CALL that the ultimate Ramadan blessing for ‘on-the-run’ preacher and televangelist Zakir Naik who is wanted in his motherland, India, for questioning for alleged money laundering and other criminal activities.
Lawyer for the Malaysian permanent resident Akberdin Abdul Kader said Naik has denied news reports claiming that the controversial preacher would be detained in Oman and deported to India.
“He texted me to say he was safe and staying at a hotel,” Akberdin told Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
Naik also told him that news of his alleged arrest was nothing more than “fabricated news” by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government-controlled media.
Naik had also uploaded a video on his Facebook page, informing his followers that he had arrived safely in Oman in the early morning of March 22.
“I would like to thank the Omanian sultanate for giving me a very warm welcome and excellent protocol,” he noted while inviting Muslims and non-Muslims alike to attend his two public talks at the Muscat Convention Centre.
The first talk scheduled for yesterday (March 23) was entitled “Quran and the Global System” while the second talk, “Prophet Muhammad SWT: His Mercy to Mankind”, is slated for tomorrow (March 25).
“The good news is that both my talks will be broadcast live on all my social media platforms – FB, YouTube, Instagram – and through the four Peace TV channels in Urdu, English, Bangladeshi and Chinese,” he added.
Last night (March 23), the Indian English-language news channel News18 reported that Naik would be arrested in Oman and deported to India.
According to the report, Indian intelligence was working with Omani authorities to arrest Naik on Thursday (March 23). – March 24, 2023
