Islamists killed my husband because he had converted to Christianity – widow

Published on Tuesday 15 April 2008 22:14

A BRITISH teacher killed in Somalia was targeted because he had converted from Islam to Christianity, his widow claimed yesterday.

Daud Hassan Ali, 64, was shot in the early hours of Monday outside a school his charity had just finished building.

A British colleague, Rehana Ahmed, 33, and two Kenyan teachers were also killed in the attack on Hiran English School, in Beled-Weyne, central Somalia, about 190 miles north-west of the capital, Mogadishu. All four were reportedly shot in the head.

The Islamist al-Shabab Movement, the armed youth-wing of the Council of Islamic Courts movement, has admitted attacking the town, but it has not accepted responsibility for the killings.

Mr Ali's widow, Margaret, 64, said her husband had been targeted by Islamists who, she said, "believe it is OK to kill any man who was born into Islam and left the faith".

She said her husband knew it was a risk going back to Somalia as a Christian, but said he was there to teach, not convert others to his faith. "He was a teacher. He never made any attempt to convert anyone to Christianity, and only practised his faith in private," she said. "I just hope they died quickly and didn't suffer too much. But I hear their bodies are riddled with bullet holes."