Controversial televangelist Zakir Naik called the recent probe into his affairs by the National Investigation Agency(NIA) a total sham. Naik's adviser, Aarif Malik, told THE WEEK that the “radicalization-inducing material”, which the NIA claimed to have unearthed, has been in the public domain for long. No one ever objected to them before the current crop of controversies erupted, he said.
Naik said that by virtue of being a research organization, the Islamic Research Foundation(IRF) had pursued certain theoretical interests in the broader world of Islamic affairs. The result has always been meant for public consumption at large. There is nothing shady about them.
Recently, NIA sleuths claimed to have bumped into published material dished out by the IRA, which might have facilitated Islamist tendencies and fostered radicalization among “willing and seeking” youths.
The NIA spotlight into Naik's affairs were prompted after the Islamic preacher was accused of money laundering and facilitating radicalization among young Muslims across India and beyond. Prima facie, it appeared that Naik allegedly did not reveal the “sources of funds” that his family members and IRF had received.
The raids on the IRF-affiliated Islamic International School at Mazgaon, however, attracted the ire of parents who plan to move the Bombay High Court as the threat of government-ordered closure hangs over the school. The school wasn't affiliated with larger bodies like the Cambridge body of schools which offered relevant and recognized certificates to students.
The Islamic school is the latest episode in a series of controversies that have engulfed the IRF, its founder, and several associated and affiliated educational and publicity units.
Naik, who is said to touring Africa at this point in time, plans to address the media to clear misgivings about IRF's activities -- especially in the light of claims that violent extremists bought into his worldview and got influenced by him.
