The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on Friday debunked media reports quoting the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that the party is a gateway for impressionable youth to the Islamic State (IS).
SDPI State president P. Abdul Majeed Faisy told the media here that two Keralites believed to have joined the IS in Syria had separated ways from the party in 2015. He identified them as Shijil and Shajahan, both residents of Kannur. There were unconfirmed reports that Shijil had been killed in combat recently.
The world view of the IS was anathema to the SDPI. Much about the IS was unknown, including its origins, purpose and leadership. However, he feared that India has of late become a fertile ground for IS recruiters. The Muslims in the country were insecure as never before.
For instance, the police citing lack of eyewitnesses, have failed to arrest the cow protection thugs who lynched a Muslim dairy farmer in Alwar in Rajasthan believing the man was leading his livestock to slaughter.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre government was responsible for the situation. Its decision to repatriate 40,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees back to Myanmar where they faced ethnic cleansing has fanned the fears of the minorities. Such thoughtless acts would only help Islamic State propagandists to draw impressionable youth into their fold, he warned.
Extremism did not augur well for the country. The SDPI stood for the emancipation of the Muslims, Dalits and the Backward Classes through political empowerment. It believed in parliamentary democracy.
Mr. Faisy said mystery shrouded the so called defections to the IS. He asked how Manaf, a murder case accused in Kannur, could procure a fake passport and travel to IS-dominated regions from New Delhi. Shajahan, who was repatriated to India by Turkey after the authorities held him in Syria, appeared to have used a similar route. He urged Central agencies to be more vigilant about IS recruitment.
State secretary Roy Arackal and district secretary Siad Arakkal were present.