Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (born 18 October 1965) is an Indian public speaker on the subject of Islam and comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), a non-profit organisation that owns the Peace TV channel based in Dubai, UAE. He is sometimes referred to as a televangelist. Before becoming a public speaker, he trained as a medical doctor. He has written two booklets on Islam and comparative religion. He is regarded as an exponent of the Salafi ideology