Mangaluru: Close on the heels of Mangaluru City Police Commissioner S Murugan imposing a temporary ban on Islamic religious speaker Dr Zakir Naik’s proposed visit to Mangaluru on January 2, 2016, the organizers approached the state government and decided to postpone the event by two months after the government assured full support for the programme.
Addressing the media on Wednesday December 30, Central Vice-president of South Karnataka Salafi Movement (SKSM) Ismail Shafi, said they will organize the programme in two-three months as Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar asked them to hold back the plan in the backdrop of upcoming Panchayat elections. Shafi said they were accompanied to the Home Minister by Dakshina Kannada District In-Charge Minister B Ramanath Rai and that the leaders have promised to grant permission for Dr Naik’s visit then.
Refuting charges that Dr Naik makes provocative speeches due to which Commissioner Murugan denied permission, Shafi said that Dr Naik is a scholar not only in Quran but also in Bhagavat Gita and Bible and that he has delivered sessions in over 2000 places worldwide. He said that Dr Naik had participated in sessions with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Shiv Sena programme when its leader Bal Thackeray was alive, on two different occasions and that the programmes were highly successful.
Asked when Commissioner Murugan had referred to video footages which showed Dr Naik in bad light against the spirit of communal harmony, Shafi said it was the gimmick of certain outfits against the preacher who submitted cropped versions of the video footage to the Commissioner portraying him in bad light and insisted that the Commissioner should check out the footages on its whole.
Shafi also denied allegations that Dr Naik has links with terrorist outfits adding the allegations were baseless and it deeply hurt the sentiments of the Muslims and Dr Naik’s supporters. He further said that had there been even a single proof in support of the allegation, Dr Naik would have been booked under law, however, that is not the case.
It is gathered that SKSM is likely to hold the programme in March.
