WHAT TYPE OF FUTURE AWAITS THE MALAYS? AS ZAHID DECLARES 1MDB MASTERMIND JHO LOW INNOCENT, SO TOO HADI PROCLAIMS ZAKIR NAIK A MUSLIM HERO

KUALA LUMPUR – PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has again defended fugitive preacher Dr Zakir Naik today, claiming the latter was deliberately accused of being a terrorist.

The Islamist party leader said critics have failed to answer Dr Zakir’s arguments, amid investigations by authorities in his hometown of India for alleged terror activities.

“For Muslim individuals, even when they won by using arguments and not weapons, like Dr Zakir Naik, they are considered terrorists because their arguments cannot be countered,” Hadi said in an opinion piece on Islamophobia published in HarakahDaily.

Hadi had compared the allegations against Dr Zakir to the act on Babylonian king Nimrod, who was said to have sentenced Prophet Abraham to be burned on a stake after he lost a debate against the latter.

Despite Abdul Hadi’s claim, there has been many criticisms and refutations of Dr Zakir’s arguments by both Muslims and others.

Earlier this week, PAS had wanted Malaysia to refuse India’s request demanding the return of its citizen and controversial Muslim preacher Dr Zakir Naik who is being investigated by its authorities for alleged terror activities.

The Islamist Opposition party’s information chief Nasrudin Hassan said Dr Zakir was a well-respected individual and that claims that the latter was radicalising or preaching terrorism was untrue.

Last month, India has clarified that Dr Zakir is wanted for allegedly funding terrorism, rejecting his claim of being targeted due to his religious beliefs.

The country’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA) outwardly named the controversial preacher a “terror suspect” in its letter to Interpol debunking Dr Zakir’s response to the international law enforcement agency to contest the “red notice” India sought for his arrest.

According to the Times of India, the NIA informed Interpol last month that it possessed compelling evidence that the preacher violated Indian law, explaining that he was investigated for funding terrorist activities via his Islamic Research Foundation.

– Malay Mail