India’s Union government on Friday extended the ban on the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), founded by controversial preacher Dr Zakir Abdul Karim Naik, for a further five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The Ministry of Home Affairs notification, issued a day before the existing prohibition was due to expire, cited activities prejudicial to the security of the country and the potential to disturb communal harmony.
The IRF was first declared an unlawful association on November 17, 2016, with the ban extended on November 15, 2021. Under the UAPA, the prohibition was set to lapse on November 14.
The fresh notification holds Dr Naik, the founder and president, “particularly responsible” for encouraging and aiding followers to promote, on grounds of religion, “disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious communities and groups.”
The Centre stated that Naik’s speeches are objectionable and subversive. Through them, he has promoted enmity and hatred among religious groups, inspired youths in India and abroad to commit terrorist acts, and reached millions worldwide via satellite TV, the internet, print, and social media.
Officials warned that without continued restrictions, the IRF could reorganise absconding activists, pollute minds by creating communal disharmony, propagate anti-national sentiments, escalate secessionism by supporting militancy, and undermine the country’s sovereignty, integrity, and secular fabric.
Naik’s Reach, Style, and Recent Controversies
Naik, a fundamentalist Islamic preacher born in Mumbai who holds an MBBS degree, fled India in 2016 amid charges of spreading hatred and money laundering. He has maintained that his statements are “twisted” and “misrepresented.” His Peace TV channel, which broadcasts his lectures, is banned in India, Canada, the UK, and Bangladesh.
His distinctive style—combining comparative religion, rapid-fire Q&A sessions, and modern presentation—has influenced Islamic preaching far beyond India.
In Bangladesh, many Islamic clerics have adopted similar methods, delivering sermons through traditional waz mahfils (large public religious gatherings) and interactive Q&A formats that closely mirror Naik’s approach. A significant number of Muslims in Bangladesh and the broader South Asian region strongly believe and propagate Naik’s narratives of Islam, which frequently include sharp critiques and defamatory claims against other religions.
This influence was highlighted after the 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka, in which some perpetrators were reported to have been inspired by his speeches; Bangladesh subsequently banned Peace TV.
More recently, in late October 2026, Naik sparked fresh controversy by defending the Afghan Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ secondary and higher education.
In a widely circulated video, he claimed the ban was “merely temporarily postponed” due to security concerns and a shortage of female teachers, asserted that primary education up to Class 6 remains available, dismissed media reports as “propaganda,” and said Afghan women continue to pursue master’s degrees and PhDs in Islamic studies.
He added that he had spoken to Taliban representatives and that delaying education until “the right teacher” is available poses “no problem.” The remarks drew strong condemnation from Indians, Pakistanis, and Afghans, including Ziauddin Yousafzai (father of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai), who called them “deeply troubling and disappointing” for rationalising the systematic exclusion of girls from education.
The extended ban aims to curb the organisation’s ability to continue such outreach, which authorities say has long contributed to communal tensions.