Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has changed his plans of returning to India from Saudi Arabia and issue a clarification through video conferencing. He is likely to leave for a tour of African countries in the next few weeks. Naik didn’t arrive in India as he was worried about facing legal action in the country. Naik has come under the scanner of the Indian government after reports emerged that two among a group of terrorists, who killed 22 people in a posh Dhaka café last week, were allegedly inspired by his speeches. The National Investigative Agency (NIA) and other investigative agencies are already investigation Naik’s speeches after reports pertaining to him influencing Islamic terrorists in India and overseas through his conversations. The Mumbai Police already will probe about the CDs and books owned by him. They will also investigate about the speeches delivered by him through internet. Police will question those people who had got inspired by the speech delivered by him.
“Zakir Naik is not coming back to India neither today nor tomorrow,” the spokesperson from Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), said adding he will return only after things become clear on investigations by agencies. It was being reported that Naik will be summoned by the Mumbai Police as well as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) upon his return to India.
Naik’s name had first cropped in 2002-2003 after a series of blasts that rocked Mumbai and led Mumbai crime branch to Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) founded by him. The Mumbai Police was unable to gather any evidence about his link with terrorism activities despite questioning him extensively.
“But since then Naik has been under continuous surveillance of the intelligence units and agencies,” a senior IPS officer who questioned Naik, said.
Earlier, security was beefed up Mumbai as different groups had planned to hold protests as well as marches in Naik’s support after his return. Further, policemen were posted outside the Mumbai office of the Islamic Research Foundation.
Parents of two brothers from Kerala who converted to Islam had claimed that their sons had travelled to Mumbai and met Naik on more than one occasion. The brothers are among 20 missing youth from the state who travelled to the Middle East, and are suspected of joining the Islamic State (IS).
The Bangladesh government has already banned a television channel run by Naik. Even ministers from India had raised objections against ‘Peace TV’ and said that it had no license to downlink from the country.
Even the Muslim Community have started speaking against Naik and said he is misinterpreting Quran. So far he has received support from some members of Samajwadi party and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
“The way fanatics like Pakistan-based Azhar Masood openly spew venom, people like Zakir Naik carry out through their social work in the name of peace by covert means…Naik has been nurturing anti-nationals for the last several years and the lessons in peace preached by him have been unmasked after the Dhaka carnage,” the Sena said in a stinging editorial in its moutpiece “Saamana”.
On the other hand, Zakir Naik has defended himself by saying that he never backed terrorism. He said, “I do not support terrorism or violence in any form whatsoever. I have never supported any terrorist organisations and have mentioned this over and over again in thousands of my public talks worldwide. I strongly condemn anyone taking my statements out of context and using it for violence of any form.”
