Renowned Islamic scholar Dr. Zakir Naik, who is visiting Pakistan these days, was called out on social media after a video of him responding to a question by Pashto girl went viral on social media.
Dr. Zakir Naik had posted a video on his X account of a Pakistani girl asking him a question and his answer to the question. The video of the caption read: “Pathan Girl asks Dr Zakir Naik a Contradictory Question About Pakistani Society.”
A girl, hailing from KPK’s Lakki Marwat, asked a question regarding the surge in drug abuse, pedophilia, and adultery in her area which she described as following strict Islamic principles. She said that women in her area are not allowed to leave their homes unnecessarily. They are always accompanied by a male guardian when going out.
https://x.com/ZiauddinY/status/1842875997705642153
https://x.com/MaryamShKhan/status/1842901959407206504
The girl added that people in her area also pray five times a day daily. Sermons and lectures are also organized in mosques, however, there is a growing trend of un-Islamic practices like adultery, pedophilia, and drug abuse particularly in the religious seminaries. The girl asked Naik how would he describe this situation.
Read more: Iran’s Khamenei delivers address on Mideast crisis in Arabic
Netizens believe Dr. Zakir Naik failed to give a satisfactory answer to the question put up girl. Instead, he snubbed the girl and dismissed her question. The scholar argued that she wrongly called the area she lived in ‘Islamic society’. Netizens praised the girl for rightly highlighting the growing ills in society.
“She asks a brilliant question that @drzakiranaik has no answer for, so he falls back on his male/mullah privilege to bully her, refusing to acknowledge that Muslim men can be pedophiles& rapists. Also ties himself into knots by arguing that sex crimes don’t happen inside the home,” said one user on X.
“Please watch this video with a critical eye. Dr. Sab is unfairly bullying a courageous Pashtun girl for asking a genuine question. This behavior is extremely disappointing,” said another user. The Islamic scholar is facing immense criticism on social media.