Al Shabaab militants execute pastor;
government-aligned Islamists burn house containing Bible.
NAIROBI, Kenya, March 24
(CDN) -
Islamic
militants in Somalia tracked down an underground church leader who had
previously escaped a kidnapping attempt and killed him last week,
Christian sources said.
Islamic extremist al Shabaab rebels
shot Madobe Abdi to death on March 15 at 9:30 a.m. in Mahaday village,
50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Johwar. He had escaped an al
Shabaab attempt to kidnap him on March 2.
Abdi's death
adds to a growing number of Christians murdered by Islamic militants,
but his was distinctive in that he was not a convert from Islam. An
orphan, Abdi was raised as a Christian.
Sources said the militants
prohibited his body from being buried, ordering that it be left to dogs
as an example to other Christians. Al shabaab, which is
fighting the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of President Sheikh
Sharif Sheik Ahmed, has embarked on a campaign to rid the country of all
non-Muslims.
"The al Shabaab say, ‘Leaving Abdi's
body outside is a warning to all that a murtid [infidel] is a
disgrace to Muslims,' hence creating fear to whoever would like to
choose Christianity," said a source.
In 2009 Islamic
militants in Somalia sought out and killed at least 15 Christians,
including women and children. This year, on Jan. 1 Islamic extremists
shot an underground church leader to death. Having learned that he had
left Islam to become a Christian, al Shabaab members murdered
41-year-old Mohammed Ahmed Ali after he had left his home in Hodan, on
the outskirts of Mogadishu.
House Burning
The
transitional government in Mogadishu fighting to retain control of the
country treats Christians little better than the al Shabaab extremists
do. While proclaiming himself a moderate, President Ahmed has embraced a
version of sharia (Islamic law) that mandates the death
penalty for those who leave Islam.
Ahmed was formerly the
leader of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an Islamist array of sharia
judges and militants that vied for power after losing control of much of
southern Somalia at the end of 2006. A contingent of the ICU reached a
power-sharing agreement with the TFG in January 2009 that resulted in
the election of Ahmed as president.
The ICU still exists
under the auspices of Ahmed's TFG, and alleged members of the ICU last
month set fire to the house of an underground church member they
suspected of having left Islam. The gutted house is located on the
outskirts of Mogadishu.
Having learned that there was a
Bible and Christian pamphlets inside, the angry militants stormed the
house in Hamarwien district of Mogadishu on Feb. 17 at 1:15 p.m. as a
warning to those who dare possess any Christian literature, sources
said.
"Since there is no law and order in this country,
there is no one we can turn to for protection," said the owner of the
house, who requested anonymity and has relocated to another city. "But
we know that we're covered with the blood of Jesus Christ."
The
assailants looted the home before setting it afire. Area residents
tried to extinguish the blaze, which left the house uninhabitable.
"I saw smoke coming out of the house, then I ran outside and I
saw two men coming out of the house with a bucket of gasoline," said a
neighbor who sought anonymity. "One of the men was shouting, ‘Allah
Akbar! Allah Akbar [God is Greater],' then they entered a waiting
car and drove off."
An eyewitness told Compass that after
the looting, the ICU extremists belonging to the TFG locked the doors
before setting it on fire. At the time of the attack, there was one New
King James Version of the Bible, along with some copies of Christian
pamphlets that had been printed off of the Internet, according to
sources.
They said they did not know who leaked information
about the existence of Christian literature in the house.
"There were Christian books in the house at the time of the looting and
arson attack," said one church leader.
Islamic militants
have displayed an unusual brutality in hunting down suspected converts
to Christianity, with leaders of the underground church movement being
executed as a means of discouraging others from joining the growing
church.
END
