Taking to Twitter to voice his frank opinion yesterday, the former Umno minister also suggested that the discourse on Naik’s presence here, especially by those defending him, should be better managed by the government.
“Issue of Zakir Naik is quite straightforward. If he is not a danger to our peace and harmony, and not a criminal keep him.
“Otherwise send him away. No need to bring high emotion, or bring ulama into this discussion. They are usually too emotional,” Zaid said in two tweets sent yesterday evening.
Though not making any specific references, it is believed that Zaid was alluding to Perlis Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin who had written a caustic poem yesterday which targetted people whom he said “idolised cows” and at the same time defended an unnamed preacher against attempts to hand him over to an “evil government”.
“When those who idolise cows as God unite, and call for our preacher to be fettered, to hand him over to an evil government that worships the fire and practises the sati, burning widows, in that continent, a teaching that divides humans into castes,” Asri had written in his “Friday morning poem” in a Facebook post.
Sati refers to an obsolete Hindu funeral custom banned in India, where a widow immolates herself on her husband’s pyre.
While Asri did not mention names, he had in the past criticised Hindu rights group Hindraf over its opposition to Islamic Research Foundation founder Naik being in the country.
This follows the latest news reported yesterday by Indian media that two separate courts in India have issued warrants of arrest for Naik, with the latest being on Thursday.
Authorities there have filed a money-laundering case against Naik. He and his Mumbai-based outfit, IRF, had been accused of inciting Muslims and promoting enmity between different communities.
Yesterday, Zaid had also taken to task Malay rights group, Perkasa, for likening Naik to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had taken up residence in France, in 1978 before his triumphant return to Iran following the overthrow of the Shah of Iran the following year.
“Khomeini had no criminal charges against him, like money laundering, for a start.
“Also, Khomeini never said other religions are useless, and he did not indulge in hate speech. He was opposed to the Shah, that’s all,” Zaid said in reference to the French government’s decision in 1978 to grant political asylum to Khomeini, adding the same therefore, could not be applied to Naik.
Khomeini was fleeing persecution, but returned to Iran in 1979 to lead the revolution that saw an end to monarchy and the establishment of an Islamic republic.
Last weekend, Naik, attending a Perkasa event, claimed he would be tortured if he returned to India.
Perlis mufti slams ‘cow worshippers’ out to get ‘our preacher’