Naik, a televangelist, reportedly left India in 2016 and relocated to Malaysia, where he was granted permanent residency...
Digital Desk: Qatar has informed India through diplomatic channels that it did not send an official invitation to Indian fugitive and controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik to attend the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Doha. Further, it asserted that purposeful "disinformation" had been circulated by other nations in an effort to deteriorate bilateral relations between India and Qatar.
The Arab country's clarification comes after New Delhi informed Doha that if Naik is formally invited to the FIFA World Cup inauguration, it will be forced to cancel Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar's visit to the grand event. Dhankar attended the event on November 20 and left Qatar the next day, but not before meeting Indian expat blue-collar workers who had built soccer stadiums for the West Asian country.
Naik, a televangelist, reportedly left India in 2016 and relocated to Malaysia, where he was granted permanent residency. India had requested his extradition from Malaysia in a letter. In India, he faces various charges of money laundering and hates speech, and his organization, the Islamic Research Foundation, is banned.
Naik is also charged with inciting and assisting IRF members in "creating or attempting to foster feelings of animosity, hostility, or ill-will between different religious communities and groupings."
Naik is also banned in the UK and Canada for his hate speech against other religions.
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