love is one of the major reasons for conversions to Islam from other religions in Kerala but there is no evidence for the existence of love jehad, claims a report of the State Home Department, according to which 82 per cent of those who convert to Islam in the State are Hindus and on an average, more than 1,200 persons from other religions embrace Islam each year.
The report, prepared through a study held reportedly with the cooperation of Central agencies, says that a large number of girls and women – 61 per cent – converted to Islam through love marriages and under the influence of other persons but there is no evidence to show that these conversions have been part of the alleged Islamist campaign to entrap girls from other religions.
As per the report, 7,299 persons from other religions had embraced Islam in Kerala in the six years since 2011. Suggesting that most of the conversions are taking place due to economic reasons, it says that 64 per cent of the converts into Islam have been from the economically backward sections and almost nobody from affluent sections seems to get converted.
The study reportedly suggests that politics need not be a reason for conversions as 72 per cent of those who had converted during the period under consideration did not have any political affiliations. Among those who had political connections, 17 per cent were with the CPI(M), eight per cent with the Congress, two per cent with the BJP and one per cent was from the CPI.
Pointing out that 39 per cent of those who had converted to Islam were from the 18-25 age group, the study says 78 per cent of the converts had not attained education above the high school level. Another finding of the study is that 65 per cent of those who converted were from nuclear families and those from joint families accounted only for 32 per cent.
The report has confirmed the allegation that conversions to Islam have been taking place in Kerala also through unauthorised centres like Sathyasarani of Manjeri, Malappuram run by Islamist outfit, Popular Front of India, while the authorised centres are Maunat’ul Islam of Ponnani, Malappuram and Tarbiat’ul Islam of Kozhikode.
While 82 per cent of all those who convert to Islam are found to be from Hindu religion, only 17.4 per cent of Christians are seen to be embracing Islam. The study says that 10 per cent of all the converts were from the Hindu upper caste, Nair, while 7.3 per cent belonged to scheduled sections while 0.7 per cent of them were Brahmins.
The Home Department is said to have brought under its study 568 cases of conversion in central Kerala and Malabar. Thrissur district was in the lead with regard to the number of conversions and Palakkad district came in the second place. It also says that there has been a drop in the number of conversions since the CPI(M)-led lDF came to power in May, 2016. Though the Home Department study has reportedly rejected the theory that love jihad does exist in Kerala, critics are reluctant to accept the argument. They point out that the pattern seen in the conversion of several Hindu and Christian girls to Islam cannot be missed and the role of certain pro-Islamist agencies in these conversions should be thoroughly investigated.
Central agencies are yet to reach a conclusion over the reports on the existence of an Islamist love jihad campaign in Kerala and the focus of their investigations was on the financial transactions behind suspicious conversions, especially in the context of the recruitments allegedly taking place in the State to the global terror outfit, Islamic State (ISIS).
Five – two men and three women – of the 21 Keralites who had gone missing from the country in 2016 and had allegedly joined the ISIS in Afghanistan were converts from Hinduism and Christianity to Islam. Parents of several Hindu and Christian girls had approached the police and courts complaining about compulsory conversion of their daughters to Islam.