The Indian government plans to slap terror charges on the televangelist Zakir Naik and also declared the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) an ‘unlawful’ organisation.
Zakir Naik’s ‘hate speech’ was reported of being the “inspiration” to the attackers behind the Dhaka restaurant attack in July.
According to reports, top government sources revealed that the Indian home ministry has decided to charge Naik under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for speeches the ministry and the Maharashtra government has allegedly found containing extremist content, Times of India reported.
“The primary ground for invoking terror charges against Naik are statements by those involved in past terror acts, conceding that they were motivated by his speeches,” an intelligence officer said. Naik, who has been abroad since the cafe attack rocked Bangladesh, has reportedly called off plans to return to India.
Further, authorities in India have also decided to ban Naik’s NGO under the same law on grounds of spreading hatred through his speeches. Once the ban is implemented, IRF and its associate organisations across India, will be shut down.
Last month, the Bangladesh government banned Naik’s channel Peace TV. The decision to ban Peace TV Bangla was taken during a special meeting of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, according to Industry Minister Aamir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting.
It was also decided to monitor sermons given during the Friday prayers to check if any provocative lectures are delivered, Amu said. The Bangladesh government also urged imams in the country to deliver sermons condemning terrorism and extremism, the minister added.
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The chief minister of India’s Maharashtra state also ordered a probe against the preacher for his ‘hate speech’ inspiring the attack. Following the accusations and ban on Peace TV, Naik made it clear he never supported terrorism, saying no Indian official had contacted him for a clarification on the issue. In a statement, Naik expressed shock at the media trial against him and growing calls for a ban on his television channel.
“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,” he said. I strongly condemn anyone taking my statements out of context and using it for violence of any form, the televangelist said.
Courtesy: The Times of India
Dr Zakir! Yr biggest crime is that u have converted mthousands of hindus and Christians into Muslims through motivation and logic. This is unacceptable to their religious hierarchy. I am surprised really for such delayed response by them. It shouldvhave been launched much earlier. Anyhow be careful and cautious, this is just the beginning, u might be subject to physical assaults as well in future. Anyone preaching Islam and proving these goons and their religions wrong is intolerable to them. Dont yield….Allah is with u as u r doing it for His cause.
To all the threatened, afraid and gutless leaders persuing ban against him, i would only say that Truth has ots ways to prevail and it is here to eventually prevail…….counter the logic with logic and not hatred. Just a question: how many Muslims have u heard who converted to hinduism or any other religion??draw the comparison in any sample of population from any part of world and from any era, compare it with conversion rate of others in Islam and then do some soul searching, unbiased research and draw logical conclusions. Afterall it is matter of yr Life after Death which is eternal. The stakes are high, so should be yr efforts to find truth. May Allah bless u all with wisdom and common sense to choose the rt path, Aameen. Best regards! A (not so good) MISLIM.
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