A religious leader of a 600-year-old mosque in China was fatally stabbed after morning prayers in the troubled Xinjiang region, Wednesday.
Jume Tahir, a 74-year-old imam, was killed around 6:58 a.m. at the Id Kah mosque in the county-level city of Kashgar. He was appointed imam by the Communist Party, the ruling party in China.
Police shot dead two suspects and arrested a third suspect in the case, reports Xinhua, the state-run news agency. The authorities revealed that the alleged suspects were influenced by religious radicalism and wanted to "do something big." The suspects with knives and axes resisted arrest that resulted in the killings.
The State Administration for Religious Affairs condemned the killing of Tahir. A statement issued by the administration said they were "deeply shocked" by the murder and described Tahir's death as a "huge loss" for the country's Islamic circle.
Prior to Tahir's murder, a mob attacked a police station and government offices Monday in Elixku township in Shache County, Kashgar Prefecture. Following this, certain attacks targeted nearby Huangdi Township and assaulted civilians and destroyed vehicles. According to the police, dozens of Uihghurs and Han civilians were killed and wounded in the attack.
Uighurs areTurkic-speaking Muslims and have ethnic fraternity in Turkey, bordering Syria. The Xinjiang region witnessed restlessness over native Muslim Uighurs' anger over settlement of Hans. This has led to various attacks in the recent past.
Reuters reports that Tahir was a staunch adherent of Beijing authorities and also had supported the government after security forces put down 2009 riots in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital. Twnty people died in the clashes.
