking him to the deadly Dhaka attack on July 1. Somehow they claimed that this touched on Muslim sensitivities.

There have even been threats of prosecution from the government onto a media outlet for citing a Bangladesh report which claimed that the suspects involved in the attack were inspired by Zakir preachings.

So who is he to Malaysia, particularly to Muslim Malays, that he needs to be defended in such a vociferous manner?

Honestly, I don’t know.

Consider what this allegedly religious preacher has preached:

“How can we allow this (building of churches or temples) when their religion is wrong and when their worshipping is wrong?”

“If bin Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him. If he is terrorising America the biggest terrorist, I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is if he is terrorising the terrorist, he is following Islam

“Girls shouldn’t be sent to schools where they lose their virginity by the time they pass out. Schools should be shut down.”

But you know something? So what? We have heard these statements in one form or another from our own home-grown self-anointed holy men (and women). 

Yes, he is a fundamentalist. So? Being a fundamentalist doesn’t make one a criminal, revered as if he was the embodiment of the Second Coming or even responsible for what happened in Dhaka.

What I do know is that this supposed “man of peace” is typical of fire breathing and divisive evangelical preachers everywhere. They speak of hellfire and brimstone, wrongs and injustices both real and imagined, interpret holy scripture to suit their needs, and call for believers to punish the wicked and claim the kingdom of heaven. As long as someone else does the dirty work lah.

And when the crap hits the fan, they deny that they had anything to do with it.

Zakir Naik reminds me of hard-line Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir. Remember him? Members of Jemaah Islamiyah responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people, were inspired by his preaching and calls for action and jihad. Abu Bakar also denied that he should be held responsible for the bombing and that he was the spiritual inspiration of extremist and militant activities. Sound familiar?

Hate speech isn’t free speech. The messages of hate, bigotry, misogyny and religious supremacism are what Zakir Naik preaches. There will be repercussions and consequences to such speech. Something that many Malay Muslims and apparently the authorities themselves are unable or unwilling to understand.

Claiming that Zakir was misunderstood and that this was a conspiracy against “Islam” are the defence of people who are lazy to engage in reasonable and rational dialogue. It is also a denial of reality.

What does it say about us as a people and a country that we fete a man like Zakir Naik by giving him the red carpet treatment, bestowing him the “Tokoh Maal Hijrah” award, allow him to preach to thousands in stadiums, and permit him to spread his messages and hypocritical views to the masses? He was even offered land by a state government!

There are good reasons why several countries have already banned Zakir from entry into their countries.

Let us begin moving away from toxic teachings such as those espoused by Zakir who misuse religion and faith to divide and assert dominion. Let us build bridges across our country’s deepest gaps and divisions, and find our better selves in the process.

Let us stop defending Zakir Naik.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.