In its latest propaganda material, the international terror group ISIS has threatened to resort to mass murders and beheadings to mark its protest against laws being enacted against ‘love jehad’ in several States. The propaganda article has claimed that UP, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh have enacted anti-love jihad laws and other States are also resorting to put in place similar legislations.

Claiming that such laws are aimed at empowering certain communities to embroil Muslim youths and weaken them, the outfit has claimed that the so-called mujahideens are coming to behead those who have framed the Ummah (Muslim community). The banned terror outfit claimed that love jehad is a conspiracy against Muslims and that it will not discriminate between Kufr men women while killing them. 

It also asserted that love jihad is not a new concept and has been prevalent since the 19th century to target the Muslims.

The recurring threats by ISIS come in the backdrop of the outfit’s expansions in India with the creation of two sub-groups in South India. As reported earlier, one sub group will cover Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka and the other one will target the rest of southern States like Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Earlier, ISIS had formed groups like ISIS JK for Jammu and Kashmir, ISIS Deccan for South India, and ISIS Hind for the hinterland, experts tracking the group said.

The ISIS has a significant footprint in South India as most of the cases linked to the group under investigation by the anti-terror probe body National Investigation Agency (NIA) are from these States. A number of recruits from South India have also participated in so-called Hijra (migration) for ISIS to other countries. The outfit has particularly been active in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The ISIS had even roped in the now banned Popular Front of India (PFI) recruitment, spreading the violent Islamist ideology, training and raising a militia of trained jihadist to execute terror attacks. The PFI was initially raised in Kerala but  shifted its HQs to Shaheen Bagh in Delhi.