In another controversy that sparked protest in the Muslim world, the home secretary of UK, Ms Thereasa May, has ordered to ban the entry of the world renowned Islamic Scholar Dr. Zakir Naik into the country. Dr. Zakir Naik is the president founder of Islamic Research Foundation which is based in Mumbai, India.
Ms Thereasa May said that entry into the country is a privilege and not a right of a foreign individual. She also added that all those people who promote hate and terrorism will not be allowed to enter into the territory of UK. She has alleged that Dr. Naik spreads hate speech and that he supports the actions of Osama Bin Laden.
The exclusion report submitted by the UK authorities essentially has few quotes from Dr. Naik’s lectures based on which they issued the Ban.
However, the quotes have been taken completely out of context from the speeches of Dr Naik. Instead he openly denounces terrorism in his speeches and lectures. He has been delivering lectures for the past 20 years and there is not a single lecture in which he appears to have supported terrorism.
His stance on Osama Bin Laden is based on the fact that a person cannot be called a terrorist unless he is proven guilty in the court of law. He clearly states that he neither considers Osama bin Laden to be a saint, nor a terrorist.
In an official statement released on June 17th, Dr. Naik has urged the British government to reconsider the ban as it is completely based on false perception. He says that the statements made by the home secretary are completely baseless and out of context.
Several Muslim organizations from around the world have protested this decision of the British government. Many groups in Britain are staging protest and appealing for a recall of this ban. Dr Naik is a well known personality amongst the Muslims who is revered by millions of his fans from around the world.
This Ban has been challenged by Dr. Zakir Naik in the high court.
Mean while, another renowned Islamic Canadian Scholar, Dr. Bilal Philips has also been denied entry into UK on June 19th. He was asked to return back from the airport itself. Dr. Philips when asked about the incident, replies ”The world’s getting smaller every day. UK used to be my most common lecture tour (5-6 times per year). Guess Allah wanted me to stop travelling. Or at least to the west”.
[Source: PT Bureau]
Add a comment
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|