Islamic preacher Zakir Naik may be embroiled in a controversy, but the international school he runs here shows little sign of being weighed down by it.
Members of the management of the Islamic International School exude confidence defending the institution’s outlook and are unabashed in their faith in Mr. Naik. The Salafist tradition, to which the institution is wedded, is in no way illegal in the country, they argue.
Tucked away in a nondescript corner of East Coast Road (ECR) at Injambakkam, right next to the famous Saibaba shrine, the unfinished building resembles an old cinema house from outside, a far cry from the attractive campus that one sees in brochures. Finding the building is no easy task. With a damaged compound wall and no banners or signboards, visitors invariably seek the help of locals to locate it.
“Education for both the worlds,” declares the pamphlet introducing the school to the visitor. Vice-Principal Dawood Basha explains what “both the worlds” means. “Our students take the IGCSE Cambridge International Examinations for which highly qualified teachers coach the students as per the Cambridge syllabus. At the same time, we teach the students the Koran and the Hadith,” he states. Whenever Mr. Naik is in Chennai he interacts directly with students, he added.
The pamphlet given to The Hindu claims that the school is in the “process of being affiliated” to the Cambridge IGCSE Board. Currently, students take the examinations through APL Global, which is affiliated to Cambridge. Under the Islamic studies category, the school lists Tajweed and Qirat, Hifz of the Koran, Seerah of the Prophet, Shariah and Dawah as the subjects offered.
There are about 100 students and 67 teachers, helping the management boast of the “best student-teacher ratio of any school” in Chennai. “There were about 250 students sometime back, but after a misunderstanding within the management, some members moved out and opened a new school at Nungambakkam. Some of the students have gone there,” he says, not willing to elaborate on what the misunderstanding was. The Injambakkam branch is one of the two in India. The first school was set up in Mumbai.
Strict gender segregation in place
The Islamic International School run by preacher Zakir Naik is clear about its objective. The brochure says: “An un-Islamic environment can result in the corruption of a virtuous Muslim child’s Islamic understanding, upbringing and values and his/her falling prey to the bad influences and immorality prevalent in society.”
There is strict gender segregation from Class 2 with separate classrooms, teachers and even administrative staff to handle the girl students.
While English, Science, Mathematics and Social Sciences are offered under the “formal education” category, the school is very careful in teaching these subjects in correlation with “their Islamic context”.
When asked how evolution — which Mr. Naik in his lectures has maintained is not factual and is just a theoretical concept, and that Charles Darwin had no proof to support the theory of natural selection — was taught, Vice-Principal Dawood Basha said the students learn whatever Cambridge syllabus contained, but are also provided the Islamic understanding of the world.
Damaged microscope
“We have Physics, Chemistry and Biology labs in the school,” he says, pointing to the damaged microscope in the cupboard waiting to be sent for repair.
On the criticism from within the Indian Muslim community that the school was a propaganda machine for radical Salafism, Mr. Basha said such notions were completely misplaced and motivated. “Some want to create this false image that we are teaching terrorism. Salafism is a tradition in Islam. Whenever Mr. Naik makes a point, he always supports it with proof. This way he proves Salafism is the right method. We do not do anything illegal,” Mr. Basha contends, adding that teachers in the school teach the Koran “as it is” and do not “reinterpret” it.
Students to whom The Hindu spoke showed that they had high regard for Mr. Naik. As he traps the football kicked by his friend, one of the students said Mr. Naik’s teachings guided him in many ways. “His way of arguing is the best. He can quote the entire Koran,” he says.
Mr. Basha states the school only admits Muslims and is not open to members of other religion. “But within the Muslim community, we do not differentiate. We admit everyone.”
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