By TwoCircles.net Staff Writer,
Mumbai: After Britain, now Canada has banned eminent Islamic scholar Dr Zakir Naik from entering the country for his alleged support to terrorism. Dr Naik has rejected the allegation and indicated he will fight back the ban. He has said he would approach the British high court against the ban and will approach India’s External Affairs Minister SM Krishna to get the ban revoked.
According to Canada daily National Post, “An Indian Muslim televangelist who was banned from Britain last week for “unacceptable behaviour” will not be allowed into Canada to speak at an upcoming conference in Toronto.”
“Dr. Zakir Naik, who has said “every Muslim should be a terrorist” and that Jews are “our staunchest enemy,” was to headline next month’s Journey of Faith Conference — which is billed as one of North America’s largest Islamic conferences and is expected to attract upward of 10,000 people,” the paper said in the news on http://www.nationalpost.com/.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference on June 22 in Mumbai, Dr Zakir Naik, who runs the Islamic Research Foundation and Peace TV, said he would approach the British high court against the UK ban. “It is a political decision and not a legal one,” DNA quoted Dr Naik as saying.
Britain banned Dr Naik from entering the country on June 18 – the day he was to begin his 10-day lecture tour there – for his controversial statements on terrorism, which British home secretary Theresa May found “not conducive for public good”.
Explaining his stand on terror statement, Dr Naik has said his quotes had been distorted, or used out of context. He further said that the infamous Osama Bin Laden quote, which promotes the world’s most wanted terrorist, was delivered in 1996 and not 2006 as claimed, and even then he was being neutral and not siding with Laden.
In the Mumbai press conference 43-year-old Dr Naik produced the video of his statement, to prove he was misquoted in the “every Muslim should be a terrorist” statement. The video reportedly showed him as saying, “As far as terrorist is concerned, I tell the Muslims that every Muslim should be a terrorist… What is the meaning of the word terrorist? Terrorist by definition means a person who terrorises. So in this context every Muslim should be a terrorist to each and every anti-social element. I’m aware that terrorist is more commonly used for a person who terrorises innocent human beings. So in this context no Muslim should ever terrorise a single innocent human being.”