Burkha Dutt has been hit by an avalanche of criticism from the fans of Dr Zakir Naik who blame her for deliberately not giving the acclaimed Islamic scholar enough time to properly express his views in the 8th march edition of her weekly programme We The People . I respect Dr Naik a lot because he is a brilliant scholar of Islam and comparative religion. has a phenomenal memory, and the manner in which he clarifies Islamic view point and clears misconceptions about Islam,using the Quran authentic Hadith and other religious scriptures as a basis in conjunction with reason,logic and scientific facts but i think for the WeThe People fiasco he is himself to be blamed.Here is.why

The topic of disussion on the show was ' is popular culture stereotyping Muslims and the panel consisted of actors Shahrukh Khan ansd Soha Ali Khan,film directors Karan Jauhar and Kabir Khan,Islamic scholars Dr Zakir Naik and Maulana Asad Madni,Jamia Milia's vice chancellor Najeeb Jung and theatre personality Alique Padamsee.I tuned into the programme with some curiosity..I did feel that the panel was a bit crowded,comprising of eight people,the signs were ominous from the beginning. Though many of my relatives were quite excited about the magic Dr Naik was going to create on the show with his words but i knew he wont cut much ice with the audience because giving sermons and taking part in debates are as different as chalk and cheese,with the latter being not his cup of tea. The moment he started speaking in his sermon giving mode Burkha cut him short ,she had no other option as their was a paucity of time.Dr Naik should not have accepted the invitation to appear on the show as he could not have thrown much light on the topic of stereotyping of Indian Muslims. Perhaps he was too sure of his oratorical abilities,and paid a huge price for it.I just hope he has learnt his lesson well.In the end i would like to advice Dr Naik's fans not to judge Burkha unfairly.