Radical Islamic forces always act to show that they are part of a global Islamic agenda, not limiting themselves to any specific country or border, and Muslims in Keralam feel they are more connected with Islamic countries in West Asia than with the interests of Bharat. Once again, this has come to light when the dormant SIO (Students Islamic Organisation of India), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, came out with posters depicting the images of Abul A’la al-Maududi, Sheikh Ahmed Yasin, the founder of Hamas, a terrorist organisation, and Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood during its training camp.
These posters appeared at a recently held SIO training camp. These leaders are known to be proponents of the doctrine of Political Islam.
The history of Jamaat-e-Islami and its role during the Partition of India are well known. This movement has always upheld the ideals of religious separation, and it has been banned on several occasions.
However, its student wing, SIO, reportedly organises training camps to create occasions for poster campaigns. The idea is to propagate its extremist ideals further in Kerala society and to publicise Islamic separatism while normalising religious terrorism.
SIO has been operating on campuses in Keralam, spreading the venom of religious terrorism. Last year, Solidarity, the youth wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, laid siege to Karippoor International Airport, Malappuram. During the siege, they carried placards with the aforementioned terrorists’ pictures.
Now, it appears that as the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is in power in Keralam and the Indian Union Muslim League is a major partner of the UDF, a conducive atmosphere is emerging for propagating their radical agenda.
Congress and the UDF have always maintained excellent relations with Islamic forces. So, Jamaat-e-Islami believes that this is the right time for promoting its ideologies and thoughts. They are moving ahead in this direction along with their various wings.
Critics argue that these kinds of events indicate what is in store for Keralam in the next five years. Both the ruling UDF and the opposition CPM-led Left Democratic Front are always in tight competition to appease Islamic forces. So, irrespective of who is in power, they remain in a safe haven.
