MUMBAI — An Indian Islamic preacher who was banned from entering Britain due to "unacceptable behaviour" has vowed to appeal against the decision, which he blamed on the British media.
Mumbai-based television preacher Zakir Naik had been due to give a series of lectures in London and northern England but Britain’s new Home Secretary Theresa May barred him last week.
"We have written to the UK home ministry, seeking them to revise their decision and revoke the exclusion order," a spokesperson for Naik told AFP on Wednesday.
Naik will take up legal proceedings in London if the government does not reverse its ban, he said.
On Tuesday Naik issued a statement accusing May of acting on British press reports which he said portrayed him as "preacher of hate" and a "terror-backer."
Naik has run into controversy for complimentary references to Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, which he says were made in Singapore in 1996, prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
"It is not justified or sensible to use these quotes in the context of 9/11, when the atrocities had not taken place," Naik said.
Naik heads the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation and gives talks on the Peace TV channel.
May has said she had banned him from the UK because of his "numerous comments" which she said were evidence of his "unacceptable behaviour".
?Coming to the UK is a privilege not a right and I am not wiling to allow those who might not be conducive to the public good to enter the UK," she said.
?Exclusion powers are very serious and no decision is taken lightly or as a method of stopping open debate on issues.?