I don't want to live in this sinful country: Indian ISIS recruit

18 young Indian men from Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are fighting for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com reports.

'I do not want to live in this sinful country; the sun is setting on our backyard. It is time to take that greatest journey and migrate to the land of Allah.'

'The time has come and may we all meet in paradise. I cannot live in this country; I am moved to tears watching all of you live a luxurious life style, watching TV, listening to music...'

Contents from the letters written by Arif Fayaz and Fahad Shaikh before leaving their homes in Kalyan, Maharashtra, for Iraq to join the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant militia.

The Intelligence Bureau has confirmed that Fayaz and Shaikh are fighting near Fallujah which is close to the Iraqi capital Baghdad, but have been unable to track down their exact location.

The two engineering students, in their early twenties, belong to families of doctors. Their case came to light when one of the parents discovered a note which spoke about a cause that has only one end -- death.

The parents have filed missing complaints with the Kalyan police and have sought help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The parents have no idea about what brought about this change in their children. Leave alone being fanatics, they were not even religious, the parents stated in their complaint.

Coverage: The Iraq Crisis

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Arif and Fahad's cases highlight the growing threat of sustained radicalisation from the Internet.

The ISIS, which has been branded dangerous even by Al Qaeda, preaches an extremely radical form of Islam, and this is propagated across the Internet.

Even though the ISIS' ideology of radical Islam has been criticised, many young Muslims believe this is the only way to clean up the world.

Fayaz objected to the way his parents brought up his sister.

'She watches lewd content on television and listens to music. On television, they show people smoking and dancing, and you watch that all day instead of praying. All this will lead you to burn in hell. I have to go and cleanse up the world,' he wrote in the letter to his parents.

ISIS has 18 Indians recruits -- four from Maharashtra; the others from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

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"All these young men saved up over the past year and then left for Iraq. Not a penny is provided to them by ISIS," an Intelligence Bureau agent told Rediff.com

"They left for Singapore. From there they were sent to Baghdad where they arrive as persons looking for a job. From Baghdad they are sent to Fajullah where they come in contact with the ISIS. These may not be trained fighters, but for the ISIS only numbers matter," the IB officer said.

"They are only too happy to take persons from various nations into their fold, irrespective of their experience in warfare."

"Having Muslims from different parts of the world strengthens their cause," the IB officer said. "The movement would not look like one restricted to Iraq or Syria. Moreover with the declaration of the Caliphate, the ISIS is looking for acceptance from Muslims across the world."