A medical doctor by professional training, Dr Zakir Naik is renowned as a dynamic international orator on Islam and Comparative Religion. Dr Zakir Naik is the president of Islamic Research Foundation, Mumbai. Dr Zakir clarifies Islamic viewpoints and clears misconceptions about Islam, using the Qur’an, authentic Hadith and other religious Scriptures as a basis, in conjunction with reason, logic and scientific facts. He is 47 years old.
He is popular for his critical analysis and convincing answers to challenging questions posed by audiences after his public talks. In the last 17 years (by the year 2013) Dr Zakir Naik has delivered more than 2000 public talks in the U.S.A., Canada, U.K., Italy, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Botswana, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Guyana (South America), Trinidad, Mauritius and many other countries, in addition to numerous public talks in India.
He is ranked in the top 62 list of the ‘500 Most Influential Muslims in the World’ published by George Washington University in the year 2011 and 2012. He was also listed No. 82 in the ‘100 Most Influential People in India’ published by Indian Express in 2009 and listed No. 89 in 2010 amongst the billion plus population of India. He was listed No. 3 in the ‘Top 10 Spiritual Gurus of India in 2009’ and he topped this list in 2010.
According to Google search engine Dr. Zakir Naik’s result varies between 5 to 12 million (which changes daily) which is not only one of the highest amongst the Muslim religious speakers but also one of the highest amongst any religious speaker in the world.
He has successfully participated in several symposia and dialogues with prominent personalities of other faiths. His public dialogue with Dr. William Campbell (of USA) on the topic “The Qur’an and the Bible in the light of Science” held in Chicago, U.S.A., in April, 2000 was a resounding success.
His Interfaith Dialogue with prominent Hindu Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the topic "The Concept of God in Hinduism and Islam in the light of Sacred Scriptures" held at Palace Grounds, Bangalore, on 21st Jan. 2006, was highly appreciated by people of both the faiths.
Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, the world famous orator on Islam and Comparative Religion, who had called Dr Zakir “Deedat Plus” in 1994, presented a plaque in May 2000 with the engraving “Awarded to Dr. Zakir Abdul-Karim Naik for his achievement in the field of Da’wah and the study of Comparative Religion. Son what you have done in 4 years had taken me 40 years to accomplish, Alhamdulillah”.
Dr Zakir Naik appears regularly on many international TV channels in more than 200 countries of the world. He is regularly invited for TV and Radio interviews. More than a hundred of his talks, dialogues, debates and symposia are available on DVDs and VCDs. He has authored many books on Islam and Comparative Religion.
The Idealogue and Driving Force behind Peace TV Network is Dr. ZAKIR NAIK. He launched Peace TV English, in January 2006, it being the largest watched Islamic as well as any Religious Satellite TV channel presently in the world, with over 100 million viewership of which 25% are Non-Muslims. In its footsteps he launched Peace TV Urdu in June 2008 and Peace TV Bangla in April 2011.