The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) in the UK and Eire today criticised the decision by the Home Office to ban Dr Zakir Naik from visiting the UK.

Faisal Hanjra, President of FOSIS, said today, "This is an individual who is a widely-respected household-name for many Muslims in the UK. He has carried out a significant amount of work in India to reach out to both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities and he has a truly global following. Crucially here, his stance vis a vis terrorism is clear – he condemns it and has done so categorically. His banning by the Home Office is shocking.”

He further added, “The campaign by right wing think tanks and media outlets has unfortunately paid off. For the Home Secretary this is a shocking own goal. We hear time and again the cry of freedom of speech and freedom of expression, this event strikingly illustrates once again that it is one rule for the Muslim community and another rule for everyone else. We will strongly oppose these moves to ban legitimate speakers from entering the UK, and we will work tirelessly to increase their profiles in our communities until our government starts acting with some commonsense. ”

Source