Zakir Naik to be Deported From Oman, India in Touch With Authorities There: Sources

Radical Islamist preacher Zakir Naik is likely to be deported from Oman. Indian intelligence agencies are already in touch with Oman authorities to detain Naik during his visit to Oman on March 23.

Naik has been invited to deliver two lectures in Oman. His first lecture “The Quran a Global Necessity” is organized by the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs of Oman and scheduled on the first day of Ramadan-March 23.

The second lecture “Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] A Mercy to Humankind” is scheduled at Sultan Qaboos University on March 25 evening.

Local Indian embassy is in touch with agencies to detain and eventually deport him under the local laws. Sources in Indian intelligence agencies said that there was strong possibility that local authorities oblige to their request and detain him.

Indian agencies are likely to send alegal team for follow up after detention. The matter was taken up with the Omani Ambassador by the MEA.

Similarly, the Indian Ambassador in Oman has also raised the issue with Omani MFA.

Earlier, Qatar had invited Naik to give religious sermons at the FIFA World Cup 2022. Naik, who faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India, has been living in exile in Malaysia since 2017, as a runaway fugitive.

India outlawed Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) late in 2016, on the charges of encouraging and assisting the group’s followers in “promoting or attempting to promote feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will between different religious communities and groups.” In March 2022, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) declared IRF an unlawful association and outlawed it for five years.

Naik, who shot to fame during the 1990s over his activities of da’wah (an act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam) through IRF, is also the founder of the ‘comparative religion’ Peace TV. The channel reportedly has a reach of over 100 million viewers, many of whom regard him as an exponent of the Salafi (a reform moment within the Sunni community) ideology.

To evade the law, Naik relocated to Malaysia. Even though he has permanent residency in Malaysia, the country also banned Naik from giving speeches in the interests of “national security” in 2020.