Algeria: Illegal immigrants who drown are ‘martyrs’, says imam
Religion • April 2008 • Views: 171
Algiers, 29 April (AKI) - Algerian immigrants who drown in the Mediterranean Sea on their way to Europe should be considered ‘martyrs’, according to a prominent imam.
According to the local daily, Ennahar, Sheikh Shamsedin Bourubi issued a fatwa, or religious edict, on Monday saying that the Muslim faithful should pray for their souls.
“The immigrants who leave Algeria by sea in a bid to reach Europe and die by drowning in the Mediterannean are ‘martyrs’ and are not committing suicide,” he said.