Naik’s foundation refutes allegations against employee

MUMBAI: Denying all allegations levelled against their arrested employee, the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) said Arshi Qureshi never forced anyone to convert

MUMBAI: Denying all allegations levelled against their arrested employee, the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) said Arshi Qureshi never forced anyone to convert to Islam.

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An IRF media release read: “IRF’s guest relations manager, Arshi Qureshi, has never forced a single person into conversion against his or her free will, as it is against Islam. We deny all allegations.”

The Mumbai police registered a case on Monday against Navi Mumbai resident Qureshi, Kalyan resident Rizwan Khan for their alleged links with the IRF; and two others — Haneef and Abdul -- for allegedly radicalising people.

The Kerala police and Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) arrested Qureshi and Khan on July 21 and 22 for allegedly radicalising a couple from Kerala and recruiting them with the ISIS.

According to an ATS source, while Qureshi is an employee of the IRF, Khan used to make documents and conduct weddings for the new converts.

The institute, however, claimed the Islamic foundation is a research body that promotes greater awareness of Islam and its tenets.

Defending Dr Zakir Naik, the statement said: “Naik emphasises on teachings of Islam, which is not unconstitutional. Conversion is not one of the objectives of IRF. The organisation only spreads the message of Islam and clears misconceptions. This is fully permitted by our Constitution.”

The statement claims the IRF has not yet received any notice from the state government or from any other agency.

The IRF is not privy to the police commissioner’s report, but based on reports in the media, the foundation wants to reiterate the allegations are false and baseless, the statement said. “Dr Naik firmly believes in promoting peace and harmony and has been doing that for decades. Dr Naik or IRF has not received any notice from the ministry of home affairs or any other government agency,” said the statement.