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Islamic State punishes cleric who objected to pilot's killing: monitor
06/02/2015
BEIRUT (Reuters) - An Islamic State cleric who objected to the group's decision to burn to death a captive Jordanian pilot has been removed from his post and will be put on trial, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday.
The cleric, a Saudi national, had voiced his objections during a meeting of an Islamic State clerical body in the town of al-Bab in Aleppo province, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Observatory.
The killing was been widely condemned by Muslim clerics. Even some al Qaeda-linked figures denounced it as un-Islamic. A video released by Islamic State militants on Tuesday showed the pilot, Mouath al-Kasaesbeh, being burned alive in a cage.
The Saudi cleric had said those responsible for the killing should face trial, the Observatory said. Abdulrahman, whose organization gathers information via a network of sources on the ground, said the group may now kill the cleric.
The Islamic State posted a religious edict on Twitter, which ruled that it is permissible in Islam to burn an infidel to death. Muslim clerics have said it is forbidden to kill anyone that way.
(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alison Williams)
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