Why Indian Muslims do not subscribe to the ISIS and Al-Qaeda?

Signs of desperation were writ large in the video that was put out by the Al qaeda in the sub-continent. After making a miserable debut last year which was aimed at kick-starting operations in sub-continent, the Al qaeda in the sub continent headed by Asim Umar, a man of Indian origin, the outfit has yet again tried to reach out to the Indian Muslims.

While there is no denying the fact that there are a couple of radicals spread across the country who indirectly support terrorist groups, a large majority of the Muslim population have rejected such ideology.

Going hard at those who have an ideological leaning has never been the solution in the war against terror. The case of Areeb Majeed who had come back after joining the ISIS is a classic example of how the war against the ISIS ought to be fought.

Why has the ideology of ISIS, Al-Qaeda failed in India?

The Al qaeda had attained cult status among several radicals after the 9/11 attacks. Many secretly believed even in India that the US had to pay for wrecking up the Middle East and Afghanistan.

However these were just hush hush words of approval and not once really did the Indian Muslims take the next flight into either Afghanistan or Syria.

Several Indian Muslims feel that the ideology of both the Al qaeda and the ISIS are too far fetched. What kind of a war is this where Muslims are getting killed the most?

There must be something horribly wrong about the manner in which the ISIS and the Al qaeda are waging a battle, several Indian Muslims that OneIndia spoke with feel.

The Al qaeda is a fading star and the ISIS is a rising sensation. While the ISIS has claimed that it is fighting to establish the Global Islamic Council governed by the Sharia law, it really has not found takers in India.

Who wants this hassle of being governed by the Sharia law when in reality all we want is jobs and a better life is the general perception among a large number of Muslims.

Bhagdadi's Prophet descendant theory has not helped

The Shura council of the ISIS which takes all important decisions had declared Abu Bakr Al-Bhagdadi as the descendant of the Prophet. It was this decision that led to them declaring themselves as the Islamic Caliphate and declaring Bhagdadi as the Caliph. While it had many takers from the West, in India this decision was mocked in India.

Muslims in India questioned the logic behind such a move and also asked in which part of the Quran does it state that a Caliphate is allowed to undertake beheadings? Several Muslims said that Bhagdadi was a self styled Caliph and no Indian Muslim would ever accept it.

In comparison to the West there have not been any takers for the Caliph or the Caliphate. In the West there is indeed a great deal of indiscrimination when it comes to the Muslims, but that is not the case in India.

In fact many Muslims would argue that their living conditions in India are far better when compared to even Pakistan.

Stray cases of Muslims joining the ISIS or the Al qaeda cannot by any stretch of imagination be termed as a mass movement in favour of these dreaded terrorist groups. Those who have joined the ISIS and been brought back are instead counseled by the elders of the community and told about the ill-effects of these so-called holy wars proclaimed by terrorist groups.

The Areeb Majeed case study

Areeb Majeed a youth from Kalyan in Maharashtra had along with his three friends joined the ISIS. Months later a sobbing Majeed who had cleaned toilets in Iraq begged that he be brought back to India.

Despite an irresponsible television media running un-believable stories of how Majeed had donned the gun and killed several persons in Iraq, some sanity prevailed and the truth of Majeed journey into the ISIS and back to India came out in the open.

There is no ideology and these are not men of the Prophet, he told the National Investigating Agency. These are people who want blood and are fighting their personal battles in a bid to attain supremacy. This is not something that the Prophet spoke about, a frail Majeed told the NIA.

An officer with the NIA says the case of Majeed should become a case study for all those who think there is glory in Iraq and Syria.

Operation Chakravyuh

There is a considerable difference in the approach of the Intelligence Bureau in handling those cases relating to either the Al qaeda or the ISIS. If someone is trying to join the ISIS, he could well be a misguided youth.

The message from the Union Government is clear. "Try and stop them and then counsel them." Intelligence Bureau officials who have launched an operation called Chakrayuh have managed to find several youth who have tried to join either the ISIS or the Al qaeda.

They have been promised the moon, but we have managed to track them down and bring them back home, an intelligence bureau official part of the operation informed.

The idea is to keep a tab on online activities of the youth who are trying to join these outfits. Many have been tracked successfully and brought back home even from the airport, the officer says. They are first taken to the police station and then counseled in the presence of elders.

This has been a great success since there has not been a single instance of any of these youth who have been brought back trying to re-join the ISIS, the officer also says. However we have kept them under surveillance as we do not want anyone pulling a fast one on us, the Intelligence Bureau officer says.