Dr Zakir Naik
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Islamic Research Foundation
donated to Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust
IRF Also Wanted To Help Hospital Tied To Sonia
Controversial preacher Zakir Naik's NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) had allegedly offered a second donation of Rs 25 lakh to Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) in December 2011, months after it donated Rs 50 lakh that is already in the public realm.
Documents seized during raids on Naik's now outlawed outfit show that it had wanted the Rs 25 lakh donation to RGCT to be routed via Mumbai-based M H Saboo Siddique Maternity and General Hospital, but the hospital ended up utilizing the money itself after IRF kept vacillating on who should be the end beneficiary . Besides RGCT, it had also recommended Allahabad-based Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital Society , and KARM, an NGO in Mumbai.
Significantly, according to resolutions passed by IRF in June-July and November 2011, the two donations of Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh were extended to RGCT on the basis of applications received from the trust which has Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi on its board of trustees. This contrasts with Congress's claim, made when the Rs 50 lakh donation became public, that it never solicited donation from IRF. RGCT did not respond to TOI's queries based on the documents in its possession.
As per documents with The Times of India , in case of both the donations, applications were received from RGCT, New Delhi, and placed before IRF's board of trustees.
The papers show that IRF, at a meeting of its trustees in November 2011, passed a resolution stating that applications for medical and educational aid was received from M H Saboo Siddique Hospital, RGCT and Bandra Education Society .
The meeting resolved to donate Rs 5 lakh to the hospital as medical aid and Rs 5 lakh to the society as educational aid. It “further resolved that Rs 30,00,000 be donated to M H Saboo Siddique... hospital out of which they should retain Rs 5,00,000 and further donate Rs 25,00,000 to RGCT.“ According to the documents, Rs 30 lakh was given to the hospital vide cheque No.964635 dated December 19, 2011.
While RGCT did not respond to queries sent by email, honorary medical director of M H Saboo Siddique Hospital Abdul Rauf Sumar confirmed receipt of Rs 30 lakh donation from IRF with the instruction that Rs 25 lakh be passed on to RGCT.He claimed that as asked by IRF in a letter dated December 15, 2011, the hospital had written a Rs 25 lakh cheque to RGCT.
“But IRF got back to us on March 19, 2012, asking us to make the cheque in favour of Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital Society instead. They again revised the instruction and asked us on July 16, 2012 to credit the Rs 25 lakh donation to KARM. Ultimately, however, the money remained with us and we utilised it for our own charitable activities,“ he said.
Mrs Sonia Gandhi is chairperson of the Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital Society .
According to Sumar, no reason was assigned by IRF to change the beneficiary of the Rs 25 lakh. “In fact, we wondered why the payment was routed through us and not passed on directly to the intended beneficiary ,“ he said.
Investment in real estate
NIA says Zakir Naik's 'NGO' has Rs 100 crore-worth real estate, Jan 19, 2017: The Times of India
HIGHLIGHTS
Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) has investments of as much as Rs 100 crore in real estate business, NIA said.
The agency also said that Naik's 78 bank accounts are under the scanner.
On November 19, 2016, the agency conducted raids at 10 premises of IRF in Mumbai.
The National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Thursday said that controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) has investments of as much as Rs 100 crore in real estate business. The agency also said that Naik's 78 bank accounts are under the scanner.
The agency has questioned around 20 associates of Naik, including his sister Nailah Naushad Noorani, in connection with its investigation, NIA sources said. "We have sought certain documents including income tax returns and others. Besides this, 78 bank accounts in different banks of the country, are also being scanned. Once examination is done, we intend to summon Zakir Naik for questioning," a source said.
The NIA officials have found complicated movement of money in the financial transactions made by people involved in the case, they said, adding that the role of Mumbai-based Harmony Media Pvt Ltd--involved in production of religious and educative videos--is being looked into in this case. On November 19 last year, the agency conducted raids at 10 premises of IRF in Mumbai after registering a case against Naik under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and section 153A of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The NIA action had come after the Union Cabinet declared IRF a banned organisation under UAPA. IRF had come under the scanner of various security agencies after one of the terrorists involved in the Dhaka cafe attack on July 1, 2016 allegedly posted on social media that they had been inspired by Naik's speeches. In addition, some young men from Mumbai's suburbs, who had left their home to join the Islamic State in 2016, also allegedly said they were inspired by the preacher.
The home ministry found the NGO allegedly had dubious links with Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, which has been accused of propagating terrorism. On January 13, 2017, IRF challenged the validity of its ban. The government defended its action by saying IRF was luring youth to join ISIS.
"Youth were being radicalised. Many were in the queue for joining ISIS. Many youths arrested in unrelated terror cases stated that they were inspired by speeches of Zakir Naik. What could have been a more urgent situation for a nation? Should we have waited for pralay (catastrophe)," Centre told Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva of the Delhi High Court during the proceeding.
Naik is currently out of the country apparently to evade arrest. His speeches are banned in the UK, Canada and Muslim-majority Malaysia.
FCRA violations, statements lead to foreign funds stoppage
The Union home ministry's move to debar controversial televangelist Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation from receiving foreign funding follows the detection of multiple violations of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) by the NGO, including failure to declare nearly Rs 4.6 crore out of total receipts of Rs 12.65 crore between 2009-10 and 2014-15. Also, IRF, though registered for educational and social purposes and having received foreign contributions for the same, utilised them for religious purposes in violation of Section 8 of the FCRA.
Among the violations mentioned in a home ministry report, based on an inspection of its accounts in June 2014, are use of international islamic conferences organised in Mumbai from 2007 to 2011 as a platform to announce conversion of people to Islam to garner funds from abroad. The report also refers to objectionable and pro-jihad speeches of Naik and the denial of visa to him by UK and Canada in 2010 after he supported al-Qaida on Peace TV and stated that “if he, Osama Bin Laden, is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him...Every Muslim should be a terrorist“.
Other objectionable statements quoted by the home ministry include the televangelist's 2007 remark against visiting dargahs and a 2008 interview where he advocated demolition of dargahs, creating tension between Barelvis and Deobandis [Indpaedia: both are objectionable], and stated that Muslims should seek help from Allah alone and not even from the Prophet [Indpaedia: This is what Islam says. Why should anyone find this objectionable?]. Also, in a programme at Chennai on January 17, 2009, Naik proclaimed he was proud to be a fundamentalist and that Muslims were terrorists as they were terrorising “anti-social elements“ as “ordered“ by the Quran. [Also highly objectionable]
In another address in March-April 2012, Naik commented that holy books of Hindus had been “contaminated“ over time and called for Shariat rule in India. At a meet in 2011in Mumbai, he said if Islam had been spread by sword, there would not have been 80% Hindus in Hindustan.
As per the home ministry's findings, IRF paid Rs 43.75 lakh to its employee Arshi Asif Qureshi, who was arrested recently by Kerala Police for his alleged role in conversion of 19 people who left the country to join Islamic State in Afghanistan.
The report also mentions the Rs 50 lakh donation made to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitab le Trust by IRF, underlining that the failure of the Trust to reflect the same in FC-6 return of that year was a violation of Rule 24(4) of the FCRR. A similar violation was also cited in two donations made by IRF to K J Somaiya Trust.
IRF was found to have received local transfers by RTGSNEFT into its designated FCRA account in violation of Section 17 of FCRA.
Also, Rs 20.42 lakh was credited into the FCRA account of IRF United Islamic Aid, which is a violation of Section 17 of FCRA as mixing of foreign and domestic contributions is not allowed. IRF also failed to show a Rs 1.79 crore contribution received in 2008-09 in its annual returns.It also did not file its FC-6 return for the year 2006-07.
Thus spake Zakir Naik
Zakir Naik’s 10 statements that will shock you
Dr Zakir Naik is a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation. He has been banned in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Indonesia for his ‘hate speeches’.
“Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is if he is terrorising the terrorist, he is following Islam. Whether he is or not, I don’t know. But you as Muslims know that, without checking… laying allegations is also wrong.”
“Wife-beating in the Muslim world is not necessarily a bad thing.”
“How can we allow this building of temples and churches in an Islamic nation when their religion is wrong, when their worshipping is wrong?”
“Sania Mirza should dress modestly while playing. No Indian politician would like to send his daughter to play beach volleyball even if it becomes an international sport.”
“It’s a blatant, open secret that the attack on the Twin Towers was done by George Bush himself.”
“Homosexuals should be killed.”
“Girls shouldn’t be sent to schools where they lose their virginity by the time they pass out. Schools should be shut down and they should not be allowed to wear gold ornaments.”
“If women wear revealing clothes they have more chances of getting raped.”
“Muslims have the right to have sex with their female slaves.”
“Death by stoning for extra marital affairs is acceptable according to Sharia law.”
