The platform has thousands of hours of videos of more than 40 renowned Islamic speakers from all over the world including Ahmed Deedat, Yusuf Estes, Hussein Ye, and Bilal Philips.

Anthropologist Thomas Blom Hansen has written that Naik's style of memorising the Quran and Hadith literature in various languages, and his related missionary activity, has made him extremely popular in Muslim circles.

[40] In August 2006, Naik's visit and conference in Cardiff caused controversy when Welsh conservative MP David Davies called for his appearance to be cancelled.

The lectures took place in Johor Bahru, Universiti Teknologi MARA in Shah Alam,[45] Kuantan and Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

The former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, prominent figures and several thousand people attended the lectures at different places despite protest by the members of HINDRAF.

[31] He considers it a duty of every Muslim to remove perceived misconceptions about Islam and to counter what he views as the Western media's anti-Islamic bias in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States.

[68] In another lecture given in Al-Khawaneej, Dubai, Naik stated that the most mistranslated and misunderstood word about Islam by non-Muslims and even some Muslims is "Jihad", which, he said, has nothing to do with the phrase "holy war" that is never actually used in the Quran or sunnah and was first used by the crusaders who killed millions in the name of Christianity.

"[61] In a press conference via Skype, when Naik was asked for his opinion on suicide bombings he replied affirmatively, saying it was permitted in Islam and said "it is haram if innocent people are being killed.

"[60][83][84][85] Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan-American linked to Al-Qaeda who was found guilty in the 2009 New York City Subway and United Kingdom plot was an "admirer" of Naik's sermons.

[89] In 2019, in an interview in Week magazine, Naik strongly criticized Modi and the BJP for what he called false charges and propaganda against him for political purposes, and said that he is targeted for his popularity.

[92][93][94] In a 14 January 2020 tweet, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh asked Modi to clarify Naik's claim of an offer of safe passage to India.

These comments sparked outrage across Malaysian society, being perceived as inciting racial and religious hatred and disrupting the peace and harmony between communities.

And that case, of course, we may need to take action to prevent him from making such provocative speeches, which attempt to pit the different races against each other," adding that a public apology by Naik may not be "enough to assuage the anger of many people".

[103] By 19 August, Zakir Naik had had his lawyers file legal complaints against five Malaysian politicians for 'defamation', claiming that they had taken his statements out of context and thus unduly damaged his reputation.

[75] Sadanand Dhume writes that Naik has a "carefully crafted image of moderation", because of his gentle demeanour, his wearing of a suit and tie, and his quoting of scriptures of other religions.

[108] Naik is currently a wanted fugitive from the Indian authorities on charges of terror financing, hate speech, inciting communal hatred, and money laundering.

[14] On the basis of hate-speech laws, Naik's Peace TV's channel is banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.

[119] Naik's website claims that the Islamic Research Foundation and Peace TV promote "Truth, Justice, Morality, Harmony and Wisdom for the whole of humankind".

[127] According to Swami, Naik's IRF has proved to be a "magnet" for figures linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, while his message has mesmerised violent Islamists, and his works "help make sense of the motivations of Indian recruits to the jihad".

[107] In 2008, an Islamic scholar in Lucknow, Shahar Qazi Mufti Abul Irfan Mian Firangi Mahali, issued a fatwa against Naik, claiming that he supported Osama bin Laden, and that his teachings were un-Islamic.

In January 2020, the Senior Indian Congress leader Digvijaya Singh tweeted a video of the Islamic preacher leveling allegations against PM Modi and HM Amit Shah.

[148] Hasanul Haq Inu, the Information Minister, reasoned that "Peace TV is not consistent with Muslim society, the Quran, Sunnah, Hadith, Bangladesh's Constitution, our culture, customs and rituals".

[149] When the National Investigation Agency arrested Mohammad Ibrahim Yazdani, the head of Islamic State's Hyderabad module in India, upon interrogation it was revealed that the operatives were influenced by Zakir Naik's sermons and wanted to establish Shariah law as in Islamic state[29][150] There have been media reports of Intelligence Agencies probing the alleged links between terror group Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and Naik's IRF.

The Times also claimed that "the Wahabi-Salafist brand of Islam, bankrolled by petro-rich Saudi Arabia and propagated by preachers like Naik, does not appreciate the idea of pluralism."

Singh argues that Naik's pronouncements are "juvenile", and said "they seldom rise above the level of undergraduate college debates, where contestants vie with each other to score brownie points.

[162] Torkel Brekke, a professor of religious history in Norway, calls Naik a "very controversial figure" because of his rhetorical attack on other religions and other varieties of Islam.

[164] In Firstpost, reporter Sreemoy Talukdar wrote, "The smooth-talking televangelist's regressive and problematic teachings, thoroughly dissected and discussed threadbare, strike at the pluralist cultural component of our existence and promotes a version of Islam that is dreary and incompatible with the modern world.

Dhume argues that people reportedly drawn to Naik's message include Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan-American arrested for planning suicide attacks on the New York subway; Rahil Sheikh, accused of involvement in a series of train bombings in Mumbai in 2006; and Kafeel Ahmed, the Bangalore man fatally injured in a failed suicide attack on Glasgow airport in 2007.

[167][168][169] In October 2024, Zakir Naik sparked controversy by stating that individuals guilty of rape and murder could be forgiven by Allah if they sincerely repented.

[180] In 2021, Interpol rejected India's request for a Red Notice to provisionally arrest Zakir for questioning the very basis of invoking money laundering and hate speech charges against Naik in the country.