Govt bans broadcast of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s Peace TV in Bangladesh

The government has decided to ban broadcast of Peace TV, a channel run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, in Bangladesh, after allegations rose that he inspired acts of terrorism.

The Cabinet committee on law and order took the decision in a special meeting on Sunday, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, who heads the panel, told reporters.

Ministers and state ministers of 12 ministries attended the meeting held at the home ministry in the backdrop of two major terrorist attacks in Bangladesh this month.

Amu chaired the meeting.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu on Saturday hinted at banning the 24-hour channel.

“We are aware of the allegations against this TV channel. Those will be investigated,” he told bdnews24.com. “The work will begin as soon as the ministry opens. We will take a stand on the issue without delay.”

Naik is the founder and president of Mumbai-based charity organisation Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), which owns Peace TV. The contents in English, Urdu and Bangla are broadcast from Dubai.

Initial investigations by Indian authorities have found Naik’s speeches to be provocative and objectionable. His explanations on Islam-related issues had also kicked off controversies in many instances.

The 50-year-old Indian preacher is banned from entering the UK and Canada and Peace TV is banned in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

At least two of the attackers who killed 20 hostages inside Holey Artisan Bakery and O’ Kitchen at Gulshan-2 on Jul 1 night were said to have been his followers on the social media.

Reports have also emerged that several Indian youths inspired by Naik’s speeches have made their way to fight alongside the Islamic State in Syria.

The Indian government on Friday launched a multi-pronged inquiry into controversies around the speeches and "online sermons" of the self-styled preacher.

While the Indian home ministry has moved for investigations by intelligence agencies, the Maharashtra government has also started probing Naik for his alleged radicalising influence on youths.

Police have been deployed outside the IRF office in South Mumbai in a move termed ‘a precautionary measure’ in the backdrop of recent developments, the Indian media have reported.

India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told ‘The Indian Express’ on Friday, “I made enquiries with my officers. It is a matter concerning security of our country and social harmony.”

With demand for a ban on Peace TV in Bangladesh growing, several cable operators in Dhaka have said they were waiting for government directives on the free-to-air channel.

“We want to stop airing the channel in the whole country. But we are yet to receive a government order,” Mir Hossain Akhtar, head of Bangladesh Cable Owners Association, told bdnews24.com.

The channel has already been stopped in some parts of Dhaka, said SM Anwar Parvez, the former chief of the association.

Facing the heat in Bangladesh and India, Zakir Naik on Saturday claimed that no Bangladesh government official had said that he inspired the act of terrorism.

"I spoke to Bangladeshi government people. They told me that they do not believe I inspired this Bangladeshi terrorists to do this act of killing innocent people. That is a different issue that he was my fan," Naik said in a video released in Mumbai.