Zakir Naik

Zakir Naik (born 18 October 1965 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian Islamic preacher, who has been called an "authority on comparative religion", "perhaps the most influential Salafi ideologue in India", and "the world's leading Salafi evangelist". He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), and founder of the "comparative religion" Peace TV channel, through which he reaches a reported 100 million viewers. Unlike many Islamic preachers, his lectures are colloquial, given in English not Urdu or Arabic, and he wears a suit and tie rather than traditional garb.

Before becoming a public speaker, he trained as a medical doctor. He has published booklet versions of lectures on Islam and comparative religion. Although he has publicly disclaimed sectarianism in Islam, he is regarded by some as an exponent of the Salafi ideology, and, by some, as a radical Islamic televangelist propagating Wahhabism.

Biography

Zakir Naik was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He attended Kishinchand Chellaram College and studied medicine at Topiwala National Medical College and Nair Hospital and later the University of Mumbai, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS).

Barnabas

Barnabas (Greek: Βαρνάβας), born Joseph, was an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36 Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Named an apostle in (Acts 14:14), he and Paul the Apostle undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts against the Judaizers. They traveled together making more converts (c 45–47), and participated in the Council of Jerusalem (c 50). Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the "God-fearing" Gentiles who attended synagogues in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia.

Barnabas' story appears in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul mentions him in some of his epistles.Tertullian named him as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, but this and other attributions are conjecture.Clement of Alexandria and some scholars have ascribed the Epistle of Barnabas to him, but his authorship is disputed.

Although the date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable, Christian tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus, in 61 AD. He is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. The feast day of Barnabas is celebrated on June 11.

Barnabas (band)

Barnabas was a Christian hard rock band that was active from 1977 through 1986. The name of the band was in honor of the New Testament disciple Barnabas. Originating out of the Jesus movement of the 1970s, they are considered one of the pioneers of Christian hard rock and heavy metal, along with Agape, Daniel Band, Jerusalem, and Resurrection Band.

Over their career as a band, Barnabas was based in Los Angeles, Schaumburg, Illinois, Des Moines, Iowa, and Edmond, Oklahoma. Barnabas recorded five studio albums and played a relatively small number of concerts. Throughout their career, the band suffered from attacks by prominent Christian lecturers, which ultimately contributed to their break-up in 1986.

Band history

Monte Cooley founded the band in southern California in 1977 as according to him he was unaware of Resurrection Band and therefore did not know of any Christian groups playing hard rock or heavy metal at the time. Cooley placed an ad in Guitar Center that he wanted to form a Christian heavy metal band, and soon bassist Gary Mann and drummer Lance Johnson joined the band. Cooley originally wanted Darrell Mansfield as a vocalist, but Mansfield turned down the offer so Carolyn Joy was recruited instead. Lance Johnson and Carolyn Joy performed live with the band for a short time, and second guitarist David Storrs was also involved with the band during this period. However, all three left within the first year. The band briefly had a drummer known as Roy, but he was soon replaced by Kris Klingensmith (Kris k.) who took over on drums. Nancy Jo Mann (later Nancyjo or NJo) then joined the band on vocals after being discovered through an ad in a local paper. The band recorded their first album, Hear the Light, in 1980 in a Los Angeles studio. After this, the band briefly visited Highway Missionary Society in Rogue River, Oregon before moving to Jesus People USA in Chicago for an equally short stay. Next, they moved to nearby Schaumburg, Illinois.

Barnabas (disambiguation)

Saint Barnabas was an early Christian mentioned in the New Testament.

Barnabas may also refer to:

See also