Government all set to ban Zakir Naik’s NGO

The home ministry is likely to approach the Cabinet soon with a proposal to declare controversial preacher Zakir Naik’s NGO, Islamic Research Foundation, as a unlawful organisation. The home ministry has held consultations with the law ministry and there is a view in the government that the organisation can indeed be declared as an unlawful organisation.

Sources said the home ministry was preparing the draft Cabinet note for the same and it will again be sent to the law ministry for a final approval. Once declared an unlawful organisation, the IRF would be barred from carrying out any activities in the country, including receiving any donations or funds as an NGO.

Multiple agencies from the Centre and the Maharashtra government have been investigating activities of the IRF. A few weeks ago, the home ministry’s foreigners division had inadvertently renewed the FCRA licence of IRF which was subsequently put on hold. The home ministry had also suspended four officers for the lapse even though one of them, a joint secretary-level officer, was subsequently reinstated as no lapse was found on his part.

Zakir Naik has been out of the country ever since agencies started investigating activities of IRF. The issue was came to light when one of the attackers at a Dhaka café in July this year claimed that he was influenced by Zakir Naik’s lectures. Intelligence agencies which scanned a number of speeches by Zakir Naik have in their report to the Centre described them as “highly provocative’’ and did not rule out the possibility that IRF could also be involved in religious conversions.

Sources said the home ministry had now decided that some stringent action was required. “Though the view is that IRF should be banned under the unlawful organisations like Simi, we will send the draft proposal to the law ministry for a final view again. The issue will then be placed before the Cabinet for a final decision,’’ a senior Government official said.