Ram Navami to Hanuman Jayanti: How Islamists are undertaking arson Jihad

New Delhi, Apr 19: India has witnessing incidents of violence over religious issues in the past couple of months. Prior to this large scale violence was reported during the anti-CAA protests.

The recent two incidents of communal violence was during the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations in Delhi and prior to that during the Ram Navami celebrations. Officials tells OneIndia that these are pre-planned orchestrated violence aimed at dividing the community at large.

In this context one needs to look at the Islamic State (ISIS) text book which speaks of something called arson Jihad. In 2020, India witnessed riots by radical Islamists in Delhi and Bengaluru. Following the Delhi riots, the Delhi Police detained an Islamic State linked couple for instigating the anti-citizenship law protests, which turned violent. Following the Bengaluru riots a man allegedly linked to the Al-Hind a wing of the ISIS was detained for questioning.

The National Investigation Agency arrested a Bengaluru based ophthalmologist in connection with an ISIS Khorasan Province case. In its note, the NIA said that Abdur Rehman was linked Jahanzaib Sami Wani and his wife Hina Bashir Beigh, who were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi police.

While ISIS has been putting out several propaganda videos, in many of them the outfit suggests the kind of attacks one must indulge. Knife attacks, mowing down people just to name a few. However, it also makes a mention of arson and this is what we have witnessed in these riots.

Prior to this, the ISIS had released a video titled Incite the Believers in which the narrator calls for arson attacks in America. "We are sure that if you knew how and found a weapon you would not delay in fulfilling your duty to support the Muslims and do jihad. Look around yourself again, keeping an eye for a solution and not searching for a problem" as they sort through "all the means to kill and destroy."

The video goes on to urge arson jihadists to safely dispose evidence after fleeing the scene of their attacks. For ISIS, arson has been an easy and cheap terror tactic.

Arson has been easy and inspirational for the lone actors, who only need to find encouragement online. Arson also ensures that the suspect does not come under the radar because he does not need to purchase a firearm to get into the complexities of preparing an explosive device.

While the nation remains vulnerable to this threat, the focus of the agencies is largely on Kerala and Karnataka. One of the key problems is the increase in educational institutions that have come up and are promoting hardline faith-based teaching. Due to this, ISIS has managed to spread its radical thought with ease, especially in Kerala.