Ever since Sudipto Sen announced making a film based on the religiously profiled sexual grooming of non-Muslim girls with the intent of converting them to Islam and subsequently sending them to ISIS, it has been a topic of controversy in the popular discourse. The release of the teaser, the publishing of the trailer, and the theatrical exhibition of the film ‘The Kerala Story’ – all these phases are marked by a sharp opposition to the film across all the strata of liberals, Islamists, Islamoapologists, anti-Hindus, and anti-India forces.
The spectrum is quite wide encompassing the people from media, social media, politics, and intelligentsia. Most of them denied that love jihad even exists. Others contested over the number of victims only to distract people from the core crux of the crime and the religiously motivated ideology nurturing the same.
The Mamata Bannerji government in West Bengal has banned this movie. There is an undeclared de facto ban on the movie in Tamil Nadu where a selected few theatres are exhibiting the film in the DMK-ruled state. BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are making this film tax-free. NCP leader Jitendra Awhad has said that the makers of the film should be hanged in public.
Notably, none of these pondered a thought on the facts available in the public domain which clearly prove that Kerala is a hotbed of ISIS recruitment, love jihad, and conversions. Many girls were systematically lured by Muslim youths and converted to Islam on the pretext of marriage. They were later sent to Syria to join ISIS or become ‘ISIS brides’. Many other girls who went back to Hinduism are now sharing their stories after ‘The Kerala Story’ voiced their pain.
However, it is not just young girls and women who were converted to Islam. This racket also converted so many men to Islam. Many Muslims in Kerala including these converted men were found involved in different terrorist activities. Scores of reports suggest that Muslims from Kerala – either original or converted – are closely associated with terrorist organisations and activities.
Shankar Venkatesh Perumal alias Ali Muaviya, Shaibu Nihar VK alias Abu Mariyam, and Madesh Shankar alias Abdullah are three prominent examples named in various NIA documents. All three ISIS terrorists first converted to Islam before joining the terror outfit.
Shankar Venkatesh Perumal alias Ali Muaviya
In March 2021, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took the initiative to file a case against eight identified individuals, as well as others who remain unidentified, under different sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The NIA found that Mohammed Ameen, also known as Abu Yahya, from Kerala, along with his associates, was operating multiple ISIS propaganda channels on various social media platforms. Their aim was to promote the ideology of ISIS and recruit new members. As part of the investigation, the NIA conducted searches and apprehended three individuals: Mohammad Ameen, Rahees Rasheed, and Mushab Anwar.
As part of the investigation into the Kerala-ISIS module case, on 4th August 2021, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at five different locations across Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, and Kerala. The purpose of these raids was to gather more evidence and information related to the case. During the operation, the NIA apprehended four individuals: Obaid Hamid from Bemina in Srinagar, Muzammil Hassan Bhat from Bandipora in Kashmir, Ammar Abdul Rahman from Ullal Mangalore, and Shankar Venkatesh Perumal, also known as Ali Muaviya, from Bangalore.
Shankar Venkatesh Perumal, who adopted the name Ali Muaviya after converting to Islam, was a member of a group involved in operating multiple ISIS propaganda channels on various social media platforms like Telegram, Hoop, and Instagram. Their primary objective was to promote the violent Jihadi ideology, radicalize individuals, and recruit new members for their terrorist module. Under the leadership of Ameen, this group of radicalized individuals had pledged loyalty to the terrorist organization ISIS. They had also identified specific individuals in Kerala and Karnataka as potential targets for killing.
Shaibu Nihar VK alias Abu Mariyam
On 9th April 2019, Shaibu Nihar VK, also known as Abu Mariyam, was apprehended by the NIA at Calicut International Airport in Kerala upon his arrival from Doha, Qatar. Prior to his arrest, Abu Mariyam had been operating an advertising agency in Bahrain. This arrest was made in connection with the ISIS Wandoor case, which was initially registered by the Kerala Police on November 6, 2017, in Wandoor, located in the Malappuram district. The case involved eight individuals who were accused and charged under sections 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Subsequently, the NIA took over the case on June 1, 2018, focusing on the activities of the terrorist organization ISIS.
NIA has arrested accused Shaibu Nihar in ISIS Wandoor case. He has been remanded to judicial custody up to 22nd April. He had planned to travel to Syria to join the proscribed terrorist organization ISIS/Daish in Dec, 2016 from Bahrain while running an advertising company there. pic.twitter.com/uDSyEQcBvp
— ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2019
Shaibu Nihar VK alias Abu Mariyam, was convicted by a special NIA court in Ernakulam on 14th September 2022. The court found him guilty under sections 120B and 125 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 38, 39, and 40 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The investigations revealed that Shaibu Nihar VK had actively raised funds with the intention of supporting and advancing the activities of ISIS/Daesh. Additionally, he provided the raised funds to his co-accused individuals to facilitate their travel to Syria as per their plans.
Madesh Shankar alias Abdullah
Madesh Shankar was one of the seven accused accomplices of Mohammed Ameen, also known as Abu Yahya who was arrested by the NIA in March 2021. During the investigation, it was discovered that Ameen had been in communication with Deepthi Marla, a converted Muslim who was married to Anas Abdul Rahiman from Mangalore. Marla had traveled to Dubai in 2015 for her studies, where she met Mizha Siddeeque. Both women developed an interest in the terror outfit ISIS during their time in the middle east. In 2019, they attempted to travel to Khorasan with the intention of establishing contact with ISIS terrorists in Tehran. However, their evil efforts were unsuccessful. Upon returning to India, Marla contacted Ameen, along with Obaid Hamid Matta, Madesh Shankar, and others, to plan their journey to the ISIS-controlled territory. In January 2020, she traveled to Srinagar to meet with Obaid and stayed there for a week.
About Madesh Shankar and other terrorists, NIA categorically mentioned that they were affiliated with the banned terrorist organisation ISIS and were involved in radicalising, recruiting, organising terror funds and grooming like-minded gullible Muslim youths through different secured social media platforms to perform Hijrat to ISIS controlled territory to join ISIS. It is notable that Madesh Shankar converted to Islam and became an Abdullah before joining ISIS.
From the above three examples, it is clear enough that not only non-Muslim females but non-Muslim males are also equal targets of conversion by the Islamists in the southern state. In the end, both male and female converts were ultimately sent to middle eastern countries as ISIS terrorists. As shown in the film ‘The Kerala Story’, the girls are brainwashed, lured into a love trap, and converted on the pretext of marriage. The men, on the other hand, fall prey to the portrayal of Hinduism as a false religion and promises of a better life in paradise after attaining death while waging Jihad against Kafirs.
