Sunday, September 18, 2011 (10:39 am)
By Stefan J. Bos and Joseph DeCaro, BosNewsLife Correspondents
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)–- Hungry minority Christians in Somalia faced another struggle Sunday, September 18, after suspected Islamic militants beheaded a Christian convert and foreign aid workers were banned from reaching a dying population.
Somali Christians and human rights activists confirmed that the body of Juma Nuradin Kamil, a kidnapped Christian who converted from Islam, was found decapitated near the southern town of Hudur on September 2.
He was apparently killed after three suspected members of the Islamic group al-Shabab pushed him into a car, witnesses said.
"Islamic radicals kidnapped a Christian brother and then beheaded him. His decapitated body was discovered" by locals on a street, explained Jonathan Racho, the regional manager for Africa of advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC).
His body was reportedly buried in secret after it lay two days in the open aid as locals feared Islamic reprisals.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from al-Shabab, but Christians said the beheading bore the hallmarks of the al-Qaida linked group.
ISLAMIC LAW
Al-Shabab seeks to impose a strict version of seeks to impose a strict version of Sharia, or Islamic law, and made clear it wants to rid Somalia of "apostates". "Members of the Islamic radical group al-Shabaab have made their intentions very clear that they want to get rid of Christians in Somalia," Racho said.
Among earlier anti-Christian incidents this year was the reported April 18 murder in Shalambod town of 21-year-old Hassan Adawe Adan, a member of an underground Christian congregation. Two suspected al-Shabab fighters were blamed, Christians said.
In Warbhigly village on the outskirts of Mogadishu, a mother of four was killed for her Christian faith by al-Shabab in January, according to locals and investigators. Asha Mberwa, 36, was reportedly murdered when Islamists slit her throat in front of her fellow villagers.
More than two dozen Christians are known to have been killed in recent years.
In Mogadishu, residents have said they wake up daily with decapitated bodies, ranging from children to the elderly, as al-Shabab has made clear it still wants to show it remains strong after more heavily armed U.N. backed Africa Union forces pushed them back from the capital. Read the rest on:
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