Potential diplomatic crisis between Qatar and India over Zakir Naik’s. Doha abandons Islamic preacher
Among the controversial events at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar are India’s stances, with a number of government members previously announcing a boycott of the World Cup due to Doha’s anti-Islamic decisions, sparking a new row over the Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s rushing to abandon him.
Since last week, just before the start of the World Cup, Qatar has been flouting the help of a number of Islamic preachers, including the famous Indian Zakir Naik, as videos have circulated documenting the arrival of the Islamic preacher in the Qatari capital, Doha.
A few hours ago, an Indian newspaper revealed a diplomatic crisis that erupted between India and Qatar, due to the refusal of the Indian side to attend the World Cup opening ceremony of the escaped Muslim Scholar Zakir Naik. The Qatari side claimed that Zakir was not invited to attend the opening ceremony among the high-profile visitors, and that neither Doha nor FIFA invited the Indian Preacher to attend the ceremony.
India Today said: Qatar has conveyed through its diplomatic channels to India its denial of any official invitation to Zakir Naik to attend the opening of the World Cup.
The Indian newspaper added that Qatar described the news that was published as misleading and its aim is to influence the bilateral relations between New Delhi and Doha.
Doha abandoned Zakir Naik, telling India through diplomatic channels that it had not officially invited him to Qatar, in response to an Indian diplomat’s protest against the alleged invitation, as Naik is wanted by the Indian judiciary for allegedly money laundering.
According to the newspaper, the Qatari assurances came after New Delhi informed Doha that it would be forced to cancel Vice President Jagdeb Dhankar’s visit to the World Cup opening ceremony if Islamist Zakir Naik was officially invited to watch the grand opening of the event in the VIP booth.
Media reports said Indian televangelist Zakir Naik arrived in Doha to take part in activities related to the Qatar 2022 World Cup at the invitation of the organizing committee.
The Qatari “Al-Kass” channel reported that Zakir Naik is considered one of the most famous Islamic preachers in the world. He is an Indian preacher and the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation, in addition to his founding of Peace Channel.
India has informed Qatar that it will cancel the visit of one of its top officials, Vice President Jagdeep Dancar, to the World Cup opening ceremony if Muslim preacher Zakir Naik is invited.
Indian cleric Zakir Naik has been living in exile in Malaysia since 2017 as a fugitive, according to Indian authorities who charge him with money laundering, in addition to being involved in forced conversions and, based on evidence, being sued for converting people of other faiths to Islam, a charge that activists on social media ridicule.
