Zakir Naik And Salafism: Why Islamic Scholars Can Dismantle Influence Of Extremist Theology?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The radical televangelist Zakir Naik has cancelled his media interaction on Thursday for the third time. It came as a surprise to many who have viewed him fiercely debating with the leaders of other faiths, loudly proclaiming numerous supremacist and incendiary statements.

But when it came to the clarification of his objectionable and widely debated utterances calling for religious bigotry, communal disharmony, puritanical fundamentalism, ideological extremism and his misogynist and chauvinistic sermons, he seems to back out.

Spotlight: Islamic State Readies For Fall Of 'Caliphate'

By SARAH WILLIAMS | INNLIVE

Even as it launches waves of terrorist attacks around the globe, the Islamic State is quietly preparing its followers for the eventual collapse of the caliphate it proclaimed with great fanfare two years ago.

In public messages and in recent actions in Syria, the group's leaders are acknowledging the terrorist organization's declining fortunes on the battlefield while bracing for the possibility that its remaining strongholds could fall.

How To Deal With Zakir Naik? Not By Force, But With Counter-Narrative

By NEWS KING | INNLIVE

Can a phenomenon be eliminated by force?

No. That is what the experts feel about televangelist preacher Zakir Naik, who has virtually achieved a phenomenal status. According to them, by controlling law and order and using the state machinery, the popularity gained by Naik can't be erased.

As per the confession of one of the militants involved in the Dhaka terror attack, the Mumbai-based Muslim preacher Naik, through his narratives on Islam, motivated him into terrorism.

'Burqa Revolution' In Kerala: An Early Sign Of Islam Radicalisation

By ISMAIL KUTTY | INNLIVE

Till some 20 years ago, the burqa was not a Muslim woman's default costume in Kerala. Muslim women worekachathuni (a mundu or dhoti), pennu kuppayam (a full-sleeved loose blouse) and thattom (long scarf). This outfit differed only slightly from what the Christian and Hindu women wore. Or like the others, some Muslim women wore sari and blouse or modern attires, Indian or western.

Now, Dr. Zakir Naik Is Leaving For Africa From Saudi Arabia, Why He Is Not Facing India, Is He Really Feeling 'Guilty'?

By NEWS KING | INNLIVE

Controversial Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik, who had cancelled his return to India on Monday and said he will do a Skype press meet from Saudi Arabia, has changed the plan again.

Naik will leave for a tour of African countries in the next few weeks. This, when a host of investigative agencies in India, including the National Investigative Agency (NIA), is probing Naik's speeches based on allegations that the preacher influenced Islamic terrorists in India and abroad through his talks.

Indian Muslim Clerics Unite Against Ace Televangelist Dr. Zakir Naik

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Sunni and Shia clerics demand a ban on Naik’s TV channel, books and online lectures for misinterpreting the Quran and misleading Muslims.

Ace Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik claims to be a messenger of peace and harmony. Through his channel, Peace TV, he broadcasts his messages to around 200 million people across India and the world.

Don't Make Dr Zakir Naik A Martyr; He Can Be Killed With A Better Idea Of Islam

By NEWS KING | INNLIVE

How does one deal with an idea that has already traveled far and wide and acquired immortality on the internet?

If you know the answer to this conundrum, the idea called Zakir Naik can be countered. If you don't, Naik's philosophy will live on.

On the internet, Naik is everywhere, his ideas, thoughts and debates are ubiquitous. His legacy is deep-rooted, his words have become indelible.

Zakir Naik Is An Islamic Supremacist; Speaks Of Sex Slaves, Suicide Bombing

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

Islamic tele-evangelist Zakir Naik is once again in the news. And it comes as no surprise that this time too it is for all the wrong reasons.

Investigations post the Dhaka attack revealed that two of the attackers were followers of the Mumbai-based preacher.

Zakir Naik: A Suave, Soft Spoken And Articulate Face Of Salafi Islam

By SHEENA SHAFIA | INNLIVE

Islamic tele-evangelist Zakir Naik is once again in the news. And it comes as no surprise that this time too it is for all the wrong reasons.

Investigations post the Dhaka attack revealed that two of the attackers were followers of the Mumbai-based preacher.

Terror Attacks: The Bangladesh Govt Cannot Afford To Pretend Business As Usual

By AKHTISAD KHAN | INNLIVE

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina must end her government’s policy of appeasement and draw up a strategy to deal with the Islamist threat.

The weekend, which brought a horrific attack to Dhaka, has faded, but the events have not as confusion reigns in Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke twice on July 2, but what she said about the latest Islamist attack did not hint at a shift in stance or intention on part of her Awami League government.

The Brouhaha Over Asad Owaisi’s Comments Is Laughable

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE

The hashtag #OwaisiTerrorPolitics, which trended on television and social media following a remark made by the three-time MP from Telangana, Asaduddin Owaisi, says everything and nothing about the controversy that erupted around him.

While terror and politics were both integral to the AIMIM leader’s comments, the more appropriate hashtag, in this context, would have been #facepalm.

Owaisi was attacked by members of the BJP and the JD(U) for offering to provide legal help to five terror suspects, allegedly with links to the ISIS, who were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Hyderabad.

'ISIS Is Demonising Muslims Across India': Hyderabad MP & AIMIM Supremo Asaduddin Owaisi On INNLIVE Exclusive Interview

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The arrest of five Muslim youth from Old city of Hyderabad in connection with a terror plot has jolted the city and the community in particular - more so, since they are being accused of being part of an Islamic State terror module. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has now offered to extend legal aid to the five arrested youth. In an exclusive interview to M H Ahssan, Owaisi bristles at the 'attempt' to ''demonise the entire Muslim community''.

Q. The attack in Bangladesh late on Friday shows that Islamic State's terror network is at our doorstep, and that it has most likely made use of local help. Just last week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Hyderabad busted an alleged terror module. Isn't that reason enough to be really worried?

Indian Muslims Battle Hostile Attitudes As 'Islamic State' Seeks To Spread Tentacles

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Midnight knocks are not alien to 35-year-old Mohammed Maqueemuddin Yasir. Having spent over four years in Indore jail till September 2012, on charges of having helped a SIMI leader from Karnataka, acquittal from the lower court has not meant freedom from the suspicious gaze of the security agencies.

Being the son of Maulana Naseeruddin, a feisty cleric in Hyderabad, means that in the police book, Yasir is a radicalised youth, with many shades of grey, if not black. In his sermons, the 66-year-old Maulana exhorts the Muslims to adopt an eye for an eye approach against aggressive Hindutva. He spent five years between 2004 and 2009 in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat, accused of plotting to kill Haren Pandya and Narendra Modi. 

Hyderabad MP & AIMIM Supremo Asad Owaisi Promised 'Legal Aid To Terror Suspects', Why To Single Him Out?

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE

It seems a certain section of the media has forgotten that the concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' is enshrined in our legal system.

Asaduddin Owaisi, of the AIMIM, declared on Friday that he will provide legal aid to the five men arrested for by NIA in Hyderabad for allegedly being

Detentions Of Islamic State Terror Suspects Leave Hyderabadi Muslims Shaken And Kept The Community On Edge

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

'The mindset of the police force and the media is such that the guilt of a Muslim is taken for granted,' complains one man.

It's been a tumultuous couple of days for one family in Hashmabad area in Hyderabad. Early on Wednesday morning, the National Investigation Agency picked up brothers Habeeb Mohammed and Abdul Qader for having suspected links with an Islamic State terror module.

Analysis: Narendra Modi's Five-Nation Tour: India Setting New Terms Of Diplomacy Around The World

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

With the conclusion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-nation tour on Friday, the strategic objectives of Indian diplomacy seem to be getting a clearer focus in contrast to the ambivalence of the past.

This seems to be the dominant view of Indian diplomats, who play important roles in defining the terms of engagement with foreign countries. Apart from looking at Modi’s visit from the prism of his roaring reception in US, the Indian government is attaching equal significance to his visits to Afghanistan-Qatar and Switzerland-Mexico.

Let’s Cut Through The Hoopla: Why Modi’s US Visit Was Disappointing For India

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Just of official talks was on two areas of immense interest to the American side.

Exceptionally long-winded joint statements following a summit meeting could be intended to celebrate the enormity of the successful event.

Or, on the contrary, to distract attention from the barrenness of the event.

The 3785-word joint statement issued after an hour’s discussion between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi falls into the second category.

Television Series: Actor Anil Kapoor's '24: India' Slots To Release On Perfect In Time

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The local remake of the terrorism-themed American show returns at a time when there is almost nothing to watch on television.

Nearly three years after its first season, the Indian version of the American series24 is back. The television network Colors has blocked the primetime slot reserved thus far for Naagin (which will return in October) for the remake of the Fox series that starred Kiefer Sutherland in the title role. Produced by Anil Kapoor’s Rashvan Films, the second season will go on air in mid-July and will see a number of new faces such as Sakshi Tanwar and Ashish Vidyarthi.

Defeating’ India And ‘Controlling’ Afghanistan Have Been The Goals Of Pakistan’s Jihad Industry

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The education ministry indoctrinated young minds and trained a crop of Jihadis through a special madrassa network.

…In the past few years, Pakistan has witnessed an exceptionally high level of tolerance for extremism among the middle class, which staffs Urdu media and provides intellectual direction to public opinion. Urdu newspapers glorify militant groups as the agents of local and global “Jihad” and are steeped in the Jihadist discourse that emanated from Pakistan’s concerted alliance with the USA in the 1980s to nurture the mujahideen and later efforts to seek “strategic depth” in Afghanistan and “fix” India via proactive Jihadism.

Little has changed in the past three decades except the fact that a grander version of Urdu press now exists in the shape of electronic media. The latter, barring few exceptions, has also overtly and covertly supported soft Islamism as a natural policy option for an Islamic Republic endowed with nuclear weapons.

Microsoft To Tackle Terrorist Content Across Services

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Microsoft aims to ban online terrorist content with the help from its users and online reporting tools.

Microsoft: "We have a responsibility to run our various Internet services so that they are a tool to empower people, not to contribute, however indirectly, to terrible acts."

Microsoft has announced the action it plans to take to ban all terrorist content from a selection of its consumer services.