- published: 07 Jul 2016
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The Shahi Imam is the Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, Mughal emperor Shahjahan appointed Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari, who came from Shah of Bukhera (Uzbekistan) the first Imam of the Mosque, to the high office of Imamat-e-Uzma, and conferred upon him the title of Shahi Imam. The current Imam is a descendent to the first imam that was appointed by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in a long line of family dynastic appointments. This is not how the appointments of Imams usually take place in other places around the world. However, in this case, because of the purported divine authority claimed by past monarchs, they conferred upon their subjects titles to carry on and this has become a trend ever since with the Imams of the mosque carrying on the traditions of family dynastic domination.
Shahi Imams of Jama Masjid include:
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.
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).