Kerala Floods: Volunteers From Pandanna Aim to Shed 'Islamic State' Tag Accorded to Their Village
Some of the volunteers, while speaking to reporters, said they had trimmed their long beards before joining the relief operation in order to avoid undue attention.
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 27: A village in North Kerala, battling the 'Islamic State' tag, eyes to undo the taboo associated with it by contributing strenuously in the flood relief work.
Around 100 volunteers from Pandanna have moved to Ernakulam to expedite the relief operations. At least five among them, while speaking to reporters, said they had trimmed their long beards before joining the relief operation in order to avoid undue attention.
None of the volunteers have displayed any religious symbol of banner, confirmed 27-year-old Mohammed Salih, adding that their being a Keralite is the prime reason for joining the relief work.
On being asked whether his village wants to shed the Islamic State tag, Salih said they are not in Ernakulam for any sort of publicity. He, however, added that his village "suffered a lot" in the past two years for the mistake of a handful.
'IS recruitment hub?'
Padanna, in Kasargod district, was tagged as the recruitment hub for the transnational extremist group Islamic State, after 25 youths from Kerala left for turbulent West Asian region in May 2016 to join the ISIS. A majority among those radicalised were from this village.
'Padanna is not a terror factory'
34-year-old Mohammed Ali, who has been volunteering in the relief operation since August 15, said his village practices communal harmony and is opposed to the extremist ideology.
He further added that the annual temple celebration in Padanna evokes the participation of all villagers, despite the village being a Muslim-majority.
Ali reiterated that he is not volunteering to "emerge as a hero", but added that Padanna residents feel discriminated on being stopped at airports due to their address.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 27, 2018 05:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).