The 14 Indian Muslim men from Penang sported long beards, wore a jubah (robe) and kopiah (skullcaps).
They arrived in Chennai at 10pm Indian time last Saturday via Malaysia Airlines flight MH180 from Kuala Lumpur.
Ahmad Ansari Abdul Jabbar, 51, of Hutton Lane roti bakar shop fame, said they were not there to preach but were there on a two-week tour of north and south India.
He said their original plan was to stay overnight in Chennai and fly to New Delhi the next afternoon to kickstart their northern Indian cities tour.
The group was supposed to visit Ajmer, New Delhi, Simla and other attractions in the north for the first week, and to the southern Indian cities during the second week.
“When we arrived at the airport, an immigration officer at the counter asked for the purpose of our visit and we said we were going on a group tour.
“We were then politely asked to meet a senior immigration officer. He interrogated us for 30 minutes and said ‘we have to send all of you back’.
“When we asked why, the officer said there is a ban on Muslim preachers, after an incident in Haryana. The officer told us the orders came from the central government in New Delhi.
“We told them, no, we were not preachers. But that fell onto deaf ears.
“We are fully aware of the rights of countries to bar people from entering. What wrong could it be to be just a Muslim tourist?
“The Indian government must explain,” he said.
Ansari said later an Indian immigration officer informed him and the group that they were being sent back to Malaysia as they were travelling using a wrong visa.
“We have travelled to India many times before. We have also got the right visa as determined by the Indian Visa Service in Kuala Lumpur
“Why grant us a visa when we are not welcome in the country?”
Ansari said the group was made to wait in a holding area for more than 12 hours before their next flight to Kuala Lumpur at 1.30pm.
Ansari said they were not allowed to purchase food from the airport but ordered food to be delivered from a restaurant outside the airport.
Ansari said each of the 14 people in the group had paid RM3,500 to the tour agent based in Penang for their trip, which included airfare, lodging, transport and food costs.
He said their money invested into the trip was “burnt” as everything was already paid for.
Another member of the group, Mohamed bin Kassim, 58, said a group of Muslim Africans, who were similarly attired and with beards, were also turned back.
“They were in another line and they, too, were stopped from entering India,” he said.