New Delhi, August 20: Muslim preacher Zakir Naik on Tuesday apologized for making sensitive comments in Malaysia, a day after police questioned him for several hours over his remarks.
Naik’s comments pitted Malaysian religious and ethnic minorities against pre-dominantly Muslim Malay majority, according to Al-Jazeera.
On Tuesday, in a statement, the Muslim preacher said, “It was never my intention to upset any individual or community.”
“It is against the basic tenets of Islam, and I would like to convey my heartfelt apologies for this misunderstanding,” Naik said.
Naik had been charged with delivering inflammatory speeches and the local police had questioned him over his recent intent to prompt a violation in peace by making false remarks about Chinese and Hindu communities living in Malaysia.
Naik had on August 3 said Hindus residing in Malaysia have 100 times more human rights than Muslims living in India, further making several sensitive comments against the Chinese Malaysian community. Though, he apologized for all those remarks, claiming people had taken his comments out of context.
Last July, India made a formal request to the government of Malaysia asking for Naik’s extradition to New Delhi. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir, however, said he won’t be deported “as long as he is not creating any problem”.
Also read: Malaysia bans Zakir Naik from making public speeches; might consider deportation to India