Along with Muslim citizens living in India, the noose has also tightened around renowned Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who enjoys global recognition. The Indian government has accused him of forced religious conversions and declared him involved in extremist activities.
According to details, following the exposure of a major illegal religious conversion racket in Uttar Pradesh, the crackdown on Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and his organization, the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), appears to be intensifying, as stated by Indian media.
It is believed by Indian media that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and central agencies have reportedly found significant leads regarding foreign funding in the case, revealing the inflow of funds from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Dubai, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom (UK), and other Islamic countries. The investigation has also uncovered links to banned organizations such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and the Popular Front of India (PFI).
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Indian media stated citing ED’s investigations, that this illegal religious conversion network received substantial foreign funding, with Zakir Naik and his organization IRF playing a suspicious role. A money trail of over INR 100 crore has been traced from UAE, Turkey, Canada, the US, the UK, and other Islamic countries.
ED has identified five foreign bank accounts of Changor Baba located in the UAE, and transactions in these accounts are currently under scrutiny, according to Indian media. It is worth noting that Zakir Naik, who left India in 2016 after facing charges of money laundering and promoting terrorism, is believed by the Indian government to have been involved in illegal religious conversions and extremist activities for a long time.
His organization IRF and his channel Peace TV are banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, and the UK. ED’s investigations also revealed that between 2003 and 2017, Naik received over INR 64 crore in suspicious funding from countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman, which was used for purchasing properties in India and spreading extremist content, as claimed by India.
