IS Operative Abu Anas Received A Scholarship From Zakir Naik’s IRF

Evidence of a direct link between contentious Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and his NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) with the Indian recruits of ISIS has been found by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The agency discovered in its ongoing raid that IS operative Abu Anas received a scholarship of Rs 80,000 from the IRF.

This happened when Anas was planning to travel to Syria to join the IS, as per sources. He had applied for the IRF scholarship and was called for an interview in Mumbai. According to sources Naik's aides could not have been uninformed of Anas's plans and the scholarship must have been a form of financial assistance.

Several Indian recruits of the IS have claimed to be inspired by Naik' speeches even though Naik has denied that he is "terrorist influencer".Anas, a former information security analyst with TWG International at Abids at Hyderabad, was arrested by NIA as part of a multi-city IS module in January-February.