Senseless killing of Muslim leaders must stop

An assassin’s bullet has felled a moderate Muslim cleric who advocated for peace, national cohesion and denounced spirited attempts to radicalise Muslim youths in the country. Sheikh Mohammed Idris spoke against the Al Shabaab militants and opposed the extremism that was exhibited by the late Sheikh Makaburi who was also gunned down by unknown men on the streets of Mombasa. In the last few days of his life, Idris had been living in fear for his life. It is a shame he had to die in this manner. We condemn, and indeed all Kenyans of goodwill should be angry at senseless acts of cowardice. The country should stand up and fight against any dark forces advocating murder and other unjust practises. What we need from the authorities is for the government to employ all means under its powers to establish the perpetrators of this heinous crime and those of similar nature that have happened in the recent past. We are yet to understand the motive for these killings because the occasional arrests made by the police after the murders are often followed by the release of suspects for lack of evidence. Radical youths sympathetic to the late Aboud Rogo and Makaburi have already taken to social media to celebrate the killing of Sheikh Idris. That is how low our society has sunk. See also: Raila attends Sheikh Idris burial Whereas the militants have been using the Quran, selectively quoting from it to justify their inhuman acts, Sheikh Idris pointed out they had corrupted the Holy Book to indulge in blood sports that Islam does not advocate for. It means that Sheikh Idris advocated for the rightful application of Sharia laws and opposed baseless abuse of Jihad The wider Muslim leadership is under obligation to come out and take a united religious stand that condemns anyone or groups being indoctrinated to disrespect the sanctity of life. The recent security operation in parts of the country following a spate of bombings brought out the worst in some of our leaders. Both radical and moderate clerics have been killed in Mombasa over the last few months yet the killers still roam the country freely. It is imperative that the government gets to the root cause of this. In the meantime, security should be enhanced for religious leaders who might be targeted for advocating peace and cohesion.