Islamic State terrorists in Pakistan pledge support to new Caliph, are radicals in India next?

Like his predecessor, Al-Hassan too has used al-Qurashi in his surname. Quash was the tribe of Prophet Mohammad and the Islamic State wants to portray these persons as the real leaders of the Muslim world

New Delhi, Dec 09: A week back the Islamic State announced the death of its leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. With this the the terrorist group announced the Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi or what they would call the Caliph. Just to make a note, the Islamic State's current and previous leader have added al-Qurashi to their surnames, which is not their real name. 'Qurash' was the tribe of Prophet Mohammad and the Islamic State adds this world to portray them as the leaders of the Muslim world.

It was on expected lines that the Islamic State fighters and followers in Pakistan owed allegiance to the new chief. On December 16, the Islamic State had released photographs of 14 Islamic State fighters in Pakistan armed with rifles, RPGs. They were seen performing the bay'ah, in front of an Islamic State banner.

Are the Indian radicals next:

Intelligence Bureau officials who have been reporting the rise of the Islamic State ideology in parts of the India tell OneIndia that the Islamic radicals in India will follow suit. They too will pledge their allegiance to the new leader. It is from the provinces in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the ideology being sown in the minds of the Islamic radicals in India.

The officials cited above said that the targeting of the radicals in India is not just with the intent of spreading Jihad in India. The real intent is to strengthen the Khorasan Province which is present in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Islamic State Khorasan Province which is indulging in a turf war with the Taliban also operates in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. This particular module has been specifically formed to target Indian radical Muslims. The intent is also to form similar such provinces in Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

The influence of the Caliphate:

Counterterrorism experts say that the Islamic State has always had its eyes on India. The game in India has been a long drawn one. It began with the Wahhabi influence in states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Once the Islamic State was set up, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the setting up of a Caliphate in which he named India too.

The National Investigation Agency had revealed that the Islamic State had a plan in place to establish the Caliphate in India. A module called 'Harkat-ul-Harb-E-Islam' (Movement for War of Islam) was set up for this purpose. Similarly in 2016 the agencies stumbled upon another plot where the Muslim youth were called on to set up the Caliphate in Gujarat.

In 2016 the Hyderabad police picked up one Salman Mohiudeen for his links with the Islamic State. During his interrogation he said that the declaration about the creation of the Caliphate is what attracted him to the cause. The agencies picked up a conversation between a Muslim youth and his handler. In the conversation the youth is heard saying that he does not hate India, but the fact that the Islamic State wants to establish a Caliphate is what attracts him.

Why Qurashi:

While the Caliphate was a huge drawn among the radical Muslims, the new tactic by the Islamic State seems to be the use of the word 'Qurash.' The current and the previous chiefs used al-Qurashi in their surnames. 'Qurash' was Prophet Mohammad's tribe and the Islamic State leaders have used this to attract the Muslims. They feel that this would help them portray to the world that they are the leaders of the Muslim world.

Abu al-Hassan selected the name like his predecessor to indicate that he is a descendant of the Hashemite clan of the Qurashi tribe. This by bloodline would link him to Prophet Mohammad and this is a requirement in order to become the Caliph.