A viral image showing Islamic speaker Dr Zakir Naik pictured alongside a man is being circulated on social media with a false claim that he is one of the Sri Lankan bombers.
The image has been massively circulated by Indian right-wing pages and individual users on Facebook, with anti-Islamic messages.
One Facebook user shared the image with a caption, “#ZakirNaik is the symbol of Islam, the scholar of Islamic studies, the most devoted follower of the teachings of the Quran…and he also stated that the suicide bombings in Sri Lanka is a logical war strategy. Still if you want to say Islam has nothing to do with terrorism go ahead, be blind. Won’t change facts. (sic)”
Another user wrote, “Why is he not declared an international terrorist ? After Bangladesh blast, he is responsible for SL blast too….(sic)”
The image was shared by thousands of people on Twitter and Facebook with different captions, all claiming that the man in the picture is one of the suicide bombers and that Dr Naik allegedly inspired the deadly attack.
Facts Vs. Lies
The man in the picture is Muhammad Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu, a Malaysian convert to Islam.
The 34-year-old is a popular Islamic speaker in Malaysia and is an admirer of Dr Naik, who is currently living in that country ever since India banned his organisation over two years ago.
Meeting with awesome people with wonderfull brain… pic.twitter.com/ns2IzzYGoQ
— Zamri Vinoth (@Zamri_Vinoth) September 2, 2016
Jika Allah membantu kamu,siapakah yang boleh menghalangnya….lets put the trust in Allah pic.twitter.com/v1orNEpaLJ
— Zamri Vinoth (@Zamri_Vinoth) April 15, 2016
Vinoth has shared pictures of himself with Dr Naik multiple times on his social media profiles. And as is evident from his postings, he is very much alive and living in Malaysia.
