ISIS failed to attract Indian Muslims: Rajnath Singh

Says Indian Muslims are patriots and are not swayed by fundamentalist ideologies

Dreaded terror outfit ISIS has completely failed to attract Indian Muslims into its fold as the community is fully integrated into the mainstream, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today.

"Indian Muslims are patriots and are not swayed by fundamentalist ideologies. Extremism is alien to their nature. Moreover, India, as a country is proud of all its diversity," he said inaugurating an international conference on counter terrorism here.

Referring to the Middle-East terror group, which controls a vast territory in Iraq and Syria, the Home Minister said the influence of the Islamic State on Indian youths is negligible.

"According to our intelligence agencies, just a handful of Indian youths have joined the ISIS and some have returned after being persuaded by their families," he said.

Singh said India as a country is proud of all its diversity and has the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia.

"India is home to all 73 firqas of Muslims and it houses one of the oldest church known to mankind in the world. We have been practising philosophy of peaceful coexistence for centuries," he said.