Wanted fugitive in India, Zakir Naik, to hold religious lectures during FIFA WC: Reports

As the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) football World Cup kicks off in the middle eastern country of Qatar on November 20 with Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also representing India at the occasion, controversial preacher Zakir Naik is in Qatar to give religious lectures all through the football extravaganza, reports Qatar’s state-owned Sports channel, Alkass on its Twitter.   

Notably, Zakir Naik is a wanted fugitive in India, facing allegations of money laundering, terror-related activities, etc. 

Zakir Naik to give lectures on the sidelines of the FIFA World Cup 2022

“Preacher Sheikh Zakir Naik is present in Qatar during the World Cup and will give many religious lectures throughout the tournament,” Faisal Alhajri, a presenter at the Qatari state-owned sports channel Alkass, wrote on Twitter on Saturday. 

India banned Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation in late 2016, accusing him of encouraging and assisting its followers in “promoting or attempting to promote feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will between different religious communities and groups,” the ban was later extended for five years by the government.  

He has been living in exile as a runaway fugitive in Malaysia since 2017 after the Indian government levelled charges against him over money laundering.

'Naik will disrupt the secular fabric of the country': MHA

MHA in a statement in 2021 extending the five-year ban on Zakir Naik's IRF said Naik is a threat to the secular fabric of the country, "Naik's activities will disrupt the secular fabric of the country by polluting the minds of the people by creating communal disharmony, propagate anti-national sentiments, escalate secessionism by supporting militancy and some people may undertake activities which are prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity, and security of the country. With regard to the activities of the IRF, it is necessary to declare it an unlawful association with immediate effect," MHA said.