The Islamic preacher and televangelist Zakir Naik is in the news for all the wrong reasons. He has been in highlights last week for his speeches and videos, which are said to be inspiring the terrorists of Dhaka attack. The Government of India had instructed NIA to scrutinize his speeches and videos and investigate whether his speeches provoke the fundamentalists’ feelings among people or not.
This time, he is in the news because of one of his employees of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) has been held with the charges of radicalizing a Kerala woman who got missing. In a joint team operation of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Kerala Police on Wednesday, they arrested a youth who is said to be allegedly associated with IRF in connection with a case of alleged forced conversion.
The accused and IRF employee, being identified as Arshid Qureshi, has been arrested from Navi Mumbai area and presented before the Magistrate Court in CBD-Belapur on Thursday, for demanding in remand custody for four days. The Kerala Police has been granted the remand.
Arshid Qureshi was arrested after the kin of Merin alias Mariyam who registered a FIR at the Palarivattom police station in Kerala alleging that Mariyam, a Christian who got converted to Islam, was being radicalized by her own husband Yahiya and Qureshi and thereafter, forced to join the Islamic State or ISIS. Mariyam is one of the 21 people reported missing from Kerala. The police are suspecting that they have pledged their allegiance to the ISIS.
This matter is surely going to raise the difficulties of the controversial orator, Zakir Naik as the sources close to IRF have confirmed that Arshid Qureshi is an employee of IRF. Zakir is already banned in UK and Canada for his incendiary speeches against other religions. Also, he is among the 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.
