KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — Fugitive televangelist Dr Zakir Naik will be delivering a Friday sermon in Perlis on February 10, according to a poster shared by the state’s mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin yesterday.
The poster indicated that the sermon is jointly organised by the Perlis Islamic Religious Affairs Department, the Islamic and Perlis Islamic Affairs and Malay Customs Council, and the office of the Perlis mufti.
The sermon will be delivered at the state mosque in Arau.
In the poster, Dr Zakir is described as a “researcher and caller to Islam”.
Last month, Dr Zakir visited a private Islamic-centric university in Shah Alam, Selangor, which is also under investigation for radical teachings after two students were arrested on suspicion of being Islamic State recruits planning a terror attack locally.
Although a fugitive in India, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the controversial Islamic preacher is free to travel in Malaysia because he is not on the terror list here.
He has been reported by several Indian newspapers to be on the run to avoid prosecution in India.
The Salafist preacher has also been banned from several countries like Bangladesh, Canada and the UK.
In November last year, Times of India reported the Indian government has imposed a five-year ban on Dr Zakir’s NGO, the Islamic Research Foundation.
The daily reported that India’s authorities are also mulling terror charges against Dr Zakir, reportedly based on testimonies of about 50 terror suspects and convicts recorded from various jails, with those caught citing the medical doctor as their motivation and source of inspiration.
