However, Dr Naik’s plan prompted complaints from a number of newspapers and politicians who accused him of speaking out in favour of Osama bin Laden and making negative remarks about other religions.

Ms May has now decided to ban Dr Naik from the UK using legal powers which allow her to refuse entry to anyone who could threaten public order or national security.

She did not reveal exactly why the preacher had been denied entry, but said: “Numerous comments made by Dr Naik are evidence to me of his unacceptable behavior.

“Coming to the UK is a privilege, not a right and I am not willing to allow those who might not be conducive to the public good to enter the UK.”

The new government had come in for criticism for failing to ban Dr Naik from the UK and it was suggested the case was a test of how strong it would be on the issue of radical Islam.

The controversy continued when several other Islamic orators were denied entry as well. Areeb Islam, a convert and preacher from South Africa, was also denied a Visa, while Dr Bilal Philips who was scheduled to speak at a conference on Sunday was denied entry at the airport and sent back to Qatar.  Dr Bilal posted the following on Facebook on Monday:

Well, the inevitable finally happened. At least the British Home Secretary called Dr Naik in Mumbai prior to his trip and told him not to come. I arrived to London this Saturday morning, 19 June, at 8am only to denied entry and put back on a plane at 11am back to Doha!!! So, I was unable to attend the Qur’aan conference on the 20th as planned!!!

When asked to comment on the situation, Dr Bilal told me the following:

They are only shooting themselves in their own feet as it is we who are enlightening Muslims to the true teachings of Islam to warn them away from extremism and terrorism in the name of Islam. When they ban us, they leave a vacuum which the extremists will fill using what has happened to us as proof of their evil intent. It’s all good in the end  for Allah will complete His guidance despite their hatred of it.

I attended the first ever Peace Conference in Mumbai 2007 and I can tell firsthand that the entire conference was a promotion of peace, tolerance and truth. Neither Dr Zakir nor Dr Bilal nor any other speaker at the conference preached anything hateful and violent. Rather there were many lectures aimed at denouncing terrorism and religious violence. You can read more  about my experience at the conference  here.

Dr Zakir Naik wanted to host the exact same conference in the UK and I cannot understand how anyone can see such a conference as a security threat. If the UK wants peaceful Muslims, this conference and these speakers will produce that. As of this moment, there are many initiatives online to protest against the ban of these orators.

May Allah bring only good out of this situation and use it as a means to increase awareness of the true teachings of Islam. Expect this incident to lead to Zakir Naik and Peace Conference being two of the highest searched phrases on Google this month.