21 year old, Ciyani Benny, now Aisha (name changed after conversion) from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University, who was believed to be abducted in the name of love jihad on September 18, has now expunged the rumours of her abduction.
Love Jihad is often referred to as a bait set by Muslim men allegedly trapping non-muslim women and trick them into converting to Islam.
Aisha(who was earlier a Christian), before she converted, had sent an email to the Prime Minister, the President, Home Minister, Minority Commission of India, and to the Kerala Chief Minister in which she mentioned that was no forced conversion to Islam and she did it because she wanted to practice the religion and live with her husband in Abu Dhabi.
Aisha went missing on September 18, the day she flew to Abu Dhabi. Following her flight, cases were lodged with the Delhi Police, and the chairman of the National Commission of Minorities, George Kurian, wrote to the Home Minister demanding an NIA probe into the matter.
“The spate in organised religious conversion and using the victims for terror activities by trapping them through “love jihad” has shown that the Christian community is a soft target for Islamic radicals. It is important that the home ministry takes note of this alarming trend and order a probe by the National Investigative Agency and bring in an effective law to curb such fraudulent activities of radicalised elements,” George Kurian reportedly said.
However, in an interview with MediaOne, Aisha had said that she chose Islam of her own free will. She had been in a relationship with a man she met over the internet for the past nine months, and she declared that she was converting to Islam in an Abu Dhabi court.
“I came to my own will. I have been in love with a person for the past nine months and I came here to live with him,” she said.
Aisha had also urged in the email written to Indian authorities to quash rumours about her indoctrination and joining terror groups. In her email, Aisha said: “I, Aisha (Ciyani Benny) as an adult citizen of India would like to believe that the Constitution provides each and every citizen in India freedom of religion and freedom of speech.” She added, “I have taken the new name as Aisha. I have accepted this religion and would ensure that I would live my life with the same faith.”
However, seeing Muslims as a potential threat to naive Christian girls, Kurian, in his statement, mentioned the two alleged love jihad.
Aisha’s case was closed moments after her verdict came out in public.
Meanwhile, another case of Love Jihad that Kurian reported, is yet to be solved, where a 19-year old Jasim sexually molested a Christian girl to convert to Islam. The girl went missing from Kozhikode and was allegedly molested by the accused after she was given juice mixed with sedatives. The accused allegedly shot the act and blackmailed her to release the video if she didn’t accept Islam.
Police also alleged that when the victim resisted the “attempt to convert”, she was abducted from the hostel.
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