GOPIO Appreciates Move by India to Ban Zakir Naik

GOPIO Malaysia welcomes action by the Government of India to ban controversial preacher Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation for five years. The move comes after investigation by the Home Ministry of India, findingthe foundation’s link to an international Islamic channel accused of propagating terrorism.

Zakir Naik was in Malaysia earlier this year and was observed to have made hate speeches against religions. This occurrence was condemnedand protested by many Malaysian NGO’s and political parties.

Zakir Naik’s modus operandi is to belittle Non-Islamic Religions quoting verses from religious texts. The preacher took advantage of secular India to grow popular for far too long. He is already banned in the UK and Canada.

Zakir Naik came under scrutiny when Rohan Imtiaz, one of the perpetrators of the July 1st2016 attack in Dhaka ran propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Zakir.Bangladesh was quick to identify the danger Zakir Naik poses to the country and its people, and befittingly banned the controversial preacher.

These hate speeches will eventually instigate innocent listeners to go against the followers of other religions. Hate speeches are capable of promoting terrorism, gradually.Every Country must inspect preachers and instigators entering their borders to deliver hate speeches against religions.

Zakir Naik is a citizen of secular India and the rhetoric he propagates is dangerous not only to India, Bangladesh, UK and Canada, but to everyother country in the world. The move by Government of India is laudable and stands as a good example for other nations.

Gunashekharren Sreerangan
Chairman,
GOPIO Cultural Bureau.