As Muslims were celebrating the Eid Al-Adha holiday last weekend, Jewish minorities in Yemen were mourning a dead son, when Moshe bin Ya’aish was brutally killed in his hometown of Raydah.

According to Islamic Law, minorities of other religions who decide to live in a Muslim country with certain conditions have the same rights as any Muslim if not more.

The death was the brother of the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in Yermen Yahya bin Ya’aish, and in anger the chief demanded President Saleh to grant them safety or buy their property and let them leave the country.

It’s very sad to see such negative developments happening in Yemen, especially with people who for long decided to live peacefully in Yemen and practice their religion in a manner that does not offend Islam.

What makes the crime worse is that the suspected killer, Abdul Aziz Mahmoud Al-Abdi, said that he committed the crime for the sake of Islam. What this proves is that the killer knows little about Islam, and does not know that the Jews have been living in Yemen side by side with Yemeni Muslims since the days of the Prophet, and almost never were they attacked or threatened by their brother Muslims.

* Editor-in-Cheif could be reached at:  editor@yemenpost.net