DR. Zakir Naik Speech at Oxford Union *2011* Historical Debate (HQ)

tonight is no exception i urge all of you here this evening to make full use of the question and answer session that will happen later on tonight with that said i now ask you to join with me in welcoming dr zakir naik to address the society um honorable mr president of the oxford union mr james langman the honorable members of the oxford union the respected elders and my brothers and sisters i welcome all of you with the islamic greetings assalamu alaikum may peace mercy and blessings of allah of almighty god be on all of you it's an honor and a great pleasure for me to address this historic oxford union and i would like to thank the oxford union especially its president mr james langman for making this event possible the topic of my talk today is islam and the 21st century islam comes from the root word salam which means peace it's also derived from the arabic word film which means to submit your will to almighty god islam in short means peace acquired by submitting to almighty god and any person who submits evil to almighty god he is called as a muslim many people have a misconception that islam is a new religion which came into existence 49 years ago and prophet muhammad peace be upon him is the founder of this religion in fact islam is there since time immemorial since man set foot on this earth and prophet muhammad peace be upon him is not the founder of this religion but he is the last and final messenger of almighty god the religion of islam is based on the teachings of the glorious quran which came into existence 14 years back is it possible that today the humanity at large in this 21st century can gain guidance how a life to be led how a life should be led from a book which is 49 years ago from a book which is 14 years old but natural the answer obviously is no if this book is written by a human being but the glorious quran is the last and final revelation of almighty god which was revealed to the last and final messenger prophet muhammad peace be upon him the glorious quran is the proclamation humanity it is the fountain of mercy and wisdom it's a guide to the airing it's a warning to the heatless it's an assurance to those in doubt it's a solid to the suffering and it is an hope to those in despair the glorious quran is the last and final revelation of almighty god which was revealed to the last and final messenger prophet muhammad peace be upon him for any book to claim that it is a word of god for any book to prove that it is the revelation from almighty god it should stand the test of time previously in the olden days it was the age of miracles the glorious quran is the miracle of miracles later on came the age of literature and poetry muslim and non-muslim arabic scholars alike they acclaim the glorious quran to be the best arabic literature available on the face of the earth but today if a religious book in a very poetic fashion says the world is flat will a modern man believe in it but naturally the answer is no because today is not the age of literature and poetry today is the age of science and technology so let us analyze whether this glorious quran is compatible or incompatible with modern science according to oxford according to albert einstein the famous physicist and the nobel prize winner who i am told also addressed this historic oxford union he said science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind let me remind you the glorious quran is not a book of science s-c-i-e-n-c-e but it's a book of signs s-i-g-n-s it's a book of ayats it's a book of verses and the glorious quran has more than six thousand signs six thousand ayats six thousand verses out of which more than a thousand speak about science as far as my talk today is concerned i will only be speaking about scientific facts i will not be speaking about scientific hypothesis and theories which all of us know many a times these theories and hypotheses take u-turns in the field of astronomy a few decades earlier in the 1970s there were a group of scientists who described how the universe came into existence for which they got the nobel prize this they called as the big bang and these scientists said that initially our universe was one primary nebula then there was a secondary separation there was a big bang which gave rise to galaxies the stars the planets the sun as well as the earth on which we live this they called as the big bang this what the scientist discovered about 40 years back is mentioned in the quran 1400 years ago in surah ambia chapter number 21 verse number 30 says do that the heavens and the earth will join together and we close them asunder this big bang which the scientists discovered recently is mentioned in the quran 1400 years ago previously we human beings we thought that the world was flat it was in 1577 when sir francis drake sailed around the earth that the first time proved that the earth on which we live it is spherical in shape the quran mentions 1400 years ago in surah naziat chapter number 79 verse number 30 and thereafter we have made the earth x-shaped one of the meaning of daha is an expanse and the earth doesn't expands the other meaning is derived from the arabic word which means an egg and today we know the earth is not completely round like a ball it is saturn from the pole it is geospherical in shape and if we analyze the arabic word the haha doesn't refer to a normal egg it specifically refers to the egg of an ostrich and if we analyze the egg of an ostrich is too geospherical in shape imagine the glorious quran 1400 years ago says that the earth is your spherical in shape previously we did not know that the light of the moon was its own light previously we thought that the light of the moon was its own light recently we have come to know that the light of the moon is not its own light but it is a reflected and borrowed light the quran says in surah for khan chapter number 25 verse number 61 blessed is he who has placed the constellation in the sky and placed the sun a lamp having its own light and moon having borrowed or reflected light so the quran describes the moonlight as borrowed or reflected which we came to know recently in science recently science may 50 years back 100 years back 200 years back when i was in school i passed my school in 1982 about 29 years back there i'd learned in science that the sun though it revolves it does not it does not rotate about its own access but the quran mentions in surah ambiya chapter number verse number thirty three who are lazy nahara it is he who has created the night and the day was the sun in the moon fifa hoon each one traveling in orbit with its own motion the quran says the sun and the moon besides revolving it also rotates about its own axis and today recently a few decades earlier science has come to know that the sun rotates and takes about 25 days to complete one rotation which has been incorporated in most of the school textbook throughout the world there may be certain skeptics who will say it's nothing great that the quran speaks about astronomy since the arabs were advanced in the field of astronomy i do agree that the arabs were advanced in the field of astronomy but like to remind them that the arabs became advanced in the field of astronomy a few hundred years after the quran was revealed so it is from the quran that the arabs learned about astronomy and not the vice versa in the field of hydrology in the field of hydrology we learn in the school about the water cycle how do the water evaporates from the ocean forms into clouds moves in the interior falls down as rain and the water is punished this was first described by sabana palace in the year 1580. the quran 2 describes the water cycle in great detail 1400 years ago the quran says the water evaporates from the ocean forms into clouds the clouds join they move into the interior they fall down as rain and the water table is replenished and the water cycle is completed the quran speaks about the water cycle in great detail in several places in surah azumur chapter number 39 verse number 21 in surya room chapter number 30 verse number 24 in menon chapter number 23 verse number eighteen in surah chapter number 15 verse number 22 in surah nur chapter number 24 verse number 43 in israel chapter number 30 verse number 24 in surah chapter number 7 verse 57 in surah chapter number 13 verse number 17 in surah furqan chapter number 25 verse number 48 and 49 in surah chapter 35 verse number nine in suryasin chapter number 36 verse number 34 in surah jasya chapter number 45 verse number five in surah chapter number 50 verse number eight and nine in sura chapter number 56 verse number 68 to 17. in surah mulk chapter 6 7 verse number 30 in surah chapter number 6 verse number 11. i can go on and on giving references only in the quran of the several verses which speak about the what cycle in great detail in the field of oceanography there's a verse in the quran in surah khan chapter number 25 verse number 53 he says that he has let two bodies of flowing water one sweet and palatable and the other salty and bitter though they meet they're not mix there is a barrier which is forbidden to be trespassed previously we human beings knew that the two types of water sweet and salty but the commentary of the quran could not understand what does god almighty mean by saying that these two waters when they meet they're not mixed and there is a barrier which is forbidden to be test passed today after sciences advance we have come to know that whenever one type of water flows into the other type of water it loses its constituents and gets homogenized into the water it flows this today science calls as the transitional homogenizing area which the quran refers to as barzak as a barrier and this can be seen in cape point the southernmost of south africa and when we see even the color of the water between these two types of water differs and professor hey a very famous oceanologist he said that this information came to the human knowledge recently this book the quran is difficult to explain how does it mention 14 years ago in the field of biology the quran says in surah ambiya chapter number 21 verse number 30 that we have created every living theme from water will you not then believe imagine in the deserts of arabia the quran says every living thing is made from water who could have believed in it today after science advance we have come to know that every living being it contains cells and the basic substance of cell is the cytoplasm which contains operate typos in water today science tells us that every living you creature contains 50 to 90 water in the field of botany previously we did not know that even the plants have got sexist male and female the quran says in turi taha chapter number 20 verse number 53 that it is he who sends on water from the sky and with it brings diverse pairs of plant each separate from the other that'd be called aswaj meaning pear saying that the plants have got sexes male and female in the field of zoology the quran says in surah anam chapter number 6 verse number 38 it is he who has made every animal that walks on the earth and every bird that flies in the air to live in communities like the human beings today science agrees that even the animals and the birds live in community like the human being which was not known earlier the quran speaks about the lifestyle of the bee in surah and hell chapter number 16 verse number 68 and 69 the quran speaks about the lifestyle of the spider in surah and kabut chapter number 29 verse number 41 the quran speaks about the lifestyle and the communication of ants in surah namal chapter number 27 verse number 17 and 18. in the field of medicine the quran says in surah nahal chapter number 16 verse 16 and 69 that from the belly of the bee we give you a drink of varying colors in which there is healing for mankind it is recently we have come to know that the honey that we have is obtained from the belly of the bee and today science agrees that there are mild antiseptic properties in honey and it is even a healing for mankind in the field of physiology the quran describes the blood circulation and the production of milk in a nutshell in suran hell chapter 16 verse number 66 600 years after the quran was revealed ibn nafis he made it known to the world about the production of milk and blood circulation four hundred years later that is thousand years after the quran was revealed william harvey he made it famous to the western world in our textbook we hear about william harvey but we hardly hear about the name of ninafees who 400 years before william harvey spoke about the blood circulation and the production of milk in the field of embryology the quran describes the various embryological stages of the human development in great detail in surimo minou chapter number 23 verse number 12 to 14 it says that you mean we were not far then we made it into an alaka a mudga is a man that human being is created from a minor quantity of fluid then it made it into alaka that is a leech like substance then made it into a chewed like lump then made into bones then clothed the bones with flesh when this verse was showed in the early part of the 1980s to dr keith mo who at that time happened to be the highest authority in the field of anatomy and embryology he was the head of the department of toronto in the university of toronto he said that the description of the quran is far superior to what modern embryology describes today instead of stage 1 2 3 and he said that it's not possible that any human being can mention these things in the quran this quran has to be the word from almighty god and he has no objection in accepting prophet muhammad as the messenger of almighty god time does not permit me to speak a lot about science i'll just give one more example which is mentioned in the quran the quran mentions in surah yama chapter number 75 verse number 3 and 4 that when the unbelievers say that how will almighty god be able to reconstruct our bones after we are dead we are buried our bones have got disintegrated on the day of judgment how will almighty god be able to reconstruct our bone almighty god replies in the quran says tell them almighty god can not only reconstruct the bones he can even reconstruct in perfect order the very tips of the finger what does quran mean by saying god can not only reconstruct the bones he can even reconstruct in perfect order the very tips of the finger it was in 1880 that sir francis gold he discovered the fingerprinting method and he said that no two fingerprints even in millions of people identical and today this fingerprinting method is used by the police to identify the criminal it's used by cia by fbi by the police worldwide this quran mentioned 1400 years ago francis bacon a very famous philosopher he said little knowledge of science makes a person an atheist but in-depth knowledge of science makes a person a believer in god that is the reason today scientists are not eliminating god the eliminating models of god there is no god but allah i started my talk by quoting a verse in the glorious quran from surah chapter number 49 verse number 13 we says we have created you from a single pair of male and female and have divided you into nations and tribes so that you shall recognize each other not that you shall despise each other and the most honored in the sight of almighty god is the person who has taqwa the criteria for judgment in the sight of almighty god it's not sex it's not color it's not wealth it's not age but it is taqwa it is god consciousness it's piety it is righteousness the only way one human being can be superior to the other human being is by righteousness and by piety and no other criteria quran says in surah chapter number 30 verse number 22 amongst the signs he has created the heavens and the earth and the variation in your languages and color these are signs for the people who understand the quran says he has created the different variation in the color and the languages so that those are knowledgeable people they will know it's a sign from almighty god this speaks about the universal brotherhood that almighty god has created all the human beings from a common pair of human beings adam and eve may peace be upon them and almighty god says in surah chapter number 17 verse number 17 and we have honored the children of adam almighty god says in the quran that all the children of adam irrespective whether the black or white male or female whether born in uk or india or usa whichever part of the world they belong to almighty god has honored all the children of adam all the human beings and islam does not only speak about universal brotherhood it practically demonstrates that every muslim who followed the religion of islam should practically practice it minimum five times in the day i'm talking about one of the pillars of islam that is salah which is a prayer and a beloved prophet muhammad peace be upon him said that when you stand for prayer you should stand shoulder shoulder irrespective whether the person standing next to you is black or white rich or poor king or popper when you stand for prayer you have to stand shoulder shoulder this demonstrates the universal breath out every day minimum five times every day another example is hajj which is one of the pillars of islam that every rich person who has the means and who has the health to travel to makkah for the pilgrimage should at least do it once in his lifetime and hajj is the biggest annual gathering in the world where about three to four million people from different parts of the world from usa from canada from uk from india from malaysia from different parts of the world they gather together in one place in makman arafat and they are dressed in two pieces of unsewn cloth which is right in color and all of them you cannot identify the person standing next to you a sting or a popper and all of them come on a common statement here we are oh my lord here we are at your service islam practically demonstrates universal brethren many religions believe that humankind have been created from a single pair of adam and eve may peace be upon them both but there's some religion who put the blame only on eve for the downfall of humanity for the origin sin but if you read the quran the blame for disobeying almighty god is equally put on both adam and eve may peace be upon them the quran says in surah chapter 7 verse number 19 to 27 adam and eve peace be upon them they are both addressed more than a dozen times both of them they disobeyed god both of them repented and both were forgiven the blame is equally put on both of them never is there is not a single verse in the quran which put the blame only on eve however there's one verse in the quran in surah chapter 20 verse 121 he says and singles out adam peace be upon him and says he disobeyed god but on the whole if you read the quran the blame is equally put on both of them there are some religions who because they say that woman is the cause of the downfall of humanity which islam doesn't agree some religions say because of that god punished her and pregnancy is the curse and punishment of god on the woman but in islam pregnancy uplifts the woman the quran says in surah nisa chapter four verse number one respect the womb that bore you the quran says in surah luqman chapter number 31 verse number 14 we have enjoined on the human beings to be kind to the parents in travail upon travel did the motherboard them and in years when was the meaning the quran repeats the message in surah chapter number 46 verse number 15 we have enjoined on the human beings to be good to the parents in pain did the mother bear them and in pain did she give them birth so pregnancy uplifts a woman does not degrade her and a beloved prophet said it's mentioned in say bihari one of the collections of the authentic sayings of the last and final messenger prophet muhammad peace be upon him it's mentioned say bihari volume number eight in the book of manners chapter number two hadith number two a man approaches the prophet and asks him that who deserves the maximum companionship and love in this world the prophet said your mother the man asked after that who the prophet repeated your mother the man asked after that who again the prophet said your mother the man asked for the fourth time after that who then the prophet said your father that means 75 percent three-fourth of the companionship goes to the mother 25 percent one-fourth goes to the father in short the mother gets the gold medal she gets the silver medal as well as the bronze medal the father has to be satisfied with the mere consolation prize these are the teachings of islam which we have to agree and if we analyze islam gave economic rights to women 1300 years before the western world 1400 years ago islam gave right to any adult muslim woman to own or disown the property without the permission of anyone else the first time the western world gave right for a woman to own or disown property was in 1870s under the married property married woman property act which said that a married woman adult can own or disown the property without the permission of the husband and this act was later revised later on islam gave economic rights to women 1300 years before the western world and in islam we did not agree with the word housewife which is used in english language because we don't consider the woman to be married to the house to be called as housewife we prefer calling her as homemaker the person who makes the home the person who builds the home do we see that there are many misconceptions we find and many people think that men and women in islam are not equal in fact in islam men and women are equal but equality does not mean identicality they're equal but they are not identical depending upon the physiological makeup their psychological makeup their biological makeup they have different roles overall men and women are equal in some aspects the woman she may have a degree of advantage in some aspects the men may have a degree of advantage let me give an example if there are two students in a class student a and p both of them they come out first in examination both get 80 out of 100. when we analyze the answer sheet the 10 questions which have 10 answers each carrying 10 marks in answer to question number one so then a gets nine out of ten so then b gets signed out of ten in answers to question number two student b gets nine out of ten and student a he gets seven out of ten in all the remaining eight answers both get eight out of ten if we add up both get eighty out of hundred the equal but in answer number one the student a has a degree of advantage and answer number two shouldn't be at the degree of advantage in the other aspects both are equal and or also the equal in the same way men and women in islam are equal in some aspects the men have a degree of advantage and some aspects no man have a degree degree of advantage for example if a robber if a thief enters my house i will not say i believe in a woman liberalization i will not ask my wife or my daughter to go and fight since god has given me more strength it is my duty to fight as the quran says in surah chapter 4 verse 34 that god has given most trend to women it is his duty to protect the woman so in strength the men have a degree of advantage and the other example i gave earlier that where companionship of the children is concerned for the parents the women have three times more companionship as compared to men the mother has three times more companionship as compared to father so here the women have a degree of advantage so as i said earlier men and women in islam are equal in some aspects the women have a degree advantage in some aspect the men have a different advantage the foundation of the religion of islam is the belief in one and only soul creator and sustainer and this creator and sustainer almighty god is the same for all the human beings only if you agree that our creator sustainer and cherisher one god is the same then only can brotherhood be maintained in all religions and this is the basis of all the religions religion according to oxford dictionary means a belief in a superhuman controlling power a personal god or gods that deserve worship and obedience so according to oxford dictionary religion means belief in god if you understand god you understand that religion in the right perspective quran says imran chapter 3 verse number 64. come to come in terms as between us and you which is the first term that you worship none but one almighty god so the quran says let the people of different religions come to common terms what is different we can discuss tomorrow let us agree to follow what is coming and one thing common in all the religion is to believe and worship only one god to understand any religion or to understand the concept of god in a religion it is not appropriate to try and observe the followers of that religion because many a time the followers themselves may not be aware about the religion or the concept of the goddamn religion the best and the most authentic way of understanding a religion or understanding the concept of god and religion is to try and understand what the authentic scriptures of that religion has to speak about god let's try and understand the concept of god in the major religions in a nutshell first which i understand the concept of god in hinduism the two major and most authentic scriptures in the region of hinduism are the vedas and upanishads it's mentioned the chando yo panishad chapter number six section number two verse number one ekam evadityam god is only one without a second this is a sanskrit quotation it's mentioned in the sweta switch chapter number six verse number nine nachos of that god he has got no parents he has got no lord he has got no father he has got no mother he has got no superior it's mentioned in the sitha sita of punishment chapter number 4 verse number 19 as well as yajirovaid chapter number 32 verse number 3 of that god there is no prathema prathima is a sanskrit word which means it means an image a photograph a painting a picture a sculpture a statue an idol it says of that god there is no image there is no picture there is no painting there is no portrait there is no statue there is no ideal there is no sculpture and the brahma sutra of hinduism the fundamental kid of hinduism is there's only one god not a second one not at all not at all not in the least bit so if you read the hindu scriptures you shall understand the concept of god in hinduism and understand hinduism in the right perspective let's discuss the concept of god in judaism it's mentioned in the old testament in the book of deuteronomy chapter number six verse number four moses peace be upon him says that your oh lord your israel the lord our god is one lord it's mentioned the book of isaiah chapter number 43 verse number 11. i i am lord and there is no savior besides me it's mentioned in the book of isaiah chapter number 45 verse number 5 i am lord and there's none else there's no god besides me it's mentioned in the book of isaiah chapter number 45 chapter number 46 verse number nine i am god and there's none else i am god and there's none like me it's further mentioned the book of exodus chapter number 20 verse number two to five as well as in the book of deuteronomy chapter number five verse number seven to nine almighty god says thou shalt have no other god besides me thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image of anything of any likeness in the heaven above in the earth beneath in the water beneath the earth thou shalt not bow unto them nor serve them for i thy god thy lord is a jealous god so if you read the old testament or if you read the torah you should understand the concept of god in judaism and understand judaism in the right perspective before we discuss the concept of god in christianity i would like to clarify a few points islam is the only non-christian faith which makes it an article of faith to believe in jesus christ peace be upon him no muslim is a muslim if he does not believe in jesus christ peace be upon him we believe that he was one of the mightiest messengers almighty god we believe he was the messiah translated christ we believe that he was born miraculously without any male intervention which many modern day christians who did not believe we believe that he gave life to the dead with god permission we believe he healed those born blind aleppos with god's permission the christians and the muslims we are going together one may ask then where is the parting of faith the parting of ways is that many christians believe or most of the christians believe that jesus christ peace be upon him he claimed divinity they believe that he was almighty god in fact if you read the bible there is not a single unequivocal statement there is not a single unambiguous statement in the complete bible where jesus christ peace be upon him himself says that i am god or wise worship me in fact if you read the bible it's mentioned the gospel of john chapter number 14 verse number 28 jesus christ peace be upon him said my father is greater than i gospel of john chapter number 10 verse number 29 my father is greater than all gospel of matthew chapter number 12 verse number 28 i cast out devil with the spirit of god gospel of luke chapter number 11 verse number 20. i with the finger of god cast out devil gospel of john chapter number 5 verse number 30 i can of my own self do nothing as i hear i judge and my judgment is just for i seek not my will but will of my father anyone who says i seek not my will but the will of almighty god he's a muslim as i mentioned muslim means a person who submits the will to god and jesus christ peace be upon him said not my will but the will of almighty god so in arabic we say is muslim therefore we say jesus christ peace be upon him was one of the mightiest messengers of almighty god and he further clarified in the gospel of john chapter number 14 verse number 24 he said that the words that you hear are not mine but my father's who has sent me it's mentioned in the gospel of john chapter number 17 verse number three jesus christ peace be upon him said this is life we turn you so that you may know one true god and jesus christ whom thou sent it's clearly mentioned in the book of acts chapter number 2 verse number 22 it says amen of israel listen to this jesus of nazareth a man approved of god amongst you by wonders and miracles and signs which god did by him and your witness to it a man approved of god amongst you by wonders and miracles and signs which god did by him and you are witness to it and when jesus christ peace be upon him was asked that which is the first of the commandment he repeated verbatim what was said by moses peace be upon him earlier it's mentioned the gospel of mark chapter number 12 verse number 29 jesus christ peace be upon him said shama israel which means hero israel the lord our god is one lord so if you read the bible you shall understand the concept of god in christianity and understand christianity in the right perspective let's discuss the concept of god in islam the best reply that any muslim can give you regarding the concept of god in islam is quote usury class that is chapter number 112 verse number one to four which says say he is this is a four line definition of almighty god any person says so and so candidate is god if he falls in if he passes this for test we muslims have got no objection in accepting as god the first is say he's one and only the second is he should be absolutely eternal the third he begets not know is he begotten and fourth there's nothing like unto him anything in this world this is a four line definition of almighty god which we call as the litmus test for theology it is the touchstone of theology and further the quran says in surah naam chapter number 6 verse 108 that revile not abuse not those who they worship gods besides allah let's lest in the ignorance they will revile they will abuse allah any muslim from speaking bad from reviling from abusing those who other people worship god besides allah left in the ignorance they will abuse allah so to understand the concept of god in islam you have to read the quran today unfortunately islam is the most misunderstood religion in the world the religion which has the maximum misconception in the world today it is islam and one of the reasons for these misconceptions about this religion i would say it is the media today we find in the international media there is virulent propaganda regarding islam we find in the international newspapers in the international magazine on the rodeo broadcast stations on the internet satellite channels on the internet there is virulent propaganda regarding islam and the most misunderstood word regarding islam it is the word jihad it is not only misunderstood by the muslims because of the media it's also misunderstood by the non-muslims today most of the people whether they are muslims or non-muslim they think that any war fought by any muslim for any reason whether it be for personal gain whether it be for name whether it be for fame whether it be for honor whether it be for land any war fought by any muslim is called as jihad jihad does not mean any war fought by any muslim for any reason jihad comes from the arabic word jahada which means to strive which means to struggle in the islamic context jihad means to strive and struggle against one's own evil inclination jihad also means to strive and struggle to make the society better jihad also means to strive and struggle against oppression jihad also means to strive and struggle in self-defense so jihad basically means to strive and struggle for example if a student is striving and struggling to pass in the examination in arabic we'll say he's doing jihad so jihad basically means to strive and struggle today most of the orientalists they translate the word jihad as holy war if you translate holy war into arabic it is harmon and this word harbour mukaddasa appears nowhere in the quran nowhere in any things of the prophet muhammad this word holy word if you go back into history was first used for the crusades when the crusaders they forced people to accept the religion of christianity by force and unfortunately today it is used for the muslim than islam quran mentions explicitly in surah maidah chapter number 5 verse number 32 if anyone kills any other human being unless it be for murder or for spreading corruption in the land it is as though he has killed the whole of humanity the quran says if any human being kills any other innocent human being whether muslim or non-muslim it is as though he has killed the whole of humanity and the verse continues if anyone saves a human being whether muslim or non-muslim it is as though he has saved the whole of humanity i being a student of comparative religion i have not come across any verse in any scripture besides the quran which is so explicit against terrorism against killing innocent human being it says that if any human being kills any other human being who's innocent whether muslim or non-muslim it is as though you have killed the whole of humanity and i have not come across any verse in any other scripture any other religious scripture besides the quran which promotes the prevention of terrorism and it says if any human being saves any human life whether muslim or non-muslim it is as though you have saved the whole of humankind islam condemns all forms of terrorism islam condemns the killing of any any innocent human being irrespective of caste color creed irrespective of which nationality belongs to irrespective which religion he belongs to islam and i too condemn all forms of terrorism i also condemn the 911 which took place on 11th of september 2001 the twin tower bombing in new york where few thousand innocent people were killed i condemn the 7 7 7th of july 2005 london bombing where more than 15 000 people were killed i also condemned the serial train bomb blast that took place in bombay on the 11th of july 2006 where more than 180 russian people were killed i also condemn the gujarat massacre the riots which were plea plan which took place in gujarat in india where innocent few thousand muslims were killed i condemn all sorts of terrorism where innocent human beings are killed irrespective whether muslim are non-muslim and whatever acts of terrorism which takes the life of innocent human beings to be condemned including suicide bombing now we have recently in the few decades past few decades that a person goes he puts up a bomb goes in the marketplace goes in a tube station in on the road and he blows himself up and with him takes several other human lives this act in no way this act is not tolerable in any religion especially islam suicide bombing where innocent human beings are killed it's totally private in islam unfortunately though islam is a religion which condemns all sorts of terrorism all acts of terror took place in the past which is even taking place in this 21st century even though it condemns unfortunately today the media portrays islam as religion which promotes terrorism every community has its black ship every community has its black sheep and i'm also aware that there are black sheep in the muslim community what does the media do the media picks up the black sheep of the muslim community and they portray as those example muslims because of this today we find that most of the people think that islam promotes terrorism if you read the quran if you read the sayings of the prophet islam amongst all the religion is at the foremost in condemning the killing of innocent human being and one such prey of the media of these media tactics was myself eight months back in the fourth week of june 2010 i was supposed to give a series of talk in uk are supposed to give a talk in the wembley arena in wembley london in lg arena nec birmingham as well as sheffield arena in sheffield all these venue had a capacity of 10 to 15 000 people and these are prestigious venues just three weeks before my lecture tour there was an article which came in one of the leading newspaper that sun named times sunday times it gave an article muslim preacher of hate let into britain and this article it gave portions of my speeches which were either quoted out of context or they were misquoted and it portrayed me as a preacher of hate a person who promotes terrorism and the next couple of days this same article was picked up rehashed and reprinted in many of the newspapers of uk not only newspapers of uk but newspapers internationally including the newspaper of india unfortunately these articles inspired the home secretary of uk terrorism to to pass an exclusion order on the 16th of june 2010 after reading these articles and hearing some clips from the youtube which again is out of context and there were portions which were manipulated based on these youtube clips and the media report the home secretary of uk on 16th of june 2010 she passed an exclusion order against me and the next day 70th of june the deputy high commissioner of britain in bombay on the 17th of june they revoked and cancelled my visa i had a valid five years multiple entry visa to uk which was issued on the 15th of july 2008 valid till 15th of july 2013. i have been coming to uk since the past 20 years i've come several times and for lecture two or several times i had a valid multiple entry five years visa which had come twice before in 2008 2009 which was cancelled without giving me a fear here without giving me a fair hearing i think this is an attack on freedom of expression as well as human rights charles far who is the director general of the office of security and counterterrorism he was not in favor of this explosion order and he wanted me to reach to those muslims who he felt the government could not reach but the home secretary ignoring the advice of her senior most security advisor she went ahead with exclusion order and later on a few weeks later she even suspended one of the advisors under charles who supported me i personally have more faith in the judicial system rather than the political system of my country india as well as the country of uk we did a judicial review and took it to the high court and justice ganston though the home secretary said i have no right to fire under human rights because i'm a non-uk citizen justice crime student said and he reviewed it and he said that he can file a case and he passed the judgment and said that the first three decisions of the home secretary on 16th of june 17th of june and the 27th of june all three were unlawful but however later on in the month of august 2010 when they gave additional information he said that this is lawful which is not logical i have faith in the judiciary system we have filed for an appeal against the last judgment of the high court and our full faith that inshallah very shortly this exclusion order would be reversed by the court of appeal i hope in future i may have the chance to meet the home secretary zame personally and explain to her the peaceful message of islam and remove any misconception about islam or any of my lectures that she may have i personally would have come i would have personally preferred to come personally in the oxford union and give this talk and have a lively question translation rather than the satellite last month i had gone to france i was in paris we had a board meeting of our trust islamist foundation international which is based in uk as well as universal broadcast limited because i could not come to uk i called the board members to paris and i was shocked normally the world feels that france is more strict against islam than uk but when i applied for visa i got it within one hour and we had the board meeting there i prefer heading in uk but because the exclusion order which i feel the court of appeal very shortly will reverse it and though the world may think that because of the exclusion order it is an attack on freedom of expression but at least i would like to thank the oxford union that even though an exclusion order has been passed on me yet they permitted this debate or this lecture for the question answer session i would like to thank the oxford union especially the president mr james langman for being bold and agreeing to have this lecture the oxford union may or may not agree with my speech they may like my talk or may not like my talk what i appreciate is that they are really people who promote freedom of expression i would like to conclude my speech by giving a message peace is the only solution for the problems of humanity many nations many countries have armies they have got military they they've got navy they've got air force some countries have weapons of mass destruction some have nuclear weapons believe me all these are not the solution for the problems of humanity the only solution according to me for the problems of humanity is peace there may be differences there are differences in culture there are differences in languages the differences in color the difference of society irrespective of the differences one common factor amongst all human means of the world is that all want peace according to me peace is the only solution from the problems of humanity i said at the starting of my talk islam is derived from the arabic word salam which means peace and this word salam is mentioned in the quran no less than 43 times it's mentioned no less than 43 times and along with its derivatives it's mentioned no less than 143 times salam peace is mentioned in the quran no less than 143 times and i started my talk by greeting all of you assalamualaikum which means peace be on all of you the quran says in surya saint chapter number 36 verse number 58 that peace is a salutation from the lord who is the most merciful one of the attributes of almighty god is a salam the source of peace quran says in surah al-hashaf chapter 59 verse number 23 it refers to allah almighty god as assalam the source of peace quran says in surah chapter 5 verse number 16 that almighty god guides those people who come towards him towards peace and safety and takes them out of darkness into light that's the reason every chapter of the glorious quran there are 114 chapters in the quran every chapter except 9 starts with the beautiful formula bismillah rahman rahim in the name of allah almighty god the most merciful the most gracious according to me peace is the only solution for humanity and i am a person who spreads peace my mission is to spread peace and as many may be aware that i started a global peace tv network about five years before five years before in january 2006. in january 2006 i launched the peace tv in english two and a half years later in 2008 peace tv urdu and insha allah in the next couple of months in april 2011 we will launch the peace tv bangla today peace tv english is the largest washed islamic satellite channel in the world it has a viewership of more than 100 million out of which more than 25 percent are non-muslim even if i am able to convince one human being irrespective whether the muslim or non-muslim and prevent him from killing one innocent human being i feel i would have saved the whole of humankind peace is the only solution my message is only of peace my mission is to spread peace i would like to end my talk with the quotation of dr adam pearson dr adam pearson said people worry that one day nuclear weaponry will fall in the hands of the arabs they fail to realize that the islamic bomb the bomb of peace has already been dropped it fell the day prophet muhammad peace be upon him was born alhamdulillah

Channel: HARAMAINGALLERY

Views: 209,809

Rating: 4.7445974 out of 5

Keywords: DR., Zakir, Naik, Speech, at, Oxford, Union, *2011*, Historical, Debate, (HQ)

Id: Elh-EXuEvww

Length: 58min 50sec (3530 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 13 2011