Squeezed in India, Zakir Naik takes radicalisation to Nepal

Controversial Salafist preacher Zakir Naik has shifted his radicalisation activities to Nepal following the ban on his outfits in India.

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik | EPS

NEW DELHI: Controversial Salafist preacher Zakir Naik has shifted his radicalisation activities to Nepal following the ban on his outfits in India under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Naik’s Pakistan connection also emerged during the probe by intelligence agencies.

Naik’s cadres recently visited Kathmandu, Krishnanagar and Siraha and Birganj districts in the Terai region. They organised Street Daawah for recruitment and distributed misinterpreted Islamic literature. Street Daawah derives its origin from a similar movement in Australia a few years ago, in which its cadres joined the Islamic State. Recruits are randomly selected during Street Daawah, their phone numbers, residential and e-mail addresses are collected and they are radicalised through concocted Islamic literature and brainwashing.

Zakir Naik

Naik has also funded Nepal-based outfits Al Bayyan Islamic Centre in Birganj and Islamic Peace Research Foundation in the Terai belt. These are affiliated to International Islamic Centre, Sargodha, Pakistan. All these campaigns are being run on social networking platforms and are spearheaded by Farhat Hashmi’s Islamic International Centre. Hashmi also runs Al-Huda International in Canada, which converts Christians to Islam.

Naik helped Hashmi develop content for Al-Huda when it was being established in 1994. Hashmi is now paying back Naik.

“Following the tightening of the noose around him by agencies here, Naik was under pressure to keep his network of radicalised cadres intact. Six senior cadres visited Nepal and used SIM cards issued by Indian telecom companies,” a senior intelligence official said.

The Toronto-based outfit is likely to paint action against Naik as a human rights violation issue, intelligence sources said.

“The action by the NIA against Zakir Naik is a step towards containment of his jihadi activities in India and a severe jolt to the regional network of radicalisation being run by him,” counter-terrorism expert Rituraj Mate said.

The government has banned a number of outfits related to Naik, including Islamic Research Foundation and IRF Educational Trust. The NIA has booked him and his organisations under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.