Fugitive Zakir Naik.
Photo: ANI
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These days FIFA World Cup 2022 is being played in the hosting of Qatar. The tournament started on 20 November. Meanwhile, it was learned that Islamic religious leader Zakir Naik, accused of money laundering, inflammatory speech and terror-related activities, has reached Qatar. There has been an uproar over the invitation of fugitive Zakir Naik to attend the FIFA World Cup in Doha. Meanwhile, it is learned that Qatar has informed India through diplomatic channels that no official invitation was extended from its side to Zakir Naik to attend the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup.
Some reports say that Zakir Naik was officially invited by Qatar to deliver a sermon during the FIFA World Cup. Zakir has also been seen in Doha. Since these news, political tension started between India and Qatar. But now Qatar has given clarification to India in this matter. Qatar has clearly stated that such false news has been deliberately spread by other countries to create a rift in the relations between it and India.
Earlier Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India would convey its views on the matter to the concerned authorities in the ‘strongest possible terms’. Along with this, a section of the ruling BJP has called for boycott of FIFA. Please tell that Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar attended the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup. Jagdeep Dhankhar returned to India the very next day. However, there is no news of Zakir attending the ceremony.
News received from the presenter of Qatar’s official channel
In fact, recently Alhajri, a television presenter of Qatar’s official sports channel Alkas, tweeted, ‘Sheikh Zakir Naik is in Qatar during the World Cup and will give several religious lectures throughout the World Cup.’ Since then, news came to the fore that Zakir Naik has been called by Qatar for the FIFA World Cup.
Zakir Naik living in Malaysia
Zakir Naik came into the limelight in India since the 1990s for his religious teachings. In the early 2000s, many of his videos went viral on social media, in which Zakir Naik gave many objectionable speeches. After this, Zakir was accused of inciting his followers against other religions. After this, in 2016, India banned Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation (IRF). Zakir Naik left India in 2016 and is living in Malaysia. Zakir Naik has reportedly got permanent residence in Malaysia. But citing ‘national security’, he has been banned from giving speeches inside Malaysia since 2020.
Zakir Naik is a wanted man in India and is facing charges of inciting hatred and money laundering in India. India has been continuously demanding his extradition. Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation was declared illegal by the Ministry of Home Affairs last year. Naik is accused of promoting hatred and disharmony, and his speeches are seen as objectionable as he has been praising known terrorists for promoting religious conversions and terrorism in his speeches.