Muslim clerics exhort youth to shun ISIS

Clerics all over the city exhorted Muslims to shun and condemn the ISIS during the Friday sermons so that youngsters from the city who are attracted towards the terrorist organisation are deterred from wanting to join them.

Meanwhile, tour operators who take tours to Iraq have also beefed up security by taking on passengers that have a foolproof alibi and are known to them. The initiative of the clerics and operators has been prompted following reports of youngsters from the city trying to go to Iraq and Syria to join the ISIS.

Speaking about the need to deter youngsters from the city, state and India from joining ISIS, Maulana Saeed Noori of Raza Academy said that the terrorist group was in no way practicing Islam and its aim was to spread terror, which was not an Islamic trait. “We had asked the clerics from all mosques in the city specially those located in the economically backward localities of the city to warn people against the ISIS attraction that many youngsters are succumbing to. The clerics also apprised the people about organisations that, on the pretext of jihad and monetary benefits, tried to induce the city youth to join ISIS,” said Mr Noori.

He added that clerics from some of the major mosques in the city like the Minara Masjid, Badi Masjid and those in Govandi, Jari Mari, Malwani and Jogeshwari areas spoke against the ISIS and warned people against the tactics being employed by rogue organisations that were trying to induce the youth to go to Iraq and Syria to join it.

Tour operators, both Shia and Sunni, also confirmed that they had been taking steps to ensure that no youngster used their tours to join the ranks of ISIS. Abdul Aziz of Max Tours said that they were screening all passengers and only those youngsters who wanted to travel with their families were being taken on their tours. “We are turning away youngsters who wish to travel alone. Passengers from outside Mumbai are being screened and only after their antecedents are confirmed are they being taken on our tours,” said Mr Aziz.

Maulana Ehsan Haider Jawadi, a Shia scholar who is taking passengers to Iraq on the occasion of Chehlum (fortieth day after martyrdom) of Imam Hussain said that most Shia operators were screening passengers before taking them on. “The question of Shia youngsters joining ISIS does not arise as the terrorist group has been targeting Shias in Iraq and Syria. Despite this fact, only those youngsters with confirmed family backgrounds are being taken on by tour operators. These operators do not take non-Shia passengers hence there is no chance of anyone using this route to enter Iraq,” said Mr Jawadi.