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[email protected] September 2016 Vol 7, Issue 9 Zakir Naik: What did I do to earn the tags of ‘Dr Terror’, ‘Hate Monger’? Islamic scholar Dr. Zakir Naik wrote an open letter to Indians called ‘Five Questions and an Appeal’ where he lamented about being targeted and labeled a ‘terror preacher’ in India. In the letter, Naik said, “Of 150 countries where I’m respected and my talks are welcomed, I’m being called a terrorist influencer in my own country. What an irony. Why now, when I’ve been doing the same thing for over 25 years?”. Naik, 51, is an Islamic preacher, who founded the Islamic Research Foundation in 1991 when he started Dawah or religious preaching. His lectures mostly revolve around how Islam is superior to all other faiths. While he claims to be an advocate of interfaith dialogue, his preaching’s’ reinforce all the stereotypes which exist against Muslims. Following reports that one of the militants of Dhaka terror attack was inspired by Naik’s misinterpretations of Islam, there are growing demand for strict action against him. In the letter, Naik asks why he has become the enemy number one for the State and Central government. “It has been over two months since the ghastly terror attack in Dhaka, and over one month since I’ve been asking myself what exactly have I done to become the enemy number one of the media as well as the State and Central Gov- ernment,” wrote Naik. × and justice. He also questioned the repeated investigations on him by government agencies.