The much-awaited trailer of Sudipto Sen’s film ‘The Kerala Story’ got released on 26th April 2023. The film is based on the true stories of Hindu and Christian girls in Kerala who were first trapped into love jihad by Islamists in Kerala and later sent to Iraq and Syria to become ISIS terrorists. The film was released on 5th May 2023 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam language.
‘The Kerala Story’ faced opposition even before the release
Even before its release, the film faced severe opposition from liberals and Islamists on social media and in the mainstream media. Most of them were seen in denial mode in which the very basis of the film premise was denied in the first place. It was first alleged that nobody joined ISIS from Kerala. When relevant cases and reports were cited, questions were raised about the numbers. The makers of the film have claimed that the number of victims of forced conversions was more than 32000. The liberals, on the other hand, cited multiple things to claim that it was in the few hundred as if a lesser number would make the crime of terror recruitment less severe.
While conversion is a serious issue in Kerala, as shown in this film, petitions were also raised in front of the apex court in which it was contended that the film shows the entire Muslim community in bad shades. The director however claims that what is shown in the film is a misuse of religion to foster the international terrorist organization operating in the name of Islam.
Need to get a reality check
Against this backdrop, it becomes necessary to take into account the reality check and see how deep-rooted this problem of forced conversion and ISIS recruitment is in God’s own country. It will not be an exaggeration to say that love jihad exists, in fact, it essentially started in Kerala only. There is ample evidence in the public domain to say that not only Hindu girls but Christian girls are also lured by Muslim youths at the behest of their religious preachers. They marry these girls and convert them to Islam only to send them to Middle Eastern countries like Iraq and Syria where they are used either as terrorists or as sex slaves. Besides, there is evidence to back the claimed number of victims as well.
The experiences and stories of the real-life victims of the story which has now turned into a movie are real and authentic enough to establish the fact that Kerala is facing a real challenge of forced Islamic conversions and love jihad that makes it a fertile recruitment base for the dreaded terrorist organization.
Kerala – the recruitment ground of ISIS
The ISIS involvement in Kerala was initially traced in 2013. As early as 2014, ISIS established roots in Kerala, with modules encouraging religious conversions and aiming to attract professionals to join its troops in Afghanistan and Syria. Plenty of Kerala men and women are said to have joined the ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) in recent years. The United Nations warned in its 2020 terrorism report that there are a substantial number of ISIS terrorists in the Indian state of Kerala.
The banned terrorist organization Popular Front of India (PFI) is by large responsible for making Kerala a hotbed of ISIS recruitments. The radicalization of Muslim youths and the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam was spearheaded by the PFI terrorists. This was also cited in a report filed by the National Investigation Agency in front of a court in Kochi in September 2022.
Four Kerala girls locked in the Afghanistan jail
Accordingly, there have been many conversions in Kerala right from 2008-2009. The converted girls and their Muslim husbands were sent to ISIS. It was only in 2016 that the horrific stories of the girls came to the fore when they were first arrested and then investigated in Afghanistan. One of the most discussed cases of love jihad was that of the four girls who were in the 21-member group that joined ISIS in 2016 along with their husbands.
The four girls were identified as Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha, Merrin Jacob alias Mariyam, Nimisha alias Fathima Isa and Raffaela. Nimisha was the only Hindu girl among these four girls. The other three were Christian. These four girls were trapped and lured to become Muslims. They left India in 2016 to join the ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) – the Khorasan edition of ISIS – in Afghanistan along with a group of 21 men and women from Kerala. They were first taken to Iran and then they crossed over to Afghanistan on foot from Iran.
Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha is from Kasargod in Kerala. She left India on May 31, 2016, with her husband, Abdul Rashid Abdulla, from Mumbai airport. The couple held secret classes supporting IS and jihad during the last part of Ramzan in Padanna and Kasaragod. Sebastian is an engineering graduate.
Merrin Jacob alias Mariyam, was married to Bestin Vincent, a resident of Palakkad. The couple escaped to Afghanistan in 2016 to live in the IS-controlled territory. The Christian couple converted to Islam, and Vincent assumed the identity of Yahya. Vincent was later killed in Afghanistan.
Similarly, Vincent’s brother Bexon and his wife, Nimisha alias Fatima, also converted to Islam and escaped to Afghanistan with them. Raffaela was married to a 37-year-old physician Ijas Kallukettiya Purayil a physician from Kasargod.
Merrin Jacob Pallath became Mariyam
At the age of 22, Merrin Jacob Pallath used to work at the IBM company in Mumbai. During her stay in Mumbai, she reconnected with a friend from her high school days – Bestin Vincent. This Bestin Vincent had converted to Islam and become Yahya. Bexin Vincent who was the brother of this Bestin Vincent also converted to Islam and became Esa. Arshi Qureshi, a manager at the Islamic Research Foundation in Mumbai allegedly radicalized these two youths. The National Investigation Agency has documented this case with such details.
The organisation was founded by Zakir Naik, a fugitive controversial Islamic preacher who now lives in Malaysia and is banned since 2016 over concerns about the radicalisation of youths. According to a report, Merrin Jacob’s mother said, “My daughter and the others who went to Afghanistan were brainwashed into joining the group. They were misled with the promise of paradise for Muslims. Bestin visited her in Bombay and gave her a Quran. He told her she should be reading this and unlearn whatever she has been taught and to follow Islam. Merrin was always a very loving and religious child. We would go to church together. We did everything together.”
Merrin Jacob’s friend Nimisha became Fatima
A few months after meeting Yahiya, Mariyam resigned from the job she held, relocated to Ernakulam, converted to Islam, and got married to Yahiya. Around the same period, her friend Nimisha converted to Islam, changed her name to Fatima, and married Esa. Recalling the last meeting with her daughter, Nimisha’s mother Bindu Sampath said, “Nimisha came to our house on April 16 [2016] and told us they were going to Sri Lanka to pursue a carpet business with the money Bexin’s father gave them. She was dressed in a burqa and was seven months pregnant.” When Nimisha stopped sending her mother after two weeks, she became suspicious that something was terribly wrong. She said, “On May 8, I tried to report to the police that my daughter may be in danger but they dismissed my concern.”
When Nimisha’s mother visited, Yahya and Esa’s parents informed her that their children were in Afghanistan – they had been receiving text messages from their sons. The parents were stunned to see their children’s faces among 21 members of an ISIS terrorist gang on the news the same evening.
It is notable that Nimisha’s brother is serving in the armed forces. Her mother Bindu Sampath said, “I knew that day, I had to put away my emotions and start the struggle to bring my daughter back. My other child is in the army and I used to be known as the mother of an Indian major; now I’m known as the mother of an ISIS terrorist. You can imagine how I must feel.”
Sonia Sebastian converted to Islam and became Ayisha
Abdul Rashid enticed Sonia Sebastian, who converted her to Ayisha. The pair was also among the first group of 21 people to leave Kerala and join ISIS in May 2016. According to the NIA probe, Abdul Rashid was a significant figure in the radicalization and recruitment of group members in Kerala. Abdul Rashid used to teach ISIS candidates in Kasargod. He spoke about jihad and ISIS ideas. These members were given videos advocating ISIS ideology and brutality. Rashid had used the dark web to speak with ISIS fighters in Syria, where he wanted to join.
Mariyam was married to this Abdul Rashid who was previously married to Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha after Bestin Vincent alias Yahya was slain in an ISIS terrorist assignment. When Abdul Rashid was killed, all of the women, children, and other men in the group surrendered and were taken into custody by Afghan authorities in 2019. The fact that Sonia Sebastian married to Abdul Rashid in 2011 and converted to Islam screams aloud that the conversion racket in Kerala was very active well before that.
Modus operandi to take the victims to ISIS
After conversion, these Muslims were fed jihadi content through text, audio, and video medium. Besides, local preachers would take responsibility to clarify various concepts to them. They were told that India is a land of Kafirs and it is the duty of every Muslim to be a part of the force fighting to establish a Caliphate. They were promised paradise with all its added perks in case they die in some terrorist act. They were also told that there is an Islamic rule in Khorasan – a rough description of parts of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan put together. They were told that there is a rule of Sharia and that they can lead a better life there instead of living in a country of Kafirs.
Confusion continues
Even after their arrest in 2019, these women seemed unclear when it came to their views on Islamist ideology and ISIS. All they expressed was a sentiment of regret and grief for the betrayal they received in the name of the Caliphate and Sharia rule. They said that they had an idea that there will be some violence, but never expected it to be this lethal. Even after losing their husbands and companions – some died and some went missing – none of the women was heard saying that they erred in leaving their faith and converting to Islam in the first place which was followed by another grave mistake of becoming a terrorist and enemy of the state and the humanity. The detailed accounts of their testimony are included in a documentary made by StarNews Global in 2019.
While Mariyam had a total regret for her decision of coming to Afghanistan, she did not regret conversion. Fatima who was Nimisha before the conversion left it to Allah’s wish when asked about her future and said that she cannot question his decree. Sonia Sebastian also indirectly backed her decision by saying that she just followed her husband which she thought was in her best interests. Sonia Sebastian is an engineer. When asked about her brainless decisions and what she would advise the aspirants, all she said was what was promised was not there. She did not vocally condemn the whole scheme of things she went through. Similarly, Raffaela also looked under the influence of Islamist terror as she did not vocally call out the wrongs committed by the group. Even while criticising the acts taken up by the Khorasan unit of ISIS, these women were shying away from calling it wrong.
However, one thing was common to all of them. They wanted to come to India. They said that they belonged to this country – the same country that they earlier called the land of Kafirs. According to the NIA investigations, these brainwashed ISIS terrorists are never safe to keep in society as they might secretly continue to believe the ideology they are spoonfed. Considering this threat, the Indian government has resolved not to allow them to return to the country despite repeated applications and pleadings by the ISIS operatives and their parents and family members. For all practical purposes, what these women from Kerala have received in pursuit of their altered – rather programmed – fanatic religious belief is nothing but a tragic illusion of the Islamic State.
