Zakir Naik apologises after Malaysia bans him from publicly speaking
Kuala Lampur: Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has apologised after eight Malaysian states banned him from publicly speaking for allegedly inciting racial tension in the Southeast Asian country, media report said.
The Malaysian police on Monday grilled Naik for 10 long hours for allegedly making anti-Indian and anti-Chinese comments in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
But Naik also said his speeches were "fabricated" and "selectively used".
Among the eight states, Malacca and Kedah are the latest where Naik delivered his speeches.
The actions have been taken after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad accused Naik of speaking about racial politics.
"Religious teachers can preach but he was not doing that. He was talking about sending Chinese back to China and Indians back to India. That's politics," Mahathir said as quoted by Times Now.
"I have never said this kind of things. But he tells the Chinese to go back. If you want to talk about religion, go ahead, then it is permissible. We don't want to stop him from that. But it is quite clear he wants to participate in racial politics in Malaysia. Now, he is stirring up racial feelings. That is bad," the Prime Minister added.
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