New Delhi: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday said that controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik will not be sent back to India. The PM’s statement came a day after India confirmed that it had requested Malaysia to hand over Zakir Naik.
Notably, Naik is wanted in India over allegations of terror-related activities and hate speech. He reportedly left India in 2016 and moved to Malaysia, where he was granted permanent residency.
“As long as he is not creating any problem, we will not deport him because he has been given permanent residency status,” said Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Malaysia reviewed India’s request to extradite Naik which New Delhi made in January for allegedly inciting youth to engage in terror activities via his hate speeches.
Naik, 52, has described media reports as ‘totally baseless and false’, adding that he has no plans to return to India until he felt ‘safe from unfair prosecution’.
Neither Indian nor Malay officials have confirmed the extradition request or the existence of any charges again Naik.
The controversial preacher is known for his hate speeches that allegedly inspired an ISIS terrorist involved in the 2016 Dhaka attack.
In 2010, Naik was reportedly banned from entering Britain after the Home Secretary cited ‘numerous comments’, which showed his ‘unacceptable behaviour’.
In a July 2008 TV broadcast, Naik had said that Al-Qaeda was not responsible for flying hijacked airliners into New York’s World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, killing almost 3,000 people.
