Muslims want youths arrested in riots freed
What you need to know:
- Religious leaders ask government for time to enable them resolve issues affecting group
Muslim leaders have demanded the unconditional release of youths associated with the Masjid Musa chaos, which forced security forces to storm the mosque recently.
They have also asked the government to give the Muslim leadership time to resolve issues affecting their community without interference, saying, their presence was cause for “mistrust and suspicion”.
The demands came at the end of a meeting with radical youths to quell growing tension between them and followers of Sheikh Ali Bahero after he was attacked near the controversial Masjid Musa.
The weekend meeting, organised by Haki Africa at Bliss Restaurant, resolved to set up a peace team to mediate between the assaulted preacher and the radical Islamists from the Majengo mosque, since renamed Masjid Shuhadaa.
Soon after word spread that Sheikh Bahero had been attacked by more than 40 youths armed with knives and stones last week, the cleric’s followers from his Kisauni Masjid Rahma vowed revenge.
This caused anxiety on Friday, with many fearing violence to break out between the preacher’s followers and radical youths if they made good their threat to raid Masjid Musa after prayers.
Sensing danger, Haki Africa executive director Hussein Khalid intervened to bring the two warring groups together for dialogue through respected Muslim clerics from 16 mosques within Majengo.
“If we don’t intervene and stop such attacks, there is a danger they may escalate to full-blown violence between different sects of Muslims within the county,” he said.
Resolution
After a four-hour closed- door meeting, the 21 clerics and two youths came up with a six-point resolution for the way forward.
“We condemn the continued killing of Muslim leaders and other individuals for unexplained reasons and ask the government to take action against the killers who we believe are security forces,” they said.
Meanwhile, human rights activist Alamin Kimanthi went to Makupa Police Station to complain over the casual manner they handled reports about planned retaliatory attacks by Sheikh Bahero’s followers.
