Islamic evangelist Zakir Naik caught up in political storm in India

Mumbai-based Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has triggered a huge political controversy in India with intelligence agencies now finding direct impact of his speeches on home-grown Indian Mujahiddin terrorists.

Officials, monitoring Naik, said that Ayaz Sultan, the leader of the Islamic State module in Malwani, Maharashtra, was influenced by Naik’s speech.

Sultan has reportedly sneaked out of the country to reach Syria. Quoting intelligence reports, officials said that Sultan became familiar with the radical views while working with the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF),a Mumbai-based NGO owned by Naik.

Security agencies are now claiming that several members of the Indian Mujahideen who joined ISIS were under the influence of the inflammatory speeches by Naik.

India’s home ministry has already ordered probe on Naik’s speeches.

“His (Naik’s) Peace TV is also under the scanner of the investigative agencies,” one home ministry official told bdnews24.com, but on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the two major political parties, BJP and Congress, in India have started mud slugging at each other on the Zakir Naik issue.

Days after Home Minister Rajnath Singh circulated a photo where Congress leader Digvijay Singh and Zakir Naik were seen hugging each other, Digvijay on Saturday tweeted a picture of Rajnath with Pragya Thakur, a Hindu sadhvi accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts in which several Muslims were killed near Mumbai.

Chief Minister of another BJP ruled state Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, is also seen in the picture.

Digvijaya posted the picture after BJP asserted that Rajnath never met Sadhvi Pragya and rubbished his claims as baseless.

“Do you recognise the two BJP leaders with Pragya Thakur? Would Rajnathji and Shivraj ji pl respond?” Digvijay’s tweet read.

In another tweet, he targeted Ved Pratap Vaidik who met 26/11 terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan in 2014.

Digvijaya who tweeted a picture of Vaidik with Saeed asked if the Modi Bhakts recognised them. Vaidik is a journalist close to Hindutva organisation RSS.

The Congress leader said that Pakistan government would have never allowed Vaidik to meet Hafiz Sayeed “if he was not a part of back channel diplomacy between India and Pakistan.”

Digvijaya further added that his party raised the issue with the Modi government who has reacted on the matter.

India's junior home minister Khiren Rijjuju has said that Zakir Naik was being investigated and a ban on his organisation could be considered if Bangladesh made a formal request.

But many in India say Naik's Islamic Research Foundation should be banned on its own.