image source, Getty Images
India has been invited to the opening ceremony of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar. But after reports of controversial Islamic cleric Zakir Naik’s arrival there, many questions are being raised in India regarding his visit.
The country has not yet officially confirmed whether Qatar has invited Zakir Naik or not. However, there are discussions on social media about his visit to Qatar.
Alhajri, anchor of Qatar’s official sports channel Alqas, tweeted, “Sheikh Zakir Naik is in Qatar. He will be giving many religious sermons throughout this World Cup period.”
Some other tweets also confirmed that Zakir Naik is going to deliver lectures in Qatar.
Several cases are pending against Zakir Naik for money laundering and hate speech in India. So many questions are raised about his visit to Qatar.
Some say that this will affect the relationship between India and Qatar.
However, the Ministry of External Affairs has not yet issued any official comment on this.
But in Chandigarh on Tuesday, Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri responded cautiously to a question about Zakir Naik’s presence in Qatar.
“I am sure that India has raised this issue. I assume it will continue to be raised. Zakir Naik has been granted Malaysian citizenship. He was invited on that basis,” replied Hardeep Puri.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Savio Rodriguez has requested the Indian government to boycott the World Cup football match.
Savio Rodrigues, NDTV said in a report that while the world is fighting against terrorism, Zakir Naik is being given an opportunity to spread hatred.
What’s wrong with India?
The question is why India is worried about Zakir Naik’s visit to Qatar.
Cases have been registered against Zakir Naik in India and Bangladesh for spreading hatred and promoting extremism.
Zakir Naik went to Malaysia while the cases were pending in India. Now he is living there as a citizen.
Even there, Naik has been banned from speaking on charges of hate speech, subversion and money laundering.
Peace TV, which broadcasts Zakir Naik’s speeches in India, Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka and Britain, has been banned.
Apart from this, Indians are also angry that when the former Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu visited Doha this year, the government there summoned the Indian ambassador over the Nupur Sharma issue and expressed his displeasure.
Nubur Sharma was accused of making controversial comments against Prophet Muhammad during that period.
What did Qatar say about Nubur Sharma?
image source, HINDUSTAN TIMES
Nubur Sharma
Expressing its displeasure over the Nupur Sharma issue, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Indian Ambassador in Doha, Deepak Mittal.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sultan bin Saad Al Muraiki gave an official note expressing Qatar’s displeasure to the Indian ambassador.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar informed this information in a press release.
The move by India’s ruling party was welcomed. It talked about suspending and expelling leaders who make controversial comments.
It was also said that Qatar expects a public apology and condemnation of these comments from the Indian government.
In May this year, former BJP president Nubur Sharma made controversial comments during a televised debate.
He was accused of making objectionable comments about the Prophet Muhammad. After that, demands for action against him intensified.
BJP also took action against Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal over a controversial tweet.
But by then things got out of hand. Not only the Arab countries but also many other countries demanded that India should take action in this matter.
Allegation against Zakir Naik
Before this, Zakir Naik started the TV channel ‘Peace’. It was broadcast from Dubai. He propagated Islam in his speeches.
Later he started Peace TV Urdu and Bangla too.
Last year, the Home Ministry extended the ban on Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) for five years.
The central government banned IRF under the UAPA in 2016.
In the notification issued by the central government banning the IRF, it was said that Nayak’s organization was showing seriousness in such activities that threatened the security of the country.
It was also said that this could harm the peace and religious unity of the country.
The announcement also said that it was inciting Muslim youths to commit acts of terrorism at home and abroad.
In Malaysia
Zakir’s controversial opinion
The Solicitor General of India had told the Anti-Terrorism Tribunal that Zakir Naik was trying to reach his supporters in India through his provocative speeches and religious discourses.
Zakir Naik and his foundation – the Islamic Research Foundation – collected funds from Gulf countries, created trusts, NGOs and shell companies, the order against him said.
While the Indian government claims that these are being used to radicalize the youth, especially the youth of the Muslim community, Naik has denied them.
He says that his speech is being misrepresented.
All Muslim countries are watching Nayak’s speeches and speeches.
Many of his critics say that Shias and Ahmadis are attacked in his speeches.
Saudi Arabia, which emphasizes the Sunni sect of Islam, honored Zakir Naik with the King Faisal International Award in 2015 for his ‘service to Islam’.
Zakir Naik’s speeches so far are causing controversy. He calls former US President George W Bush a ‘white collar terrorist’.
image source, Getty Images
He did not consider Osama bin Laden a terrorist or a saint.
He had expressed this opinion in an interview given to ‘The Week’ newspaper.
“I did not call him (Osama bin Laden) a terrorist or a saint. I don’t know what he is,” he said.
“If he (Osama bin Laden) is fighting against the enemies of Islam, I stand by him. He was asked to clarify part of a speech he gave in 1998, saying, “If he scares terrorists and threatens America, the biggest terrorist, I’m with him.”
image source, Getty Images
Zakir Naik accused of being a supporter of Osama bin Laden
Zaheer claims to be a messenger of peace.
“I will be very happy if even one person follows my teachings and gets salvation,” he would say.
Zakir Naik told ‘The Week’ that the South African Muslim scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, attracted him a lot.
Nayak’s father is a psychiatrist and brother is a doctor. Nayak’s mother is a post graduate. He wanted Nayak to become a cardiologist.
Naik said his mother wanted him to be like Christian Barnard, the South African doctor who performed the world’s first heart transplant.
“After meeting Shaikh Ahmed Deed I asked my mother if I wanted to be like Deed or Bernard. To which he said that he wants to see you as both of them,” said Nayak while talking to ‘The Week’ magazine.
Naik started the Islamic Research Foundation in 1990 after completing his medical studies.
Born in Mumbai, Nayak used to speak in a hoarse voice as a child. But now he speaks fluently.
Tough stage against Jagir
Naik started to gain popularity in the 1990s due to the activities of ‘Dawa’ (Islamic training class).
But by the year 2000, his speeches started to attract people’s attention.
Especially his speeches in favor of Islam through Peace TV came under discussion.
He was accused of promoting Islam as superior to other religions and denigrating other religions. His speeches were said to spread sectarianism.
In 2016, when 29 people were killed in a terrorist attack in Bangladesh, Nayak’s life began to suffer.
One of the arrested militants said he was inspired by Zakir’s speeches, investigators said.
Following this, a special unit of the Mumbai Police conducted an investigation into the matter. Zakir Naik’s organization IRF was banned after a preliminary investigation.
After this, Naik left India and went to Malaysia. The Government of India declared him a fugitive.
After this, the focus was on Zakir after the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019 that killed 250 people.
The attackers were said to have been inspired by Zakir Naik’s speech. After this incident, his channel was also shut down in Sri Lanka.
Zakir is now a permanent resident of Malaysia. But even there he was not allowed to give a speech.
image source, Getty Images
After the 2019 church bombings in Sri Lanka, Zakir Naik was questioned
What should India do?
Now that there is a controversy in India regarding the invitation of Zakir Naik to Qatar, people who understand the relationship between the two countries say that India should not react too much to this.
”It is a ‘thing for Nasoo’. Looking at the relationship between the two countries, it is important for India to exercise restraint in this,” said KP Fabian, former Indian ambassador to Qatar.
”The relationship between India and Qatar should be kept in mind. Eight lakh people of India live there. From there we get liquefied natural gas. Many of our companies are doing business there. Keeping these in mind, we should not give too much importance to this issue,” he said while talking to news agency ANI.
BBC Tamil on Social Media: