A northern Malaysian University slammed over an exam that showed praise for a controversial Indian preacher.
Who is this Indian preacher?
MALAYSIA – The Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) from northern Malaysia got on a hot platter after citing in a university examination a controversial Indian preacher as “one of the icons of the Islamic World.”
Malaysia’s Education Ministry laid their hands-off on the issue and doesn’t want to get involved over the Zakir remarks.
Zakir Naik is an Indian Islamic televangelist and Islamic preacher. He was born in India and practiced his evangelism most of his years in India. Zakir founded the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), United Islamic Aid, and the Islamic International School in Mumbai, which provides educational aid for poor and unfortunate Muslim youth.
The Indian preacher was also the motivation behind the Peace TV Network. The channel claims to promote “Truth, Justice, Morality, Harmony, and Wisdom.” But, according to the Indian government, the network only stirs up unsupported controversies that eventually led to their closure in 2012.
Zakir was then revoked of his Indian citizenship and passport. He is currently residing in Malaysia, where he was granted permanent resident status, despite the objection from India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Malaysian government has a keen eye on Zakir, which is now under the rule of law of the country.
The controversial exam question
According to sources, the controversial UniMAP university exam is part of its Ethnic Relations Course.
A part of the exam item goes as follows:
Zakir Naik is one of the icons of the Islamic world. He is very active in spreading true Islam and following the Quran and Sunnah of Rasulullah…
with a follow-up question.
However, in Malaysia, he is no longer allowed to deliver speeches. In your opinion, as a Malaysian, why does this happen?
The question was a multiple-choice with the following answers given as option:
- Malaysians do not bother getting actual information
- Malaysians are sensitive and feel threatened for no reason
- Malaysians just follow the crowd without verifying any information
- Malaysians are ignorant about their own religion
The Indian preacher was prohibited by the Malaysian government to conduct public speeches when he allegedly insulted Malaysians of Chinese and Indian ancestry in one of his speeches last August.
UniMAP, as a multiracial university, assured the public that it would look into the issue seriously and with sensitivity.
The Education Ministry’s Higher Education Department will not intervene with what’s happening in the UniMAP case and let the university be held accountable for its actions as a form of autonomy.
