Saleh’s response came after Naik reportedly praised the Taliban at a public event in Pakistan. (file)
Earlier in 2016, the controversial preacher praised the Taliban for destroying iconic Buddha statues in Afghanistan and called Buddhists “junkies”.
Afghanistan’s former vice president Amrullah Saleh has criticized controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik for supporting Taliban rule. Saleh called on Naik to abandon several practices, including wearing costumes, limiting the participation of women in his sessions, not being clicked and other things, if he conformed to the Taliban mindset.
In a lengthy post on X, the former vice president said, “Dr. Zakir Naik! If you want to join the Taliban, please do the following. Or consider the following: don’t wear a suit, don’t wear a tie, don’t allow women to participate in your sermons and lectures, speak behind a curtain and don’t let anyone photograph or photograph you, a fatwa issue to reduce women to house slaves and mere shadows in the society, normalizing racism, stealing the national income of the country and providing zero social services, exploiting the poverty and destitution of families and giving the hands of their minor girls and daughters to your fighters and followers. Very simple, get covertly paid by multiple intelligence agencies (maybe you already do), be the cause of over eight million people fleeing the country and their homes, designate paradise as a care home for a small minority licensed by Habatullah and his Kandahar cabal /Catch lag. In Habatullah’s opinion and judgment, you also do not deserve this certificate and reach a cease-fire agreement with the CIA, but continue to kill your own countrymen.
In response to Mr. Zakir Naik’s praise of the Taliban. Zakir Naik !If you want to join the Taliban, please do the following. Or consider the following.
– don’t wear a suit – don’t wear a tie. – do not allow women to participate in your sermons and… pic.twitter.com/VSgmGYDGLT
— Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) October 18, 2024
Saleh further attacked Naik and said his remarks were disappointing for millions of Afghans suffering under the wrath of the Taliban. Accusing Naik of having a narrow perspective, Saleh said: “Your positive comment about the Taliban was very disappointing for tens of millions of Afghans. It was naive. No doubt you have a sharp memory, but a very narrow perspective. Please do not comment further on Afghanistan. Except for pronouncing our country’s name in an anglicized way, your knowledge seems to be nil to us.
Saleh’s response came after Naik reportedly praised the Taliban at a public event in Pakistan.
On August 15, 2021 — just two weeks before U.S. troops were officially withdrawn from Afghanistan — Taliban leaders entered the capital, Kabul, and returned to power with little resistance. The Afghan government collapsed, the country’s president Ashraf Ghani fled, and many desperate Afghan civilians were left behind.
Earlier in 2016, the controversial preacher praised the Taliban for destroying iconic Buddha statues in Afghanistan and called Buddhists “junkies”.
“For millions of human beings around the world, the drug is their god.” He had also called Afghanistan and its Buddhist statues “property” of the Taliban. “Who are we to object?” he had said.
Zakir Naik is on a month-long visit to Pakistan, during which he met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. Naik is scheduled to deliver a series of public speeches in major Pakistani cities, including Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, as reported by Pakistan’s The Tribune newspaper.
The Islamic preacher is wanted by Indian authorities in several cases related to alleged money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speech. Since 2016, Naik has been residing in Malaysia following the initiation of legal proceedings against him. This action stems from the July 2016 Dhaka terror attack, when one of the perpetrators admitted to being influenced by Naik’s sermons on his YouTube channel.
