Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Oct 10: Vice president of South Karnataka Salafi Movement, Ismail Shafi, whose audio tape shared in social media recently created ripples in the society, has complained to city police commissioner, asking him to find out the people who had meddled with his speech and presented it in an altogether different context.

"I had delivered the said address in the form of advice in the interests of the society and country, which was meant to urge youth not to get misled. Some people have twisted my address to look like a conversation relating to secret behind terrorist operations. The culprits should be found out and punished," he urged in his complaint.

Shafi also has sought security for himself and his family besides requesting the commissioner to see that justice is done.

"I had posted an audio clip containing socially relevant advice in WhatsApp. In the audio clip, I had said that some people, who are known as 'Dmmaj', have sneaked into Salafi community and that these young people dress like ISIS cadres. I had noted that they normally do not talk to others and keep urging people to discard education as well as employment to immigrate to foreign country," he explained.

In the address, Shaffi also had said that those opposing Salafis might brand these people as ISIS members, and that when 22 persons from Kerala went missing recently, it was said that Salafi community people were sending people to join ISIS. Therefore, Shafi had advised the parents to take care to see that their children do not mingle with this dangerous group.

"Some people added my photo as well as pictures of some people who look like terrorists by way of attachment to the said audio clilp. They meddled with the audio and added words like 'revelation of secret discussions between leaders of Wahbabis from Mangaluru, ISIS enters district, ISIS terrorists settle in Mangaluru, explosive information has been revealed by Wahbabi leader, Ismail Shafi, Zacharia Salahi, Salafi leader from Kerala, has been providing training in the city to ISIS terrorists etc," he explained in the complaint.

Shafi said that those who posted his message after distorting it in the social websites, conspired to spark disturbances in the district. The media, which trusted the false information spread by vested interests, relayed news as if a den of terrorists was detected in the city, thus giving rise to a sense of fear among the people. He said that because of these developments, he and his family is living under constant fear for their lives.