Twenty-four-year-old Riyab-ul-Rehman’s progression from an amateur “disc jokey” to an Islamic State (IS) jihadist seemed to have happened over three years.
The Kerala youth, against whom a case was registered on Tuesday “for joining the proscribed terrorist organisation,” looked “meticulously groomed” when he visited Kozhikode, his home town, in 2009, say the State police.
Rehman had done most of his schooling in affluent Ras al-Khaima, UAE, where his parents were employed for long. He had a penchant for partying, dancing and Western music.
In 2012, Rehman visited Kozhikode again. He had changed by then. He sported a beard, had a cultivated dishevelled look and preferred loose-fitting Afghan style robes. His outlook had also changed. He became taciturn and fervently religious.
The police said Rehman had come under the thrall of a “radicalised” Bangladeshi school mate of his in 2012. The UAE believes Rehman’s “mentor” to have been killed in Syria this year.
The “Jihadist tutor” had apparently fed Rehman a diet of IS propaganda videos, including speeches of Anwar-al-Awlaki, an influential jihadist preacher who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011.
Rehman’s online activity showed he had a liking for IS anthems and poetry that promoted a martial culture rooted in martyrdom. The youth was adept in Arabic, Hindi, Urdu and English.
A man-missing complaint lodged by Rehman’s parents in April alerted the UAE police to his “defection” to IS ranks in Syria.
Local authorities mined Rehman’s online history and stumbled upon the WhatsApp group shared by his school friends. The UAE police have detained them. So far, they have deported eight of Rehman’s friends. At least 45 more of his friends and their families have been listed for deportation, officials said.
