How the hijab issue has given fodder for the Islamic State to propagate

New Delhi, Mar 17: In its March edition of Voice of Hind, the Islamic State has spoken about the hijab issue that has rocked Karnataka. The terror group has called the ban on hijab as discriminatory and is aimed at humiliating Muslim women publicly.

The Voice of Hind, which is the propaganda magazine of the ISIS frequently published reports commenting on the Muslims in India. It perceives the Muslim community in India to be marginalised.

In the latest edition, the ISIS has said that every Hindu coward who will not honour the Muslim women will be slaughtered to pieces.

Last year, the National Investigation Agency told a court that the Voice of Hind was designed and pieced together at a call centre in Karachi, Pakistan. The call centre is operated by young graduates and translators, the NIA told the court.

The agency had arrested three men, Umar Nisar, Tanveer Ahmad Bhat and Rameez Ahmad, residents of Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir. They were accused of creating a network to collect and disseminate propaganda material and then distribute it among the youth in a bid to radicalise and then recruit them.

The Voice of Hind is published monthly and was started in 2020. Since then it has been raising issues such the Citizenship Amendment Act, perceived persecution of Muslims and now the hijab row,
An officer tells OneIndia that such propaganda material is made available to a select set of Muslims, who in turn spread it around and create a sense of fear and panic which eventually leads to violence. It is a well oiled machinery where vulnerable young men and women are picked up with an intention of spreading a larger agenda. The main purpose is to keep the Indian state on the boil and defame it internationally, the official also adds.

Earlier this week the NIA in its supplementary chargesheet had said that the ISIS had organised a campaign online supplemented by ground financing activities. In this case the accused persons were involved in content editing and poster creation for ISIS propaganda magazine, Voice of Hind and had also carried out recee of Hindu temples, Government buildings including police stations to carry out subversive acts.

The various probes by the NIA have learnt that there are scores of people who are working towards further radical Islamic ideology. They follow the the ISIS message of Inciting the Believers. This was a tactic used by the ISIS to target Americans. The same is being followed by these persons in India. Off late, we have seen violent incidents over religious issues. All these persons are part of the same network who incite Muslims into adopting violent means, another official also said.