Book of Jihad used to inspire Keralites to join Islamic State, says NIA

KOCHI: A book written by the 14th-century Islamic scholar Ibn Nuhaas was used by Islamic State (IS) operatives to inspire Keralites to join the terrorist group. According to NIA, Abdul Rashid of Kasargod was giving lectures to people who migrated to Afghanistan based on ‘Book of Jihad’ written by the Egypt-based Ibn Nuhaas.

NIA had produced a copy of ‘Book of Jihad’ at the NIA court as part of the trial in the case related to the migration of people from Kasargod to Afghanistan to join IS.

The book was download from an online platform. Ibn Nuhaas is believed to have died fighting the Roman army. “The book promotes Islamic believers to carry out jihad,” an NIA officer said.

“The IS operatives provided their own interpretations and convinced people to join IS for carrying out jihad in different parts of the world. The witnesses in the case clearly mentioned that Abdul Rashid was giving lectures based on this book to convince people that jihad is an obligation for the Islamic faithful.”
Another major evidence produced by NIA was 35 audio clips sent by persons who had joined IS to their relatives in Kerala.

“There were around 50 audio clips sent to relatives in Kerala by those who had joined IS. Of this, we could recover around 35 audio clips. The relatives of the accused persons came to the court and identified correctly the persons who sent these clippings,” the NIA officer said.

“This would help us prove the charges against the accused persons,” the officer said. Similarly, the teachings of American and Yemeni imam Anwar al-Awlaki have inspired several Keralites involved in IS-related cases to join the terror outfit.Awlaki’s teachings are mostly accessed online.