KUALA LUMPUR – Despite a nationwide ban on his public speeches, fugitive preacher Zakir Naik allegedly defied the Malaysian government’s restrictions by addressing a crowd at the Perlis International Sunnah Convention 2025, held from January 24-26.
Based on a brief clip uploaded to the Dr Zakir Naik Answers Youtube channel on January 29, Zakir called on Malaysian Muslims to intensify their efforts to spread Islam to non-Muslims, furthering his controversial message despite the ban imposed in 2019.
Zakir, wanted by Indian authorities for alleged money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speech, is believed to have made his call for greater dakwah in an event supposedly held in Kangar, where the preacher addressed a crowd as part of a question-and-answer session.
The location of the event endorsed by the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIP) raises concerns, as public speeches by Zakir have been prohibited in Malaysia due to his inflammatory remarks in the past.
Zakir had previously shared a poster promoting his attendance at the event, held from January 24 to 26.
In the clip, Zakir claimed that Malaysians were not fully utilising laws that permit the propagation of Islam to non-Muslims, warning that local Muslims would have to answer in the afterlife for their perceived lack of proselytising efforts.
“One good thing in Malaysia is that, by its constitution, in most parts of Malaysia, a non-Muslim cannot do dakwah (proselytise) to a Muslim. That’s very good. But a Muslim can do dakwah to a non-Muslim. Alhamdulillah,” Zakir said, urging Muslims to take advantage of this opportunity and spread Islamic teachings.
Zakir’s remarks came in response to a question about factors preventing the flourishing of dakwah efforts in Malaysia, particularly towards the Chinese and Indian communities.
Zakir questioned why Malaysian Muslims were not fulfilling their responsibility to spread the faith, asserting: “I’m not a Malaysian… Allah will ask you, why didn’t you do it (dakwah)?”
The Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of religion but prohibits the propagation of religions other than Islam to Muslims.
Despite admitting that there have been some attempts at dakwah in Malaysia, Zakir called for greater efforts and expressed hope that the percentage of Muslims in Malaysia would increase.
In addition to his dakwah appeal, Zakir praised Malaysia for being one of the best Muslim-majority countries, claiming it is not controlled by non-Muslims and is geographically distant from war zones.
He also commended Malaysian Muslims for their higher level of deen awareness compared to those in India and Bangladesh.
Scoop has reached out to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain to confirm whether Zakir had indeed violated the 2019 ban and whether any action would be taken against him if this breach is confirmed.
Zakir’s apparent defiance of the Malaysian government’s speech ban raises further questions, particularly after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement in 2024 that Malaysia would consider India’s request to extradite Zakir if evidence of extremism is provided. — February 2, 2025