BABCHICKDiscourse Analysis as a Tool to Analyze the Discourse in Zakir Naik's Debates: Persuasion as a Case Study

Abstract

Dr. Zakir Naik is a prominent Muslim missionary who is well known for his adept use of persuasive strategies in debates. This study considers discourse analysis as a tool to examine the discourse in Naik’s debates with a particular focus on understanding the persuasive techniques. It aims to present the effectiveness of these strategies in expressing Naik’s thoughts and forming the appropriate arguments. Two speeches of Zakir Naik were chosen to be examined “Women’s rights in Islam – Protected or Subjugated” and “Quran and Modern Science- Compatible or Incompatible”. A corpus based approach was used to catch sight of the persuasive strategies in the two speeches and explain the way Naik uses such techniques to influence his audience. The results demonstrated that several common persuasive strategies can be observed in Naik’s speeches such as appeal to logic, use of authoritative sources, emotional appeal, and comparative analysis. These strategies help Zakir Naik convince the audience of the validity and merit of his perspectives. Moreover, the use of such strategies potentially II sways individuals to adopt certain beliefs. Most importantly, it can reinforce the religious identity and strengthen the commitment of the Muslim audience. The findings also provided insights into the linguistic features, patterns, and structures employed in Naik’s speeches as they demonstrated how language is used strategically to persuade and influence an audience.