THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the reports coming out on 60 Keralites under the scanner following the suicide bombings in Sri Lanka, killing more than 350 innocent people and injuring double the number, several scholars of Islam have come out against the Islamic State and the perverts who follow the ideology of annihilation.
Jiffry Muthukoya Thangal, supreme head of Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, while speaking to Express said, “Islam has never been a religion of violence and we strongly disown all those who carried out such mindless attacks.
“In all my sermons and preachings, I imply on this and disown all those who kill people in the name of religion and it was the pious nature and attitude of those who had come early that resulted in several people embracing Islam.”
Kerala was in the news earlier also with several youths from Kasargod, Kannur, Palakkad and Malappuram districts migrating to Afghanistan and Syria to join the Islamic State and the National Investigative Agency (NIA) releasing a picture of these youths who include Abdul Rashid Abdulla, Yahiya, Eassa, their wives and friends. Fingers pointed at several schools of thought of Islam in the state resulting in these youths getting radicalised and moving over to foreign lands.
However, Islamic scholar M M Akbar refuted the allegations that the Islamic schools of thought in the state were behind the radicalisation of these youths and enabling them to fight for the IS.
Akbar, while speaking to Express, said, “The youths who are getting radicalised are getting unnecessary content from the internet and as far as religion is concerned one should look into the Holy Quran and beyond that local scholars are there to help.”
“There seems to be a concerted effort on the part of some dark forces to create an atmosphere of fear and hatred and to denigrate Islam which is a peace loving religion and has nothing to do with murder and mayhem.”
Muslim Youth League(MYL) state president Munavar Ali Shihab Thangal while speaking to Express said, “We have always decried these moves of certain youths who wanted more extreme ideas which are not at all correct as far as Islam is concerned.
“Who has given the licence to these people to murder innocents? “This is not Islam and the Muslim League has always vehemently objected to any moves to divide the society on religious and communal
lines.”