Kottayam: Pala Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt has courted a fresh controversy by claiming the presence of Narcotic Jihad in addition to Love Jihad in Kerala.
The bishop had been in news in July when he announced sops for families in his diocese for having five or more children. However, the recent controversy has extended beyond the reach of the diocese.
During a sermon at a church in Kuravilangad the other day, Bishop Kallarangatt said that there was an increase in instances of love and narcotic jihad in the state. He dubbed Narcotic Jihad or Drug Jihad as a method adopted by 'Jihadis' to turn the youth of other religions into drug addicts.
“In the eyes of a Jihadi, non-Muslims are meant to be destroyed,” Bishop Kallarangatt said in his speech. “When the intention is to spread the religion and annihilate the non-Muslims, the adopted methods take different methods – two such methods that are widely discussed are Love Jihad and Narcotic Jihad.”
According to the Bishop, besides, ill-treating and forcibly converting non-Muslims, the Jihadis capture women from other religions either by faking love or through other means and then use them for terrorist purposes and for making financial gains.
He claimed that the instances of women from other religions reaching IS camps were an example of this.
“The growing drug abuse cases in the state point in this direction. Such people operate out of hotels, ice cream parlours and juice stores run by hardcore Jihadis.
“This fact is validated by the rave parties held in the state and those who are caught for organising them. We see innumerable examples of lives ruined by drug and alcohol abuse.”
The news of Keralites joining the IS surfaced after the Kerala government contacted various Central agencies in 2016 about the veracity of reports about 19 missing people and according to some of the relatives they are believed to have joined the IS. The list allegedly included at least 19 Keralites, including six women, including Christian and Hindu converts.
Bishop creating communal tension: SKSSF
Muslim students organisation, Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF) has hit out against the Bishop over his controversial remark.
"The Bishop is trying to create communal tension with his accusations against the Muslim community," the state secretariat of the SKSSF said in a statement.
"The Bishop must release details of the Love Jihad and Narcotic Jihad he has talked about. The state government must take legal action against the Bishop for his hate speech because such venomous words will disrupt the harmony in Kerala."
SKSSF has also demanded the state government release a list of inter-religious marriages that have taken place in Kerala.
