Author gets death threats for book on love jihad

Noted public intellectual, academic and Kerala BJP vice-president Dr KS Radhakrishnan allegedly received death threats from the UAE on 16 July for writing a book on love jihad — according to Indus Scrolls.  The anonymous caller had described himself as an “Islamic terrorist”. He abused and threatened the author and his family members. 

What annoyed the Islamic radical is his book, Love Jihad in the Quran, brought out by the Delhi-based Indus Scrolls Press.

The author complained to the police, saying that the caller had tried to call more than once. “I received a call from a UAE no. 971556443094 at 11:28 AM and the call lasted for four minutes. The person who called me refused to reveal his personal identity but claimed that he is an Islamic terrorist and threatened me that I should be killed. Since he was shouting in filthy language, I disconnected the call. He tried to contact me again at 11.32 and 12.14. I am Dr KS Radhakrishnan the State vice-president of BJP. I request you to take necessary action,” reads the complaint. 

 “It is an academic study on the question of love jihad, quoting extensively from Quran, the official version brought out by the Saudi religious authority. It is an assault on the freedom of expression and an attempt to stifle opinion. It is very unfortunate that a public intellectual of the stature of Dr KS Radhakrishnan is attacked for expressing his views,” said the official statement of Indus Scrolls Press.  

The author of more than 15 scholarly books, was the chairman of the Kerala Public Service Commission between 2011 and 2016. He was Vice-Chancellor of the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit. Besides, he has held several positions in various national and international academic councils.

Buttressing his argument in the book, he states: “There is love jihad in the Quran. The Quran categorically prohibits the marriage of a Muslim with a non-Muslim when it warns: ‘Do not marry idolaters until they believe.’ If a marriage cannot take place without religious conversion, it cannot be considered as (sic) a genuine token of love. So, the arguments in support of the marriage between a Muslim and a non-Muslim based on genuine love and unconditional freedom of individuals cannot survive the test of logic and law because religious conversion is the basic condition in such a marriage.”