Zakir Naik, under cloud for his racist remarks inMalaysia, apologised for his remarks but insisted that his remarks were taken out of context by his detractors and that he was not a racist, apparently in reference to Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad's Sunday remarks that the preacher should not speak about racial politics.
"It was never my intention to upset any individual or community," he said in a statement on Tuesday, a day after he was questioned by police for 10 hours over his controversial speech. "It is against the basic tenets of Islam, and I would like to convey my heartfelt apologies for this misunderstanding," Zakir Naik said.
His controversial speech earlier this month that Hindus in Malaysia had "100 times more rights" than the Muslim minority in India, and that Malaysian Chinese were guests of the country, did not go down well with both the communities, who have been seeking his expulsion that PM Mahathir is weighing on.
Malaysia has long been sensitive to race and religion issues as Muslims make up about 60% of its 32 million people, while the rest are mostly ethnic Chinese and Indians, most of whom are Hindus. Even Mahathir advised him to preach about Islam but refrain from speaking about Malaysia's racial politics and wondered if any country in the world is ready to take him. India has sought his deportation.
Naik faces charges over allegations of money laundering, besides giving hate speech in India.
