Russian Orthodox Priest Murdered for Insulting the Religion of Peace

[SF-TX]

Another islamist group that has 'misinterpreted' the Quran.

Islamists claim killing of Russian priest
(AFP) – 1 day ago

MOSCOW — An Islamist militant group based in Russia's North Caucases has claimed the killing last month of an Orthodox priest who was an outspoken critic of Islam.

"One of our brothers who has never been to the Caucases took up the oath of (former independent Chechen president Doku Umarov) and expressed his desire to execute the damned Sysoyev," said a statement on the Kavkazcenter.com website.

Daniil Sysoyev, 35, was killed on November 20 when masked gunman walked into Saint Thomas's church in southern Moscow and shot him four times.

Doku Umarov emerged as the leader of the remaining active rebel movements in the North Caucases in 2007 and is considered enemy number one in the region by Russian authorities.

The statement on the Kavkazcenter.com website, which is often used by militants, accused Sysoyev of writing several pamphlets insulting Islam.

It warned "those in the future who defame Islam and insult the religion of Allah will suffer the fate as Sysoyev."
Sysoyev, who was criticised by Muslim organisations for his statements on Islam, had reportedly contacted Russian security services several times over threats

Link

[Warrior-Mentor]

So much for free speech in islam.

[lindy]

Nothing in Russia (Soviet Union) is as it seems. If you believe that KC is administered by the Chechens and is their official mouthpiece, I have slightly used bridge I'd like to sell you...cheap.

Questions:

1) Why do the Russian special services allow Kavkaztsenter to continue to operate? If it's their voice, wouldn't it make more sense to shut it down?

2) If they killed Father Sysoyev, why wait 30 days to claim it on their website? Is that same claim on any other pro-Chechen webs (don't know, haven't looked)? Is there video of the hit?

Father Sysoyev did a HELL of a lot more than just write an anti-Islam pamphlet.

Life in Russia is about two things: money and power. Ok, three: money, power, and the acquisition of the other two.

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Russian Priest and Islam Critic Shot to Death in Church — Daniil Sysoyev
By R.E.A.L. Organization • on November 20, 2009

– London Times: “Russian priest and Muslim critic, Daniil Sysoyev, assassinated in church”
– London Times reports:
— “A Russian Orthodox priest known for his outspoken criticism of Islam and attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity has been assassinated in his Moscow church.”
— “A masked gunman shot Father Daniil Sysoyev in the head and chest after asking for him by name, police said. The choirmaster, Vladimir Strelbinsky, was seriously wounded in the attack at St Thomas Church in southern Moscow.”
— “Father Daniil, 35, died of his wounds in hospital late last night. A Russian newspaper reported that he had recently told its journalists of 14 death threats by telephone and e-mail, which he had received as a result of his work among Muslim migrants from former Soviet republics.”
— ” ‘They’ve threatened to cut my head off 14 times,’ the priest told Komsomolskaya Pravda, adding that the Federal Security Service had contacted him last year after uncovering a plot to murder him.”
— “He claimed to have christened 80 Muslims, ‘among them Tatars, Uzbeks, Chechens and Dagestanis’. He said that other priests were unwilling to follow his lead because ‘they are afraid of revenge from the Muslim world’.”
— “The co-chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Nafigulla Ashirov, called Father Daniil a ‘Russian Salman Rushdie’ after he wrote a book in 2007 condemning Islam’s treatment of women.”

– Reuters: “Russia: Masked gunman kills Russian priest at Moscow church”
– Reuters: “A masked gunman entered a church and murdered a Russian Orthodox priest who had received death threats for converting Muslims to Christianity and criticizing Islam, prosecutors and church officials said Friday.”
– “The killing could threaten delicate relations between the powerful majority Russian Orthodox Church, which has close ties to the Kremlin, and the country’s growing Muslim minority of about 20 million.”
– “The gunman approached priest Daniil Sysoyev, 34, in St Thomas Church in southern Moscow Thursday night, checked his name and then opened fire with a pistol, a spokesman for the investigating committee of the Prosecutor-General’s office said.”
– ” ‘The main theory is that religious motives are behind the crime,’ spokesman Anatoly Bagmet said.”
– “Sysoyev was from Tatarstan, a predominantly Muslim region of Russia on the Volga river. He was threatened after preaching to Muslims and Christians from other denominations.”
– ” ‘I have received 10 threats via e-mail that I shall have my head cut off (if I do not stop preaching to Muslims),” Sysoyev stated on a television program in February 2008, according to Interfax. ‘As I see it, it is a sin not to preach to Muslims.’ ”

[SF-TX]

Originally Posted by lindy

Father Sysoyev did a HELL of a lot more than just write an anti-Islam pamphlet.

A curious choice of words. It almost seems as if you are suggesting his murder was somehow justified, because he did a HELL of a lot more than just write an anti-Islam pamphlet.

Russian Priest Gunned Down in Church
Orthodox Priest Known For Missionary Work Shot in Moscow
By ALEXANDER MARQUARDT

MOSCOW, Nov. 20, 2009—

A Russian Orthodox priest known for his missionary work among Muslims was gunned down in his Moscow church, Russian officials said Friday.

Thirty-four-year-old Daniil Sysoyev was shot at least four times at in the head and chest in the Church of St. Thomas by a masked gunman Thursday night, according to the Prosecutor General's Investigative Committee. The assailant also wounded the church's choirmaster, Vladimir Strelbitsky.

Sysoyev died on the way to the hospital. Strelbitsky is in critical condition.

"The main theory is that religious motives are behind the crime," a prosecutor's office spokesman told reporters.

Sysoyev routinely denounced Islam and actively reached out to Muslims and various religious sects to convert them. In a recent interview with a Russian newspaper, Sysoyev boasted that he had baptized 80 Muslims.

But with his ambitious missionary work came death threats.

"They've threatened to cut my head off 14 times," Sysoyev told Komsomolskaya Pravda in the interview. "The FSB [Federal Security Service] got in touch with me a year ago to say they had uncovered a murder plot against me."

He told a television interviewer in February 2008 that he considered it a sin not to preach to Muslims, according to the Interfax news agency.

Sysoyev was originally from the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, where a large majority of the population is Muslim. He published books titled "An Orthodox Response to Islam" and "Marrying a Muslim," which criticized the faith and drew fierce responses from Muslim organizations.

'No Reason to Kill'

Russia's Council of Muftis strongly denounced the murder Friday, saying differences should be worked out in a civilized way.

"We talk to people, we meet them. They may not always agree with us, but that is no reason to kill. Life was given to us by the Almighty!" council official Damir Gizatullin told Interfax.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, "This sin will not be left unanswered by God. And justice will hopefully be ensured by people," he said. "But as long as the killer has not been identified, I ask you to refrain from any hasty accusations against individuals or groups."

Link

[Richard]

Historically - the Russian Orthodox - Islam and the Russian (nee Soviet nee Russian) - Chechen-Ingushetian issues have been on-going for centuries, and this heinous act is - symbolically - not just a simple terrorist act to any of the groups involved (Russians, Russian Orthodox Church, Muslims, Chechens, Ingush, and terrorists who committed the murder).

And so it goes...still...

Richard's $.02

[lindy]

Originally Posted by SF-TX

A curious choice of words. It almost seems as if you are suggesting his murder was somehow justified, because he did a HELL of a lot more than just write an anti-Islam pamphlet.

Absolutely not. I just found it interesting that the AFP article mentioned KC and the reason for the killing was an anti-Islamic pamphlet. I personally believe that he was killed for political vice religious reasons (I don't have facts; just a hunch). Russia has vested interests (political & financial) in keeping the Northern Caucasus on fire.

I fully agree with Richard that this killing is symbolic. To me, the press reports of the TTPs used in the hit just smell of Putin & his henchmen.

Here's an article with details of the killer:

http://www.infox.ru/accident/crime/2...eizvyest.phtml

На юге Москвы выстрелами в голову и грудь убит настоятель храма Святого апостола Фомы (пророка Даниила на Кантемировской) Даниил Сысоев. Регент храма Владимир Стрельбицкий тяжело ранен. Преступник, по предварительным данным, мужчина кавказской внешности, (a man with Caucasian features) скрылся.

Нападение совершил один человек. По предварительным данным, это мужчина кавказской внешности, одетый в темную одежду (черная куртка и синие джинсы) (he was wearing dark clothes (black jacket and blue jeans). На лице у убийцы была медицинская марлевая повязка.

По словам брата убитого Василия Сысоева, в каком направлении скрылся убийца, неизвестно. Он также сообщил, что мужчина говорил с акцентом, предположительно он кавказец (the man spoke with a accent that identified him as a Caucasian).