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August 7, 2006
Russia: Suspected Islamists Kill Imam During Prayers
An imam who healed has been killed today in Karachaevsk, in the small republic of Karacheyevo-Cherkessia in southern Russia, states Associated Press via Moscow Times.
I have checked other Russian news sources, but Anglophone editions have not yet covered the story. When more details are forthcoming, I will update. Karacheyevo-Cherkessia lies adjacent to the border of Georgia, in the Federal Disrtict of North Caucasus. It has a population of less than half a million, and its main economy is agricultural. Ethnically it comprises Russians (42.4%), Karachays and Circassians (40.2%), Abazians (6%) and Nogai (3.2%). Details on religions are scarce, though its president, Mustafa Azret-Aliyevich Batdyev, is Muslim.
The imam was shot as he performed evening prayers today. The authorities assume he was killed by fundamentalists. Ashkat Teunayev, the city prosecutor, said that because the imam, Adulkerim Khadzhi-Bayramukov, performed healings, he offended Muslim purists.
"They insist that old imams stop healing. They say it's heathenism and a terrible sin in Islam," Teunayev said.
Local news states that this year, in six towns across the mountainous republic, healers have been shot.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at August 7, 2006 7:36 PM
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