 "How Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, a fugitive in India, became Malaysia's guest")
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday arrived in India for a state visit.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave Ibrahim a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Modi and Ibrahim will have bilateral talks and the Indian PM will also host a luncheon in Ibrahim’s honour.
The two countries first established relations in 1957, but the ties were elevated to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership during Modi’s 2015 visit.
Though India and Malaysia have sought to deepen ties in all spheres, one issue lingers – controversial preacher Zakir Naik.
Naik, a fugitive from India, has set himself up in Malaysia.
But how did Naik become Malaysia’s guest?
Let’s take a closer look:
Who is he?
First, let’s take a brief look at Naik.
Naik is an Islamic preacher and a proponent of the radical Salafi school in Sunni Islam.
He is the head of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and Peace TV.
Peace TV, which has been banned in India, is based in Dubai.
It has millions of viewers across the globe.
Naik also holds a degree in medicine. He is usually seen on TV donning a suit and a skullcap.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAccording to India Today, Naik first gained fame in the 1990s for proselytising for his religion.
By 2000s his videos were gaining much attention as he preached the superiority of Islam over other religions.
Peace TV was launched by Zakir Naik’s Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation in 2006.
An Urdu version was launched in 2009, followed by a Bangla version in 2011. The content in English, Urdu and Bangla is telecast from Dubai.
However, these have been banned in several nations including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh following allegations of hate speech.
Naik’s remarks on Osama Bin Laden gained him much attention.
“If bin Laden is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him. If he is terrorizing America, the biggest terrorist, I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist," Naik reportedly said.
However, Naik claims he was misquoted.
Naik also hit headlines after demanding the death penalty for homosexuals and apostates. He argued that men have the “right” to beat their wives “gently”. He also defended the Islamic State’s practice of keeping sex slaves and destroying non-Muslim places of worship.
“How can we allow this [churches or temples in an Islamic state] when their religion is wrong and when their worshipping is wrong,” Naik was quoted as saying, as per India Today.
Gaining international attention
However, Naik only gained international attention in 2016 after a deadly attack in Bangladesh.
As per DW, Naik was accused, through his speeches, of inspiring one of the gunmen who attacked the Holey Artisan café.
Naik denied the allegation and accused the Bangladesh media of sensationalism.
As per India Today, Naik fled India in 2016 mere hours after the attack.
Naik was granted permanent residency in Malaysia after being denied visas by Britain and Canada.
According to DW, Naik has been allegedly been receiving funds from Qatar, Turkey and Pakistan.
“Malaysia, Turkey and Pakistan are somewhat modern Islamic states, which are trying to reconcile Islam with business, science and economics. They won’t go against a preacher like Zakir Naik, who is ultimately promoting Islam,” said Atul Singh, the founder of Fair Observer, a US non-profit media organisation told DW. “He serves their interests to have cultural influence among Indian Muslims.”
“Turkey and Pakistan are trying to become soft powers to tackle Islamophobia. At the end of the day, Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia are bonded by Islamic symbolism,” Hajira Maryam, a researcher with Turkey’s international broadcaster, TRT World added.
In November 2016, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) declared the IRF an unlawful organisation in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The NIA in October 2017, filed a chargesheet accusing Naik of encouraging youth to take up terror activities, making hate speeches, and promoting enmity on communal lines.
The Enforcement Directorate also submitted a complaint against Naik under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2019.
Naik’s name cropped up in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday blasts that left over 250 people dead.
Zahran Hashim, the leader of National Thowheeth Jama’ath, the group that took responsibility for the bombings, then praised Naik, as per India Today.
Naik has caused controversy in Malaysia too.
As per News18, Naik was banned from making public speeches in August 2019 after being quizzed by the police for 10 hours.
Kuala Lumpur said the ban on Naik was imposed in the interest of national security.
Naik is said to have made controversial remarks on Malaysian Hindus and Malaysian Chinese during a talk in Kota Baru.
Responding for calls for him to be deported, Naik said the Malaysian Chinese should leave first as they were “old guests.”
He also claimed ethnic Hindus in Malaysia enjoyed “100 times more rights” than Muslims in India.
He claimed that ethnic Hindus were more loyal to the Indian government than the government of Malaysian.
Naik, yet again, claimed to have been misquoted.
He said his critics had added “strange fabrications” to his remarks.
“It was never my intention to upset any individual or community. It is against the basic tenets of Islam, and I would like to convey my heartfelt apologies for this misunderstanding,” Naik was quoted as saying by News18.
Mahathir, who was prime minister of Malaysia at the time, said, “He is stirring up racial feelings. The police will have to investigate whether it is causing tension; obviously, it is.”
Mahathir said Naik, due to his status as a permanent resident, was not allowed to participate in politics.
“You can preach (religiously). But he wasn’t doing that,” he said. “He was talking about Chinese going back to China and Indians going back to India. I have never said such things. But he did. That is politics.”
What has India been doing to get Naik back?
India has been repeatedly trying to get Naik extradited from Malaysia.
New Delhi in January 2018 sent Kuala Lumpur a provisional arrest request and extradition request for Naik.
As per The Hindu, Modi in 2019 directly raised the issue of Naik’s extradition with then prime minister Mahathir Mohammad on the sidelines of a conference in Russia.
However, Mahathir, under whom Naik was granted permanent residency, refused New Delhi’s request.
Indian agencies, between 2017 and 2019, attempted to get Interpol to issue a Red Corner notice against Naik.
However, Interpol denied India’s request, saying there wasn’t sufficient evidence against Naik to warrant such a notice.
India in 2020 yet again requested the extradition of Naik.
However, Malaysia did not accede to the request.
The MEA at the time was told by the Malaysian government that its appeal is under consultation.
“We have requested for his extradition and time and again not only through our consultation with the Malaysian government but also through our High Commission. We have asked them to expedite the process. We have been told that it is under consultation and it is a process that will take time,” he said in response to a question.
He was quoted as saying by The Sta’ newspaper as saying that “Zakir in general feels that he is not going to get a fair trial (in India).”
He compared the situation to Australia refusing to extradite former police commando Sirul Azhar Umar, who was sentenced to death in Malaysia in 2015 for killing a Mongolian model.
In March 2022, the Islamic IRF was ruled an unlawful association and consequently banned for five years by the Union Home Ministry.
Naik’s extradition remains a sore point between the two nations.
With inputs from agencies
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