Image courtesy: askanshul/Twitter
As 2022 FIFA World Cup started with it’s opening ceremony, a news about Zakir Naik being invited at the major footballing event in Qatar was going viral on social media.
Qatar invited Dr. Zakir Naik to attend opening ceremony of FIFA world cup. They don’t miss. What a great agenda😍. A great opportunity for Daawah. What a wise thought 🤍🫶. pic.twitter.com/GlVzUFYNkB
— القرآن (@Quranconnect_) November 20, 2022
India made it very clear to Qatar that it would cancel Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar’s trip for the World Cup’s opening ceremony on November 20 if Doha had invited Islamic fundamentalist Naik to attend.
On November 20, 2022, the FIFA World Cup will begin in Doha, Qatar. The country has informed India through diplomatic channels that Indian fugitive and Islamist Zakir Naik has not received an official invitation to attend. Qatar also asserted that third parties are spreading “disinformation” on purpose to harm bilateral relations between India and Qatar.
The official statement from Qatar was sent after the Modi administration made it plain to Doha that if Zakir Naik had been formally invited to watch the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony from a VVIP box, New Delhi would be forced to cancel Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar’s trip there. Vice President Dhankar attended the event on November 20 before leaving Qatar the following day. However, not before meeting blue-collar Indian expat workers who had constructed soccer stadiums for the West Asian nation.
Although the Qatari government suggested that Zakir Naik might be in Doha on a personal trip, the Islamist has yet to be positively identified. It is believed that the government of Qatar informed its Indian interlocutors that the entire Zakir Naik incident was a hoax and a part of a bigger defamation campaign against Qatar.
