A report in OneIndia suggests that preaching radical Islam is a lucrative job where people are being offered as high as Rs 40 lakh to radicalise the youth. Kerala, which has over the last few years emerged as a hub for radical Islam, has several such groups where radicalising of youth takes place.
In a bid to crack the whip on various Islamist organisation operating in the country to radicalise youths and carry out various violent activities, the Union Home Ministry has now sought reports from states and intelligence agencies about the funding of these outfits from various Islamic countries, particularly from countries in the Middle East.
The ministry has sought detailed information about the names of Islamist outfits and the fundings these groups have received in the last five years. The ministry has also sought details about their activities.
These details have been sought after a few instances came to light wherein a Kerala based Islamist radical organisation received funds from the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Qatar.
Read: ISIS terrorist from Kerala killed in US drone strike in Afghanistan, was ‘missing’ since 2017
“On September 19, a senior member of the radical Islamist outfit visited Dubai where he was offered Rs 40 lakh in Indian currency for spreading certain ideologies,” said a senior IPS officer to Outlook, adding that the identified Islamist group is carrying out anti-India activities.
In another similar case which came to the fore, members of the same organisation met a few people from Turkey in Qatar and sought funding for spreading jihad against non-Muslim communities.
Funding from radical organisations in Gulf countries has never been addressed in Kerala. This is a cause of concern especially given the illicit trade between the Gulf and Kerala. This can also be attributed due to appeasement politics, which was the hallmark of the previous Congress-led alliance in Kerala, which ruled under the banner of the United Democratic Front.
However, reports from the MHA and Wikileaks suggests that funding from the Gulf is immense- an example here states that India received Rs. 1,700 Crore funds from Saudi Arabia in 2015.
While the government has taken steps by cancelling the FCRA Licences of Muslim organisation with dubious transactions, more seems to be done to address radicalisation. According to the report from the National Investigative Agency (NIA), PFI has been receiving funds through clandestine means from the Gulf.
The senior IPS officer further told Outlook that radicalisation has been rampant in Kerala where many youths are being trapped by such radical Islamist groups. “First, these groups need to be identified and later legal actions can be taken against such illegal activities,” the officer explained.
Read: Kerala: Nimisha and Bexin both convert to Islam and become ISIS terrorists, located in Afghanistan
Earlier, the NIA also claimed that PFI has been allegedly involved in influencing the youth, many of whom have backgrounds in medicine and engineering to join ISIS and wage war in Afghanistan and the middle east. ISIS in Afghanistan has released videos commemorating ‘martyrs’ from Kerala and urging many more from the state to join them in their fight. In a strategic operation based on information about ISIS recruiters operating in northern Kerala, the Kerala police launched Operation Pigeon and saved 350 people from joining ISIS.
“More than a dozen people have been arrested and NIA has registered several cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against suspected ISIS members,” the officer said, furthering that since the crackdown on suspected terror outfits in Kerala, a few radical Islamist originations have started to indulge in anti-India activities after receiving funds from foreign soil.