Reports that over a dozen persons have left the State to join the Islamic State (IS) over the past one month has triggered worries and speculations being used to foment Islamophobia in the State.
While the reports have put the State and Central Intelligence agencies on high alert, there is also the worry that jumping to conclusions about the possible motives and destinations of the 15 or so men and women, who have been missing since early June and the reported interactions they have had with their family members back home, could be counter-productive both from the societal and investigation angles.
While the investigating agencies themselves are careful not to go overboard with their surmises and conclusions, there are many who feel that while terrorist proclivities should be fought, it should not be used create anti-Islamic sentiment among the people.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former Education Minister M.A. Baby said that while extremism should be opposed, that should not turn out to be fodder for Islamophobia. The reports should be viewed seriously. If the reports are true, there could be among them both extremists and the innocent who have fallen in their trap. There must be a serious probe into the issue.
‘Dangerous politics’
“The Sangh Parivar is engaged in a bid to use these to foment Islamophobia. Progressive sections of society should be vigilant against such attempts. Minority communalism cannot be overlooked when fighting communalism in general. Some Muslim groups in Kerala are playing dangerous politics. They must be exposed. There should be campaigns against them, but majority of Muslims in Kerala are secular. Islamic extremism is against the interests of Muslims. All of us should remember this. Our fight against Islamic communalism and extremism should not be outcome of Islamophobia,” Mr. Baby said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Writer and social commentator Paul Zacharia also cautioned against any attempt to use the reports about youth leaving the State to join IS, which are as yet unconfirmed, being used to create panic among the people. “Even if we grant that the reports are true, it only goes on to show that only an insignificantly miniscule section of the Muslim population in Kerala is getting swayed by such arguments. Even so, the mainstream Muslim political formations and religious leadership should introspect on why this is happening,” Mr. Zacharia said.
Mature reaction needed
Veteran journalist B.R.P. Bhaskar said both the government and people of Kerala must learn to approach such issues in a mature way. “We really find that maturity is sometimes lacking. Recently this became evident when some migrant workers were accused of involvement in criminal acts. We must realise that there is no need for knee-jerk reactions given the fact that the number of elements involved in such undesirable activities is infinitesimally small. So far as the Muslim community is concerned, as in Hindu society, there are various forces in contention. I see no reason to believe that Muslim society is not in a position to deal with errant elements. If individuals or groups pose a threat, that is of course an issue for the relevant official agencies to handle,” Mr. Bhaskar said.
