Kerala preacher radicalised youths in Salafist mosque

Haneef Mohammed, the preacher from Kerala arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch for allegedly radicalising nearly 21 youths including a city-based businessman's son to join the Islamic State (IS), allegedly indoctrinated youths in a Salafist mosque in Kerala, police sources said.

After being detained in Peringathur in Kerala, Haneef was brought to the city on Sunday and produced in a holiday court that remanded him in police custody till August 20. He was booked under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, and the Indian Penal Code by the police along with Arshid Qureshi alias Arshi, the Islamic Research Foundation's (IRF) guest representative officer and Abdul Rashid Abdulla, also linked to IRF and believed to have escaped the country to join IS. They are booked on the complaint of city businessman Abdul Majid Abdul Kader, whose son Ashfaq (25) fled the country with his wife and 18-month-old daughter on June 2 to join IS.

Undertaking Hijrah
Ashfaq and others from Kerala sent voice messages to their families on the Telegram App in Malayalam saying that they have taken to Hijrah (migration undertaken by Prophet Mohammed to go to Medina) and joined Islamic State (IS). Their families approached cops after learning that the youths had escaped the country on false pretexts.

Police suspect Haneef had contributed maximum towards radicalising the youths. He would allegedly brainwash them in a Salafist mosque in Kasargod in Kerala, which has only four Salafist mosques as opposed to 15 Sunni ones. It was after he taught extremism to the youths, including Ashfaq, that local and few other youths came from Karnataka, rapidly becoming hardcore. They formed a group named ‘Mujahids' harbouring Salafist views. They also changed their appearance to align with Salafist doctrines.

Instructed by?
Cops are trying to find out if Haneef was being instructed by anyone, including Arshi Khan or someone from IRF. "We have seized his mobile phone and are checking if he was active online and received instructions from abroad. Nothing much has been extracted from him as of now as he speaks only Urdu and Malayalam," a senior officer said.