Muslim leader killed in Russia

(Vatican Radio) Islamic leaders and church representatives have condemned the assassination of a Muslim spiritual leader in Russia's republic of North Ossetia.

Local police said Ibragim Dudarov, North Ossetia's deputy mufti, died late Wednesday when assailants opened fire on his car.

Russian media quoted security officials as saying that at least six shot were fired.

The motive behind the killing was not immediately clear. Authorities said they suspect the killing was connected to Dudarov's religious activities.

MUSLIMS ANGRY

The chairman of the religious authority of Muslims of North Ossetia, Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, called the murder of the father of four children "a stab in the back" of the Muslim minority.


"People who knew him are angry," he said. "This was a provocation to raise tensions."


Unlike other North Caucasus republics of Russia, North Ossetia, had been largely spared
the scale of Muslim insurgency that neighbouring regions have witnessed for over a decade.

Analysts say Muslim clerics are routinely targeted by militants in the North Caucasus for their moderate religious views.

ORTHODOX CONCERNED


The murder of Ibragim Dudarov also led to angry reactions from the Orthodox Church in North Ossetia. .


"This was a man who devoted himself to the strengthening of traditional Islam," said the
diocese priest
Savva Gagloev. "His murder is a big loss," he added.


As news emerged of the killings, hundreds of people reportedly gathered in Dudarov's village of Chmi to mourn the death of yet another spiritual leader in the turbulent North Caucasus.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report: