“We have taken cognizance of Zakir Naik’s speeches and necessary instructions have been issued in this regard”.
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In October 2008, a two-day programme by Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation ( IRF) at the Azam Campus ground in Pune Camp became controversial after “religious conversions” took place at the venue.
The Bangladesh government on Sunday made a decision to close down Peace TV, a Mumbai-based channel run by controversial Islamic Preacher Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation.
A Bangladeshi newspaper, The Daily Star, carried a report on July 6 claiming that Rohan Imtiaz, one of the five militants involved in the recent Dhaka cafe attack, ran a propaganda campaign on Facebook past year urging all Muslims to be terrorists, quoting Naik’s speech on Peace TV.
By training a medical doctor, Dr Naik, who is lean, delivers sermons on Peace TV and online.
The Information and Broadcasting Minisry in an advisory to all state governments has also asked them to ensure that cable operators do not broadcast the TV channels like Peace TV that are not permitted to downlink in India. It will take appropriate action after studying them.
The ministry said that either a district magistrate, sub-divisional magistrate or a commissioner of police is authorised officer to keep account of cable TV operators.
The Daily Star denied the allegation and claimed that it didn’t report that Naik had inspired any terrorist act and instead had said that one of the terrorists had propagated on Facebook quoting Peace TV’s Zakir Naik urging all Muslims to be terrorists.
The Islamic scholars in Bangladesh had past year demanded a ban on the channel, saying it was misleading the Muslims all over the world. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia. Six days later, terrorist attacked police guarding the largest Eid gathering in Bangladesh and killed three more people.
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“We will also soon issue directives to all universities to scan their records and seriously look into the matter of missing students vis-a-vis terrorism”, he added, underlining the concern the “missing” students were generating in the country.
