Home Ministry issues notice to Zakir Naik’s foundation
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday issued an inspection notice to Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) for alleged Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) violations, a senior official of the Ministry told.
The notice is the first step towards suspending or revoking the FCRA registration of any NGO or organisation.
This is one of the first legal actions initiated by the government against Mr. Naik, after he came under the scanner for allegedly inspiring some of the Dhaka cafe attackers. The Holey Artesan Bakery in Dhaka had come under attack from armed terrorists on July 1 where 22 people, mostly foreigners were killed. Security agencies have said that he inspired several terrorists in India as well.
Two Mumbai-based educational organisations, Islamic Research Foundation and IRF Educational Trust, are registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The two NGOs have received foreign funds to the tune of Rs.10 crore in the past decade. The funds came mostly from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“We have issued an inspection notice to IRF. We will inspect their book of accounts to see whether the provisions of the FCRA were violated or not. If we find discrepancies, the next step is to put it under temporary suspension and all the foreign donations will then have to be routed through MHA. We will give them time to respond and if we are not satisfied with the reply, the NGO’s registration can be cancelled,” said the official.
Donations were also made by individual donors from countries like Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Indonesia, the U.S. the U.K., Canada, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand, Singapore, Mauritius, Kenya and Nigeria. A Hong-Kong based religious NGO also funded the Foundation, which had received Rs. 93 lakh from just one individual from the United Arab Emirates in 2007-08.
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