Islamist hate preacher Zakir Naik in his latest video has supported the torching and destruction of the ancient Hindu temple in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stating that temples should not be allowed to be constructed in an Islamic country.
The endorsement from the radical Islamist preacher came days after the historic Krishna Dwara temple was razed down and set ablaze by a frenzied mob of hundreds of people led by local Muslim clerics from radical Islamist party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.
It is also worth noting that Naik’s rants against the Hindu temple comes on the heels of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Mahmood Khan said on Friday that his government will rebuild the Hindu temple using provincial government funds.
Islamist fanatics raze down the temple in Pakistan
Videos circulating on social media showed several Islamists using hammers to damage the temple walls of the recently constructed Krishna Dwara temple, situated in Karak’s Teri union council. The fanatics who were led by a local cleric and supporters of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party (Fazal ur Rehman group) set fire to the building, then razed it down with hammers and crude weapons. The video which went viral on social media showed how the miscreants surrounded and vandalised the temple for hours.
Notably, the temple was demolished allegedly in the presence of district administration officials.
Reportedly, the temple was built after Guru Shri Paramhans Dayal was laid to rest at the site in July 1919. However, the Muslim residents of the area had closed the temple after the Partition in 1947. The temple was destroyed under similar circumstances in 1997 as well. In 2015, the Krishna Dwara temple was restored on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Rohit Kumar, an advocate and the Hindu activist said the residents violated the agreement by vandalising the temple. Earlier, Hindus and the Muslims of the village had signed an agreement on December 22 agreeing that the renovation of the temple would not exceed the specified area.
However, the Muslim residents of the area had alleged that that the Hindu community was illegally expanding the temple building. They said the matter was reported to the police too.
According to the Muslims, as police did not take action against the Hindus, they themselves took the law into their hands and demolished the temple.
On Friday, India formally lodged a protest against the wanton and malicious destruction of Hindu temple by several Islamic fanatics in Pakistan’s Terri village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on December 30. Concerns were conveyed to Pakistan through diplomatic channels.
Constructing a Hindu temple in an Islamic state is ‘haram’: Zakir Naik
While Zakir Naik backed the demolition of the Hindu temple in Pakistan, this is not the first time that the Islamist hate speech peddler has spread venom against constructing Hindu temples.
Earlier in July 2020, Naik had voiced his discontent with the Pakistani government for allowing the construction of a Hindu temple. Naik said that the Imran Khan government has committed a sin, as it is haram (forbidden) according to Sharia (Islamic law) for an Islamic nation to pay or donate to a worship house of a non-Muslim, be it a temple or a church.
Speaking at a live session on his Islamic YouTube channel, BelievingBeings, the terror influencer, who fled India to Malaysia in 2016, said that all Muslim scholars, imams and ulemas stood united in their views that “a Muslim cannot donate, support or construct a house of worship of non-Muslims”, and by using Muslim taxpayers money to fund the Krishna temple in Islamabad, Pakistan is committing shirk (sin).
To buttress his claim, Naik stated that all Muslim scholars, imams and ulemas are of the same opinion and there are several fatwas (rulings) regarding this. He further added that the Quran, the holy book of the Muslims also discourages cooperation “in sins and transgressions”, therefore, if any Muslim associates with the building of any non-Muslim worship place, he is committing a sin.
