Sheikh Ahmed Deedat & Dr. Zakir Naik

Sheikh Ahmed Hussein Deedat (1918 - 2005), was a Muslim scholar of Comparative religion, an author, lecturer, and an orator. He was best known for witty inter-religious public debates.What differentiated Deedat's approach from his contemporaries, apart from eloquence in English language, was that he would not only use references from the Qur'an and the Hadith, but also use his intensive knowledge of the Bible. His writings have been criticized as fundamentalist,antisemitic, anti-Christian and anti-Hindu, though his supporters categorically deny this.

Early life

Ahmed Deedat was born in Surat, India in 1918. His father had emigrated to South Africa shortly after the birth of Ahmed Deedat. At the age of 9, Deedat went to join his father in what is now known as Kwazulu-Natal. His mother died few months after Deedat left for South Africa.

Applying himself with diligence to his studies, Deedat was able to overcome the language barrier and excel in school, getting promotions until he completed standard 6. But had to start working at the age of 16.In 1936, while working as a furniture salesman Deedat came across missionaries at a Christian seminary on the Natal South Coast. In between the deep racial divides, the religious ideology was used by the authorities to numb and pacify the masses.[1] This is considered to be a major influence on Deedat's interest in comparative religions.

Another inspiration on his intellectual development came from the book "Truth Revealed" by Rahmatullah Kairanvi on the concept of holding inter-religious public debates.[2] The book was written especially in response to the missionary efforts of Reverend C.C.P Fonder, the head of the Christian Mission of India, in 1864.

Lectures and Debates

Deedat's first lecture, entitled "Muhammad: Messenger of Peace," was delivered in 1942 to an audience of 15 people at a Durban movie theater.[1] Within a short space of time, the numbers grew and people crossed the racial divides which were then prevalent in apartheid South Africa, to listen to him, and to participate in the questions and answers sessions which followed his lectures.

With the increased success, Deedat engaged into broader range of activities over the next three decades. He conducted classes on Bible studies and conducted numerous lectures. Da`wah (inviting people towards Islam) became the dominant factor of his life, with the audiences at his lectures reaching forty thousand. In 1957, Deedat, together with two of his friends, founded the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI) and remained its president until 1996.[3]According to David Westerlund, Deedat's aimed at providing Muslims with theological tools for defending themselves against the intense missionary strivings of many Christian denominations. He used English instead of Arabic or any other language to get his message across to Muslim minorities in the western world. [4]

Not knowing Hebrew or Greek, Deedat's trademark was his verbatim quotes from secondary Christian sources combined with selected passages from English translations of the Bible to give credibility to his argument that the Bible supported the Islamic creed and was at variance with the doctrine of the Trinity and other foundational Christian teachings. In terms of his memorization of Biblical texts, he had no peer in the non-Christian world.International coverage In 1986, he visited Saudi Arabia for a conference, and in his first television interview, became notable in the Arab world with his dynamic personality and knowledge of comparative religion.He subsequently visited Australia, Denmark, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom on lecture and debating tours.In the United States, he became famous for a debate with the American Reverend Jimmy Swaggart at the University of Louisiana.[5]

Honours and awards

King Faisal International Award. 1986President, Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI) (1957-1996)

Criticisms

Deedat's personality did not escape criticisms and controversies: In some circles, Deedat's debates and writings have been termed as an apologetical endeavour influenced largely by the marginal and exposed situation of the small minority of Muslims in the strongly Christian dominated South Africa.[4] Some also consider that in the post-11 September climate the socio-political context of Deedat's works cannot be applied to the contemporary discourse as for many of today's Western intelligentsia, the mere exposure of inconsistencies in the Bible proves nothing about the truth of Islam, as the secular mind is antagonistic to religion.[1] The IPCI, Grey Street Durban office was built on funds from many sources, including the Saudi Binladin Group, and was named as 'Bin Laden Centre' in the honour. However, the centre was renamed later.[6] In 2006, Ahmed Deedat's son circulated a DVD that denounced South African Hindus. The elder Deedat had previously circulated an anti-Hindu video in the 80's where he said that Indian Muslims were 'fortunate' that their Hindu forefathers 'saw the light' and converted to Islam when Muslim rulers dominated some areas of India. His video was widely criticized.[7].Lloyd V. J. Ridgeon, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Glasgow, but not a Muslim himself, writes:

Ahmed Deedat's pamphlets are being recycled to a brand new British Muslim constituency. Thus, a new generation is exposed to his malicious new disinformations. The reason for the popularity of such polemicists as Ahmed Deedat is varied:Muslim self-understandings as "the best of all communities" leads them to suppose that Islam prevails over all religions. Combined with the wounded pride of living in a post-colonial world within the continuing hegemony of western culture,some dignity can at least be preserved by claimimg moral and religious superiority.[8]

Africa correspondent (former) for the London's Independent Karl Maier writes that Deedat's rhetoric has made him very popular "in the underground of Islamic radicalism"[9] Still, Deedat's influence was certainly wider than confined to the underground. Islamic scholar Farid Esack has criticized Deedat,comparing him to such fundamentalists as Rabbi Meir Kahane and Jerry Falwell, and writing[10]:

Another prominent critic of Deedat is Joe Kauffmann, co-founder of "Americans Against Hate". Kauffmann criticizes Deedat as a "known bigot", a homophobe and an anti-Semite.[11]The "Stephen Roth institute for the study of contemporary antisemitism and racism" also accuses Deedat of being an anti-Semite[12]

In his book,"Arabs and Israel Conflict or Reconciliation", Deedat has frequently alleged "Jewish biases" in the western world and media, re-iterating traditional conspiracist allegations of "Jewish Lobby" control. He writes "Anti-Semite" is the magic word that cloaks every Jewish Crime"[13]. In his book, he also attacks Israel, and the US-Israel relationship in this book as part of a "Jewish Conspiracy". [13]

Death

On May 3, 1996, Sheikh Ahmed Deedat suffered a stroke which left him paralyzed from the neck down, and also meant that he could no longer speak or swallow. He was flown to a hospital in Riyadh, where he was taught to communicate through a series of eye-movements. He spent the last nine years of his life in a bed in his home in Verulam, South Africa, encouraging people to engage in da'wah. He continued to receive hundreds of letters of support from around the world. During these years, rumors spread throughout the Internet that he was already dead, and even some websites that contained his pamphlets mentioned as early as 2002 that he was dead.On August 8, 2005, Ahmed Deedat finally succumbed to his prolonged illness and died at his home in Trevennen Road, Verulam in the province of KwaZulu Natal.

Dr.Zakir Naik is the main driving spirit, Alhamdulillah, behind the Islamic Research Foundation getting worldwide acclaim for the proper presentation, understanding and clarification of Islam, as well as for removing misconceptions about Islam.

A medical doctor by professional training, Dr. Zakir Naik is renowed as a dynamic international orator on Islam and Comparative Religion. Dr. Zakir Naik 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 41 years old.Dr. Zakir is popular for his critical analysis and convincing answers to challenging questions posed by audiences after his public talks. In the last 6 years (by the year 2002), Dr. Zakir Naik has delivered more than 600 public talks in the U.S.A., Canada, U.K., Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, South Africa, Mauritius, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Thailand, Guyana (South America) and many other countries, in addition to numerous public talks in India.

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 city of Chicago, U.S.A., on April 1, 2000 was a resounding success.

Dr. Zakir Naik appears regularly on many international T.V. Channels in more than 100 countries of the world. He is regularly invited for T.V. and Radio interviews. More than a hundred of his talks, dialogues, debates and symposia are available on video cassettes, video CDs and audio cassettes. He has authored books on Islam and Comparative Religion.Though a Medical Doctor by professional training, he has dedicated his life to spread the truth of Islam worldwide, specially amongst millions of English knowing audiences. At only 40 years, Dr. Zakir explains the teachings of Islam as well as convincingly clears misconceptions about Islam with references from the Quran and Sahih Hadith, and with the help of Reason, Logic and Science. He has a tremendous ability to quote extensively and verbatim from the Glorious Quran, and from other religious scriptures.

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 awarded to Dr. Zakir Abdul-Karim Naik for his achievement in the field of Da’wah and the study of Comparative Religion with the engraving "Son what you have done in 4 years had taken me 40 years to accomplish. Alhamdullilah.”