Christians in Pakistan demand action against preacher Zakir Naik

Pakistan’s Christian leaders have written a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seeking legal action against controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik for allegedly discrediting their faith during his ongoing tour of the country.

He came to Pakistan on a month-long visit at the invitation of the government, during which he gave “controversial” lectures in cities such as Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore. This is his first visit to Pakistan in three decades; He last visited in 1992.

Naik, who is wanted in India for money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speech, left the country in 2016. He was granted permanent residence in Malaysia by the previous government led by Mahathir Mohamed.

Synod President Bishop, Church of Pakistan, Rev. Dr. Azad Marshall and other Christian leaders wrote a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari, condemning Naik for his negative remarks about Christians and their faith during a visit. state guest. He also regretted that the Pakistani government did not express any concern over Naik’s “anti-Christian” statements.

Christian leaders demanded that the prime minister and the president take action against him and take effective steps to prevent such divisive and harmful incidents, especially state-sponsored ones, from occurring in the future.

“Dr Zakir Naik’s public speeches have caused serious distress within the Christian community as he openly questions the authenticity of our faith, discredits our sacred texts and makes statements that undermine the faith of Christian pastors and scholars,” the letter said.

He adds that Naik’s remarks not only lead to religious attack but also undermine the national pride of everyone, regardless of their beliefs.

“Despite the government’s repeated assurances that it would maintain religious harmony and mutual respect for all, Naik’s comments have further intensified the sense of marginalization felt by the Christian community.”

The letter also states that Naik has spoken out against the faith of Christians in open forums where Pastors and Christian scholars have been deprived of the opportunity to adequately respond to or correct misinformation spread by his misinformed and biased views. It is stated that Naik disrespected the vision of Pakistan’s founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah in public meetings as a state guest, and this is unfortunate.