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Zakir Naik says Modi sought his support on IOK move
By News Desk
Published: January 11, 2020
TWEET EMAIL
File photo of Indian PM Narendra Modi (Left) and Zakir Naik (Right)
Islamic scholar Zakir Naik, who has been living in an exile in Malaysia, has claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered him a “safe passage to India” in return for his support to New Delhi’s illegal move of revoking occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
“The meeting [that] lasted for several hours… he [an Indian official] told me that he wanted me to support the BJP government’s decision of revoking Article 370 of the Constitution,” Naik said in a video statement uploaded on YouTube.
The television preacher left India in 2016 after New Delhi accused him of promoting hate speech and inciting terrorism. He moved to Malaysia, where he has been granted permanent residency.
The religious scholar said he “flatly” refused the offer, adding that “revoking Article 370 is unconstitutional and is taking away the rights of Kashmiris”.
“I cannot support the act of injustice, neither can betray the people of Kashmir,” he said.
Zakir Naik will not be deported: Malaysia PM
The IOK has been under a lockdown with severe restrictions in place since August 5 when New Delhi stripped the occupied valley of its autonomy in a bid to convert the Muslim majority of the region into a minority.
Naik said that the representative of the Indian government, who met him in Putrajaya city, said that he wanted to remove ‘misunderstandings’ between him and the Indian government.
“Three and a half months ago, Indian officials approached me for a private meeting with a representative of the Indian government,” he said, adding that the official said the Indian government wanted him to use his connections and help “in improving its ties with Muslim countries”.
Naik said that when the official realised he was not going to accept any “unjust” offer, he asked him not to criticise the BJP and Modi, directly.
The televangelist said he believed that Indian Muslim leaders who supported the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act must have been “blackmailed or threatened with the dire consequences” in doing so.
“If you fear a backlash and you are afraid, the least you can do is to keep quiet but supporting an unjust act is un-Islamic,” he said.
The newly-enacted bill, which has sparked countrywide protests with over two dozen people having died in demonstrations, allows New Delhi to grant citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants who entered India from three neighbouring countries on or before December 31, 2014 – but not if they are Muslim.
The law discriminates against Muslims and is part of Modi’s Hindu-nationalist agenda.
Read more: Article 370 , india , IOK
By News Desk
Published: January 11, 2020
TWEET EMAIL
File photo of Indian PM Narendra Modi (Left) and Zakir Naik (Right)
Islamic scholar Zakir Naik, who has been living in an exile in Malaysia, has claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered him a “safe passage to India” in return for his support to New Delhi’s illegal move of revoking occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
“The meeting [that] lasted for several hours… he [an Indian official] told me that he wanted me to support the BJP government’s decision of revoking Article 370 of the Constitution,” Naik said in a video statement uploaded on YouTube.
The religious scholar said he “flatly” refused the offer, adding that “revoking Article 370 is unconstitutional and is taking away the rights of Kashmiris”.
“I cannot support the act of injustice, neither can betray the people of Kashmir,” he said.
Zakir Naik will not be deported: Malaysia PM
The IOK has been under a lockdown with severe restrictions in place since August 5 when New Delhi stripped the occupied valley of its autonomy in a bid to convert the Muslim majority of the region into a minority.
Naik said that the representative of the Indian government, who met him in Putrajaya city, said that he wanted to remove ‘misunderstandings’ between him and the Indian government.
“Three and a half months ago, Indian officials approached me for a private meeting with a representative of the Indian government,” he said, adding that the official said the Indian government wanted him to use his connections and help “in improving its ties with Muslim countries”.
Naik said that when the official realised he was not going to accept any “unjust” offer, he asked him not to criticise the BJP and Modi, directly.
The televangelist said he believed that Indian Muslim leaders who supported the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act must have been “blackmailed or threatened with the dire consequences” in doing so.
“If you fear a backlash and you are afraid, the least you can do is to keep quiet but supporting an unjust act is un-Islamic,” he said.
The newly-enacted bill, which has sparked countrywide protests with over two dozen people having died in demonstrations, allows New Delhi to grant citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants who entered India from three neighbouring countries on or before December 31, 2014 – but not if they are Muslim.
The law discriminates against Muslims and is part of Modi’s Hindu-nationalist agenda.
Read more: Article 370 , india , IOK
