London UK, 18th June 2010 – Theresa May, the new UK Home Secretary today banned Dr Zakir Naik from entering the UK for a speaking tour accusing him of “unacceptable behaviour.”

Commenting on the ban, Taji Mustafa, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, said “This ban shows how this government is leading ‘extremist’ secular anti-Islam policy within Europe. Dr Naik is an Islamic speaker who specialises in mutually respectful, robust, interfaith debate and dialogue and is famed for taking questions from all comers. He is largely seen as apolitical and is famously non-violent. Hence, to ban Dr Naik’s presentation of Islam is a sign of extreme intolerance and hatred.”

“The decision is hypocritical because the UK bans the likes of Dr Naik but allows anti-Islam ‘hate preachers’ like Geert Wilders to speak in Parliament.”

“The government’s decision is yet further proof that Western governments are unable to convince people of their values without silencing opposing or competing views. It flies in the face of their proud talk about ‘free speech’, which is frequently used as a fig leaf to justify attacks on Islam.”
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“Our message to the Muslim community is to take heart from this defeatist action. We urge Muslims to stand for Islam in the West and continue to carry the message of Islam to the wider society. Since the time of Allah’s Messenger (sallahu alayhi wasallam), attempts to ban Islamic ideas have always failed to stem the growth of the Islamic message and we see no sign of that happening now, whatever the British government does.”

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