In Kerala focus back on Wahhabis as many attempt joining ISIS

New Delhi, July 12: With speculation rife that nearly 20 persons from Kerala may have joined the ISIS either in Iraq and Syria, the police officials are blaming the rise of Salafi groups.

A police officer in Kerala informed Oneindia on condition of anonymity that there are Salafi groups and Wahabi preachers who have indulged in radicalisation and this could be one of the reason why such a high number of persons have gone missing.

In the past few weeks an increasing number of cases of persons going missing have been reported from Kerala. Missing cases have been lodged in both Palakkad and Kasargod. The matter has even been brought o the notice of the Chief Minister who said all assistance would be provided to the central agencies who are investigating these cases.

The ongoing probe has shown that most of them had told their families that they were going on a pilgrimage. Some had reached Bengaluru and Mangaluru and may have taken the flight out of the country from these airports, agencies suspect.

Wahhabis in Kerala:

The highest rate of success that the Wahabis have witnessed is in Kerala. This is a lot to do with the fact that there is a large population of people who go to Saudi in search of employment.

Many in Kerala have welcomed with open arms the Wahabi style of preaching and this has let the Saudi controlled lot take control over nearly 75 Mosques in the state.

The newer Mosques that are coming up in Kerala are also constructed in the manner in which they done in Saudi Arabia. This is just one small indicator of how much people of the state are willing to follow the radical style preached by the Wahabi scholars.

Moreover the inflow of funds into Kerala from Saudi is the highest when compared to any other part of the country. It was in Kerala that one got to see posters mourning the death of Osama Bin Laden and also a prayer for Ajmal Kasab after he was hanged.

Intelligence Bureau officials tell OneIndia that a large number of youth appear to be attracted to this radical style of Islam, but also add that there are some elders who are trying to oppose it.

Messages to relatives:

The relatives have been receiving messages from the missing persons. Some messages read, " I have reached my final destination," while others requested their parents not to look for them. These messages had in fact sent panic waves which prompted the parents to call on the officials and also the Chief Minister.

In another development, the police at the Mumbai airport rounded up one person called Firoze for questioning. He is said to be close to one of the persons who had gone missing.

The police sought from him clues regarding the missing persons. The investigations are still underway and the Kerala police are waiting to hear from their counterparts in Mumbai.

OneIndia News