On Friday, in a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said that New Delhi will make a formal request to Malaysia for extradition of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.
India will "very soon" make a request to Malaysia for the extradition of Zakir Naik, charged by the NIA for radicalising youth, the external affairs ministry said today, amidst reports that the hardline Islamic preacher was there after being given permanent residency.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar also said India's internal legal process before approaching a foreign country with an extradition request was nearing completion in the case of Naik.
Asked about reports that Naik has been given permanent residency by Malayasia, which maintained that it has not received any official request from India related to terrorism allegations involving the preacher, Kumar said, "Our legal process is nearing completion and we will be making an extradition request very soon."
According to media reports, Naik obtained permanent residency five years ago.
Kumar also said that the nature of the extradition request will be known in next few days.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charged Naik and the Mumbai-based non-profit Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) that he founded in 1991 with indulging in unlawful activities and promoting religious hatred.
The government has imposed a five-year ban on the IRF under the country's anti-terror laws and has declared Naik an absconder.
Naik, who has been banned in the UK, has been given permanent residency in Malaysia, and embraced by top government officials.
Critics see Naik's presence in Malaysia as another sign of top-level support for hardline Islam in a country with substantial minorities of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists, and which has long projected a moderate Islamic image.
Support for a more politicised Islam has grown in recent years under Prime Minister Najib Razak, especially after he lost the popular vote in the 2013 general election - the ruling coalition's worst-ever electoral performance.
Since then, his ruling party has been trying to appease an increasingly conservative ethnic Malay-Muslim base and religion has become a battleground ahead of elections the prime minister has to call by mid-2018.
Naik, a 52-year-old medical doctor, has aroused controversy with his puritan brand of Islam - recommending the death penalty for homosexuals and those who abandon Islam as their faith, according to media reports. A Youtube video shows Naik saying that if Osama bin Laden "is terrorizing America the terrorist, the biggest terrorist, I am with him".
Bangladesh suspended Peace TV channel, which features Naik's preachings, after some media reports claimed bombers of a Dhaka cafe that killed 22 people last year were admirers of him. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Malaysian government accommodates Naik because "he remains a reasonably popular character amongst Malays, who gloss over his more controversial aspects," said Rashaad Ali, an analyst with S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.
"If the government were to kick him out of the country, it causes them to lose religious credibility in the eyes of the public."
At his appearance at the Putra mosque last month, a female Reuters reporter asked about the investigation in India. Naik would only say: "Sorry, it is not right for me to speak with ladies in public."
Naik did not respond to subsequent requests for comment from Reuters.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told parliament on Tuesday that Naik, who obtained permanent residency five years ago, was not being given "preferential treatment".
"Over the time spent in this country, he has not broken any laws or regulations. As such, there is no reason from a legal standpoint to detain or arrest him," Zahid said. The government has not received any official request from India "related to terrorism allegations involving him", he added.
That is soon going to change and we will have to see Malaysia's reaction.
With inputs from Reuters and PTI
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