Alexander Litvinenko Conversion to Islam

Bluegazer

Junior Member
Assalamu Alaikum,


To begin with, I pray to God Almighty to have mercy on Alexander Litvinenko's soul and accept him in Paradise. Ameen. It's a truly remarkable event.


I was also very alarmed by the following part of the story (as posted by brother Mabsoot at the beginning of the thread):

Akhmed Zakayev, the London-exiled Chechen separatist envoy, told RFE/RL that Litvinenko asked him about the possibility of converting in the early days of his illness. "I told him it was a purely personal question, that it isn't important to which god we pray as long as we aren't doing ignoble acts. And I sort of dropped it. But he over and over again returned to the subject."


Zakayev's position is totally wrong and very dangerous. A non Muslim who has received the message of Islam in a clear and undistorted way must revert to Islam. If he or she fails to revert to Islam before death, then he or she will dwell in Hell for eternity. I thank God Almighty for His mercy in guiding Litvinenko to insist on reverting to Islam.


The following is the religious opinion of Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid in his answer to question no. 6688 [Whoever does not believe that the kaafirs are kaafirs is himself a kaafir]:

"Question:
Is it true that anyone who does not accept that kuffaar are kuffaar is a kaafir himself, even if he prays, believes in the Qur'aan, and the Prophet Muhammad ( )? If so, what is the proof for this? Can a person insist on believing that Jews and Christians can be believers and go to heaven after being shown clear evidence against this, and still be considered a Muslim?

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

Yes, this is correct. Whoever is not convinced that the person who disbelieves in the religion of Allaah is a kaafir, does not believe what Allaah has told us about their being kaafirs, and he does not believe that the religion of Islam abrogates all previous religions and that all people must follow this religion no matter what their religion was before.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]

“Say (O Muhammad): “O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allaah” [al-A’raaf 7:158]

Al-Qaadi ‘Ayyaad said: hence we regard as a kaafir everyone who follows a religion other than the religion of the Muslims, or who agrees with them, or who has doubts, or who says that their way is correct, even if he appears to be a Muslim and believes in Islam and that every other way is false, he is a kaafir

(Al-Shifaa’ bi Ta’reef Huqooq al-Mustafaa, 2/1071)

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Know that among the greatest things that can nullify Islam are ten things:

Associating othes in worship of Allaah alone, Who has no partner or associate. The evidence ofr that is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, Allaah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners (in worship) with Him, but He forgives whom He wills, sins other than that” [al-Nisaa’ 4:116].

This also includes offering scarifices to other than Allaah, such as to the jinn or at graves.

Whoever regards others as intermediaries between him and Allaah and calls upon them to ask them to intercede for him, is a kaafir according to scholarly consensus.

Whoever does not regard the Mushrikeen as kaafirs or doubts that they are kaafirs or regard their way as correct, is a kaafir according to scholarly consensus.

After enumerating them, he said (may Allaah have mercy on him):

In the case of all these things that nullify Islam, there is no difference whether a person is joking or is serious or is afraid – except in cases where he is forced to do something. All of them are among the things that are very dangerous and which happen very often. The Muslim has to beware of them and fear them happening to him. We seek refuge with Allaah from the things that earn His wrath and His painful prunishment, May Allaah bless Muhammad.

(Mu’allafaat al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab, 212, 213).

Shirk and kufr are the same when it comes to the ruling (hukm)

Ibn Hazm said:

Kufra and shirk are the same; every kaafir is a mushrik and every mushrik is a kaafir. This is the view of al-Shaafa’ and others.

(al-Fisl, 3/124).

The Jews and Christians are kuffaar and mushrikeen. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And the Jews say: ‘Uzair (Ezra) is the son of Allaah, and the Christians say: Messiah is the son of Allaah. That is their saying with their mouths, resembling the saying of those who disbelieved aforetime. Allaah’s Curse be on them, how they are deluded away from the truth! … They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allaah (by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allaah), and (they also took as their Lord) Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary), while they (Jews and Christians) were commanded [in the Tauraat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] to worship none but One Ilaah (God — Allaah) Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). Praise and glory be to Him (far above is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him).” [al-Tawbah 9:30-31].

It was reported from Abu Hurayrag that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One is Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, not one of this nation, Jew or Christian, will hear of me and will die without having believed in that with which I have been sent, but he will be one of the dwellers of Hell fire.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 153)

Whoever says that the Jews are not kaafirs is disbelieving in the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meanings):

“And their hearts absorbed (the worship of) the calf because of their disbelief” [al-Baqarah 2:93]

“Among those who are Jews, there are some who displace words from (their) right places and say: “We hear your word (O Muhammad) and disobey,” and “Hear and let you (O Muhammad) hear nothing.” And Raa‘ina [in Arabic it means “Be careful, listen to us, and we listen to you”, whereas in Hebrew, it means “an insult”] with a twist of their tongues and as a mockery of the religion (Islâm). And if only they had said: “We hear and obey”, and “Do make us understand,” it would have been better for them, and more proper; but Allaah has cursed them for their disbelief…” [al-Nisa’ 4:46]

“Because of their breaking the covenant, and of their rejecting the Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allaah, and of their killing the Prophets unjustly, and of their saying: “Our hearts are wrapped (with coverings, i.e. we do not understand what the Messengers say)” — nay, Allaah has set a seal upon their hearts because of their disbelief, so they believe not but a little. And because of their (Jews) disbelief and uttering against Maryam (Mary) a grave false charge (that she has committed illegal sexual intercourse); And because of their saying (in boast), “We killed Messiah ‘Eesaa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allaah,” — but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared so to them the resemblance of ‘Eesaa (Jesus) was put over another man (and they killed that man)]…” [al-Nisa’ 4:155-157]

“Verily, those who disbelieve in Allaah and His Messengers and wish to make distinction between Allaah and His Messengers (by believing in Allaah and disbelieving in His Messengers) saying, “We believe in some but reject others,” and wish to adopt a way in between. They are in truth disbelievers. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating torment” [al-Nisa’ 4:150-151]

Whoever says that the Christians are not kuffaar is disbelieving in the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meanings):

“Surely, in disbelief are they who say that Allaah is the Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary)…” [al-Maa’idah 5:17]

“Surely, disbelievers are those who said: “Allaah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).” But there is no Ilaah (god) (none who has the right to be worshipped) but One Ilaah (God —Allâh). And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall on the disbelievers among them” [al-Maa’idah 5:73]

And he is disbelieving in the words of Allaah concerning the Jews and Christians who do not believe in our Prophet or follow him:

“Verily, those who disbelieve in Allaah and His Messengers and wish to make distinction between Allaah and His Messengers (by believing in Allaah and disbelieving in His Messengers) saying, “We believe in some but reject others,” and wish to adopt a way in between. They are in truth disbelievers. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating torment” [al-Nisa’ 4:150-151]

What is there left to say after these clear statements from Allaah, may He be exalted? We ask Allaah to guide us. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid"

Source: http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=6688&ln=eng


However, it might be that Mr. Zakayev only remebered certain verses of the Qur'an while unintentionally forgetting others.


The following is the religious opinion of Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid in his answer to question no. 2912 [Who are the Jews and Christians who will enter Paradise?]:

"Question:
For the time being, I do not have the resources to quote the exact Quranic verse, nor can I tell you what sura it has been taken from. However, I believe it is a common verse. I understand little Arabic; hence I found that in English. The verse can be interpretted as such:
The godfearing Jews, muslims and christians will not have fear (on that day).
I am not exactly sure of the bracketted phrase.
Now my question to you: is it mistranliteration?
We know that christians and jews in general cannot be hoped to have any sanction in the life hereafter. So, how do we understand the verse?


Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

What you refer to in your question is mentioned in two similar aayaat in the Qur’aan. The first of them is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.” [al-Baqarah 2:62]

The second is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Surely, those who believe, those who are the Jews and the Sabians and the Christians – whosoever believed in Allaah and the Last Day, and worked righteousness, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.” [al-Maa’idah 5:69]

In order to understand these aayaat correctly, we need to refer to the scholars of Tafseer (Qur’aanic commentary). The great Imaam Ismaa’eel ibn Katheer, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in his tafseer of the aayah from Soorat al-Baqarah:

“Allaah, may He be exalted, points out that whoever of the previous nations did well and was obedient, will have a good reward, and this will be the case for everyone who follows the Unlettered Prophet [Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) until the Hour comes – he will have eternal happiness, and they will not fear what they are going to face, nor will they grieve for what they have left behind. As Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘No doubt! Verily, the awliya’ of Allaah [i.e., those who believe in the Oneness of Allaah and fear Allaah much, and love Allaah much], no fear shall come upon them nor shall they grieve.’ [Yoonus 10:62]. And Allaah tells us what the angels say to the believers at the time of death (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Verily, those who say, “Our Lord is Allaah,” then they istaqaamu [stood straight, i.e., truly followed Islam], on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): “Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised!”’ [Fussilat 41:30]

As far as the Jews are concerning, their faith meant believing in the Tawraat (original Torah) and following the way of Moosa (peace be upon him) until ‘Eesa came, after which whoever continued to follow the Torah and the way of Moosa, and did not leave this and follow ‘Eesa, was doomed. As far as the Christians are concerned, their faith meant believing in the Injeel (original Gospel) and following the laws of ‘Eesa; whoever did this was a believer whose faith was acceptable to Allaah, until Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came, after which whoever did not follow Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and leave the way of ‘Eesa and the Injeel that he had been following before, was doomed.

The aayah (interpretation of the meaning), “And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85] is a statement that Allaah will not accept any way or deed from anyone, after sending His Final Messenger, except those that are in accordance with the laws of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Prior to this, however, anyone who followed the Prophet of his own time was on the Straight Path of salvation. So the Jews were those who followed Moosa (peace be upon him) and referred to the Tawraat for judgement at that time. When Allaah sent ‘Eesa (peace be upon him), the Children of Israel were obliged to follow him and obey him, and so they and others who followed him became Christians.. When Allaah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as the Final Prophet and a Messenger to all the children of Adam, all of mankind was obliged to believe in him and obey him, and refrain from what he prohibited. Those who did so are the true believers. The ummah (nation) of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are called the believers because of their deep eemaan (faith) and conviction, and because they believe in all the past Prophets and in the prophesied events that are yet to come.”

Commenting on the aayah in Soorat al-Baqarah, Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

“What is meant is that every group believed in Allaah and the Last Day, which is the appointed Day of Reckoning, and did righteous deeds. But after Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sent to both mankind and the jinn, true belief can only be in accordance with the way of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Whoever follows his way will not fear the future or grieve for what they leave behind.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid"

Source: http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=2912&ln=eng


Let me make it perfectly clear that I do not declare that Mr. Akhmed Zakayev is an apostate. Even though what he said is a statement of disbelief, and yet there are many conditions to declare a certain individual a disbeliever [apostate]. I believe that Mr. Zakayev was confused when he only remembered certain verses of the Qur'an while not remembering others, which might have led him to believe in his very mistaken opinion. I am also in no way a scholar and therefore do not have the right to make such pronouncements. Only an Islamic Court or a renouned scholar known for his knowledge and piety has the right to decalre a certain individual out of the fold of Islam.


The following is the opinion of Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid. It's his answer to question no. 44594 [Advice to one who slanders his Muslim brothers and accuses them without any proof]. I underlined certain sentences.:

"Question:
Our Shaykh, I love you for the sake of Allaah and I hope that you can tell me how to silence those who slander the scholars. There are people who accuse you of being extreme in labeling others as kaafirs and of Qutbi (a group that claims to base its ideas on the writings of Sayyid Qutb) – as they call it. What is your answer? Please note that I am – as Allaah knows – one of those who love you for the sake of Allaah.

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

May Allaah love you, for Whose sake you love us, and may He bring us together in His mercy on the Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, except him who brings to Allaah a clean heart (cf. al-Shu’ara’ 26:89).

With regard to what you have said in your question, we advise you to keep away from everyone who speaks about your Muslim brothers or slanders them, or accuses them and casts aspersion on their intentions. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O you who have spoken the words of faith but faith has not entered your hearts! Do not backbite about the Muslims or seek our their faults, for whoever seeks out their faults, Allaah will seek out his faults even if he is his house.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, no. 4880; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.

It is also necessary for you to advise these people to fear Allaah and refrain using such labels and names that divide the Muslims. With regard to offering advice and correcting mistakes, this should not be done by means of exposing people’s faults or casting aspersions on their intentions etc.

With regard to the issue of takfeer (labeling people as kaafirs), this is subject to further discussion. Describing as a kaafir one who has been described as such by Allaah or by His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is obligatory. Allaah has described some groups as being kaafirs in His Book, as when He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Surely, disbelievers are those who said: ‘Allaah is the third of the three (in a Trinity)’”

[al-Maa’idah 5:73]

“Surely, in disbelief are they who say that Allaah is the Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary)”

[al-Maa'idah 5:17]

But it is haraam to label as a kaafir someone whom Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not label as such.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Just as it is not permissible to label a specific person as a kaafir unless the conditions of labeling someone as such have been met in his case, so too we should not shy away from labeling as kaafirs those whom Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have labeled as such. But we must differentiate between what is specific and what is general.

Sharh Kitaab al-Tawheed, 2/281.

See also question no. 21576.

And Allaah knows best.

Moreover, everyone who levels an accusation against another person must provide proof:

“Say (O Muhammad), Produce your proof if you are truthful”
[al-Baqarah 2:111]

“Since they produce not witnesses, they are the liars in the sight of Allaah”

[al-Noor 24:13]

This problem is widespread among some of those who claim to be religiously-guided, may Allaah guide them, for they make accusations against people on grounds that are not regarded as something worthy of criticism in sharee’ah or that do not undermine a person’s religious commitment.

Then they do not bring any proof of that, and they follow their own whims and desires, because it is human nature to appoint oneself as judge, praising and condemning on a whim.

We must go against the whims and desires of our own selves and measure people by the criteria set out in Islam; we should make mention of their good points and advise them with regard to their mistakes.

And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Islam Q&A"

Source: http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=44594&ln=eng


The following is part of an answer given by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid. It was in response to question no. 14231 [Some of the rulings on apostasy and apostates]:

"Not every Muslim who falls into kufr is a kaafir and apostate. There are reasons why a Muslim may be excused and not judged to be a kaafir, for example: ignorance, misunderstanding, being forced, and making mistakes.

With regard to the first, a man may be ignorant of the ruling of Allaah, because he lives far from the Muslim lands, such as one who grows up in the desert or in a kaafir land, or has only recently come to Islam. This may include many of those Muslims who live in societies where ignorance prevails and knowledge is scarce. These are the ones concerning whom the questioner is confused as to whether they are to be judged as kaafirs and executed.

The second reason is if a person interprets the ruling of Allaah in a manner not intended by the Lawgiver, such as those who blindly follow the people of bid’ah (innovation) in their misinterpretations, such as the Murji’ah, Mu’tazilah, Khawaarij and the like.

The third reason is if an oppressor overwhelms a Muslim and will not let him go until he makes a blatant statement of kufr out loud in order to ward off the torture, when his heart is at ease with faith.

The fourth is when words of kufr come to one's lips without meaning it."

Source: http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=14231&ln=eng


Best regards,

Bluegazer,

Wassalamu Alaikum
 

Muslim-

Junior Member
Poison probe visits Russia
December 5, 2006


From combined dispatches
MOSCOW -- A team of British police investigating the poisoning of a former KGB agent arrived in Moscow yesterday as the Russian foreign minister warned that continued suggestions of Kremlin involvement in the death could damage diplomatic relations.
Alexander Litvinenko died Nov. 23 in London after ingesting the radioactive isotope polonium 210. In a deathbed statement, he blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin -- an accusation the Kremlin has vehemently denied.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said suggestions in Britain of high-level Russian involvement in the death were "unacceptable," adding: "It is of course damaging our relations."
Both Russia and Britain say Mr. Litvinenko's death should not be politicized, Mr. Lavrov added.
"If there are any questions, they should be put through law-enforcement agencies," Interfax quoted him as saying.
British Home Secretary John Reid said in Brussels that Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett had been in touch with Moscow "and they have assured us we'll get all the cooperation necessary."
Associates of Mr. Litvinenko have said that either the Kremlin was involved in the killing or that rogue elements in Russia's state security service were responsible.
Italy's foreign minister said he would ask Mr. Putin in Moscow today to help the British police in their investigation.
Radiation has been found at a number of sites in London and on two British Airways planes that traveled the Moscow-London route since Nov. 1, when Mr. Litvinenko is thought to have been poisoned. Yesterday, British authorities said they were investigating two additional central London locations.
The British detectives are likely to try to interview Russian citizens who met Mr. Litvinenko at London's Millennium Hotel on Nov. 1.
Andrei Lugovoy, a former KGB agent, says he and businessman Dmitry Kovtun met Mr. Litvinenko that day at the hotel. But Mr. Lugovoy, now back in Moscow, says they discussed a business opportunity and denies having anything to do with the poisoning.
Alex Goldfarb, a London-based friend of Mr. Litvinenko, said the British investigators should see another former KGB agent, Mikhail Trepashkin, who had what he called "substantive information."
Trepashkin, serving a four-year sentence in a prison in the Urals for divulging state secrets, said in a letter last Friday that the FSB, the Russian state security service, had created a hit squad to kill Mr. Litvinenko and other enemies of the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Mr. Litvinenko's father said his son had requested that he be buried according to Muslim tradition.
"He converted to Islam when he was sick, at a point when he didn't yet know he was going to die," Walter Litvinenko told Agence France-Presse by telephone, confirming a Russian press report. "My son voiced the wish to be buried following Muslim custom."

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20061204-110524-6986r.htm
 

sister herb

Official TTI Chef
May Allah forgive also for our sisters and brothers whose were not muslims. They also were human beings.

:shymuslima1:
 

m_nww

New Member
yaa allah...

:ma: may allah give him mercy and accept him as a muslim.
ya allah you are my hope so forgive me and all of muslim.:salah:
 

talibulislam

Junior Member
allah guides who he will,subhanallah

how blessed he was,all his sin forgiven 2days b4 his death,any beliver would love this death,allah is so great & merciful alhamdulillah
may allah give saber to his family insh'Allah
also this is a nasiah to all of us that b attached with allah swt cuz u know never know in waht form will u die but it will b true sucsess if its in the form of imaan inshallah
 

Muslim-

Junior Member
other sources for the story:

Former Russian spy to be buried according to Muslim tradition

http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=12111

Litvinenko to be buried in London
By Ruth Holmes
Comment

Alexander Litvinenko died on November 23.
THE funeral of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko will be held in London today, two weeks after his death.

Mr Litvinenko's body will be buried in an air-tight coffin, in a private ceremony, after he was poisoned with the deadly radioactive isotope polonium-210.

His father, Walter Litvinenko, said the 43-year-old, who was born an Orthodox Christian but had close links to Islamist rebels in Chechnya, would be buried according to Muslim tradition.

He said his son had requested it as he lay dying in University College Hospital after apparently converting to Islam in his final days.

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/display.var.1061330.0.spy_to_be_buried_in_london.php
 

Muslim-

Junior Member
Litvinenko mentioned on Islam Channel

Today on the agenda hosted by Yvonne Ridley, they were talking about Alexander Litvinenko decision to accept Islam, and the lady (I dont know who she was) said the same that was said in the newspapers.

Also on Islam channel (the agenda) they said that a prayer service would be held in Regents park Mosque today, Islamic cultural centre.
 

Jamillah37

Junior Member
Al Hum Dulillah! May Allah subanawatAllah give him Jennah. May Allah protect the believers and make it easy for us. The ecoli spread is in my area and people are dying because of it. It was found in places most Muslims don't eat. At least the ones in my community. Alumdulillah for Halal. Teach the children. They also say its in the green vegetables in our area as well. The attack is getting closer. May Allah protect us. Make Dua for the believers who are oppressed and the oppressed (if you are) Allah hears your cry high above the clouds so pour your heart out to Allah subanawata Allah!
 

ibn azem

Super Moderator
Staff member
Poisoned Russian agent buried

:salam2:

Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian agent who died of radioactive poisoning, was buried today. The funeral was held according to Muslim rites, as the 43-year-old was a recent convert. British police are treating his death on November 23rd as murder. The probe has led investigators to Moscow where small traces of radiation have been found at the British Embassy. They are to interrogate a number of witnesses who met Litvinenko in London around the time he fell sick in early November. Among those is businessman and former Russian agent Alexander Lugovoy. He saw Litvinienko the day he fell terminally ill, but denies any involvement in his death. Lugovoy is also being checked for radiation contamination.

video:
http://www.euronews.net/create_html.php?page=detail_info&article=394804&lng=1&option=1
 

Muslim-

Junior Member
Funerals for Litvinenko at London mosque and cemetery
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2491810,00.html

The news came on the day that Litvinenko was buried in the same London graveyard as Karl Marx today after the Muslim prayer service that he asked for as he lay on his deathbed last month.

Around 50 of Litvinenko’s friends and family gathered for his burial at Highgate Cemetery in North London. Marx, the German father of Communism who also died in exile, is buried close by.

The mourners were led by Litvinenko's wife, Marina, and 12-year-old son Anatoly. Joining them in the rain was his father Walter, his mother Nina Belyavskaya and first wife Natalia, as well as friends Alex Goldfarb, the exiled Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky and the filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov.

Litvinenko’s dark-stained coffin was driven around the perimeter of the cemetery before being laid to rest at the burial site in a non-denominational service. The Health Protection Agency has been consulted on the necessary safety precautions for his coffin because his body remains radioactive.

Earlier, Walter Litvinenko joined mourners at the Central London mosque in Regent’s Park for a Muslim service dedicated to the former spy. His father says he converted to Islam shortly before his death, although some of his friends say he was simply sympathetic to the cause of Muslim Chechens.

But critics of President Vladimir Putin fear that the announcement that the Russian Prosecutor General’s office is to conduct its own investigation into both the Litvnenko and Kovtun cases could severely hamper the British one.

The move would allow suspects to be prosecuted in Russia. Officials previously have said that Russia would not extradite any suspects in the killing of Litvinenko, who died in London on November 23.

Several workers at the Millennium Hotel in London's Grosvenor Square where Litvinenko held a meeting also tested positive for low levels of polonium-210. Health officials are likely to ask anyone who was in the hotel's Pine Bar on 1 November to come forward.

In a statement written on his deathbed, Litvinenko, a 43-year-old former KGB officer, accused Mr Putin of being behind his poisoning, an accusation echoed once more by his father today.

On Monday, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, expressed worries that ties could be damaged if insinuations of high-level Russian involvement continued.

But today he insisted that political ties between Britain and Russia were not being affected by the investigation into the poisoning. He said: "The Scotland Yard investigation is not affecting the quality of Russia-Britain political relations."

A lawyer representing Mr Kovtun and Mr Kovtun, Andrei Romashov, emphasised that they were being treated "as witnesses". He disclosed that Mr Kovtun had also been interviewed briefly on Tuesday about his two trips to London.

A third Russian businessman, Vyacheslav Sokolenko, who also flew to London to watch a football match on November 1, is on the list of men British detectives want to meet.
 

Muslim-

Junior Member
Muslim prayers for Litvinenko
Thu Dec 7, 2006 6:20 PM GMT
Email This Article | Print This Article | RSS [-] Text [+] By Mark Trevelyan
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/art...ISONING-FUNERAL.xml&WTmodLoc=HP-C2-Business-2

LONDON (Reuters) - Huddled against the December chill, the wife and young son of Alexander Litvinenko led a small crowd of mourners on Thursday at a private London funeral while confusion surrounded his deathbed conversion to Islam.

Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky and separatist Chechen leader Akhmed Zakayev, two of the Kremlin's most outspoken exiled critics, were among the six pallbearers who lowered Litvinenko into his grave at Highgate cemetery in north London.

He was laid to rest two weeks after dying from radiation poisoning in a case that has revived echoes of the Cold War and raised tensions between London and Moscow.


Russia strongly denies Litvinenko's deathbed accusation that the Kremlin ordered him killed, and announced on the day of the funeral that it was opening its own murder inquiry, in parallel with a Scotland Yard police investigation which has taken London detectives to Moscow.

Litvinenko's father Walter spoke emotionally at the graveside and an Imam then performed Muslim rites.

CONVERSION CONTROVERSY

But there was controversy to the very end over Litvinenko's reported conversion to Islam shortly before his death.

"He asked to be buried in accordance with Muslim traditions and customs," Chechen rebel Zakayev, himself a Muslim, told Reuters on the eve of the funeral.

He said Litvinenko was disillusioned with the Russian Orthodox Church because, as a former security agent, he had seen how some priests collaborated with the KGB secret police by passing on details of churchgoers' confessions.

But another friend of Litvinenko, Alexander Goldfarb, said he had "strong reservations" about the deathbed conversion and that the graveside Muslim prayers were against the wishes of the dead man's widow, Marina.

"It was supposed to be a non-religious, non-denominational ceremony according to the wishes of the widow," Goldfarb said, adding that Marina had allowed the rites to go ahead to avoid an "unseemly situation".

Earlier, some of the mourners attended noon prayers at London's central mosque.


"Thank you to my son's brothers in faith that they remember him and pray for him," Walter Litvinenko said.

At the cemetery, Marina Litvinenko and the couple's 12-year-old son Anatoly led about 50 mourners to the graveside on a bleak, wet afternoon.

The man was brought up under Soviet Communism, became a state security agent then later turned into a fierce Kremlin critic. He was buried a few hundred yards (metres) from Communist founder Karl Marx.

It was a last strange twist for a man whose life, and death, are still full of unanswered questions.
 

Muslim-

Junior Member
Poisoned Russian spy takes secrets to his grave
By Anna Tomforde Dec 7, 2006, 15:49 GMT

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London - The first chapter in the increasingly entangled tale surrounding the death of Alexander Litvinenko closed Thursday as the former Russian spy took his secrets to his grave in a London cemetery where Karl Marx is buried.

Close friends and family gathered at Highgate West cemetery in North London to lay the 43-year-old to rest in a special airtight coffin, chosen to prevent the escape of the radioactive poison that killed the former KGB agent on November 23.

The dead man himself added another facet to the bizarre circumstances of his spy thriller life and death with the revelation that he had converted to Islam.

Accordingly, relatives and friends joined other Muslims for midday prayers in the Central London Mosque in Regent's Parks at lunchtime Thursday, before they proceeded to a 'private non-religious service' at the cemetery in the north London district where Litvinenko lived.

Litvinenko's aging father, Valter, his mother, Nina Belyavskaya, and his first wife, Natalia, were among some 30 relatives and friends who travelled from Russia to attend the funeral.

Litvinenko leaves behind his wife, Marina, and Anatoly, their 12- year-old son.

The mosque's Imam said a special prayer for the dead spy, the mosque's spokesman revealed.

'There was a funeral prayer at the end. The imam said a special passage from the Koran,' said Ghayasuddin Siddiqui.

He added that Litvinenko had converted to Islam soon after he fell ill from a large dose of polonium-210 in early November.

Among those present at the mosque, and the funeral, were Litivinenko's close friends, including former Chechen separatist Akhmed Zakayev, the exiled billionaire Boris Berezovsky, the filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov and a number of other London-based Kremlin critics.

Following his defection to London in 2000, Litvinenko became a protege of Berezovsky, the Russian tycoon who fell out with the Kremlin, and who believed that he owed his life to Litvinenko.

The former spy alleged publicly in Moscow in 1999 that he had been 'ordered to liquidate' Berezovsky in London.

The then head of the secret services that allegedly gave the order was Vladmir Putin, now the Russian President.

The murky circumstances of the death of Litvinenko appear to grow messier as the investigations continue.

Litvinenko, meanwhile, is bound to make some sort of history by the extraordinary circumstances of his radiation death - in peacetime, in the centre of a major western capital.


© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
 

Muslim-

Junior Member
Former Russia Spy Laid to Rest in London
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6265064,00.html
Thursday December 7, 2006 6:16 PM


AP Photo LMN107

By DAVID STRINGER

Associated Press Writer

LONDON (AP) - After a Muslim prayer service, ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko was laid to rest Thursday in a rain-swept funeral at London's Highgate Cemetery attended by a Russian tycoon, a Chechen rebel leader and other exiled Kremlin critics.

In Moscow, Russian prosecutors opened their own investigation into the former KGB agent's poisoning death, and a news agency reported that a key figure in the probe had fallen into a coma.

Self-exiled billionaire Boris Berezovsky, Chechen rebel envoy Akhmed Zakayev and some 50 mourners consoled Litvinenko's widow, Marina, and 12-year-old son, Anatoly. A single white rose was placed on his rain-splattered dark oak casket.

Lord John Rea, director of the Save Chechnya campaign, held up a picture of crusading Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, whose murder Litvinenko was investigating at the time of his fatal poisoning.

From his deathbed, Litvinenko blamed his fate on Russian President Vladimir Putin - a charge that Kremlin officials have called ``nonsense.'' Traces of highly radioactive polonium-210 were found in Litvinenko's body after his Nov. 23 death.

Scotland Yard on Wednesday said it was investigating his death as a homicide, and traces of radiation have been found at more than a dozen sites in Britain and on jetliners that flew between London and Moscow.

As the investigations proceeded in both London and Moscow, Britain's Health Protection Agency said seven workers at the Millennium Hotel, where Litvinenko met two Russians on the day he fell ill, have tested positive for ``low levels'' of polonium. The agency said the employees were working in the hotel's Pine Bar.

There was no risk to the workers' health in the short-term and little danger for the general public, the agency said.

The opening of a criminal case in Moscow would allow suspects in the Litvinenko case to be prosecuted in Russia. Officials there previously have said that Russia would not allow the extradition of any suspects in the death.

The Russian Prosecutor General's office also said it had opened a criminal investigation into the attempted killing of former agent Dmitry Kovtun, who met Litvinenko in the Millennium Hotel on Nov. 1, hours before the former spy fell fatally ill.

In the latest twist in the case, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that Kovtun fell into a coma immediately after being questioned by Russian investigators and Scotland Yard detectives in Moscow.

Doctors said Kovtun's condition was critical, Interfax reported. The report could not be immediately confirmed.

Russian authorities said earlier that Kovtun had developed an illness connected with polonium-210.

A scheduled interview with former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi, who was with Kovtun at the Millennium Hotel in London, was postponed, Lugovoi's lawyer told The Associated Press. Lugovoi said he would answer all the British investigators' questions, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Kovtun and Lugovoi have told reporters in Moscow that someone is trying to frame them in Litvinenko's death.

Lugovoi was at one point a bodyguard for former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, who also fell sick recently in Ireland with an illness that Russian doctors have been unable to diagnose. On Thursday, Britain's Financial Times and the Russian newspaper Vedomosti published a letter written by Gaidar with the headline: ``I was poisoned and Russia's political enemies were surely behind it.''

``Most likely ... some obvious or hidden adversaries of the Russian authorities stand behind the scenes of this event, those who are interested in further radical deterioration of relations between Russia and the West,'' Gaidar wrote in the letter.

Faint levels of polonium-210 had been found at two locations at London's Emirates Stadium, where Lugovoi and Kovtun attended a soccer game Nov. 1, officials said Wednesday.

The radiation was ``barely detectable'' and posed no public health risk, government health agency spokeswoman Katherine Lewis said.

Traces also were found at the British Embassy in Moscow, the Foreign Office said. Officials said the level was low and posed no risk to health.

Lugovoi is now hospitalized in Moscow for tests for possible radiation contamination.

Litvinenko, who criticized Putin's policies in Chechnya, reportedly had converted to Islam before his death, and some of the mourners were dressed in traditional Muslim robes. They left red flowers and an orange and yellow wreath at the stone gate of the famous cemetery where communist revolutionary Karl Marx is buried.

Earlier Thursday, Zakayev and Litvinenko's father, Walter, joined hundreds of Muslims who had gathered at London's Regent's Park Mosque for regular daily prayer to attend a memorial service, where the imam recited a funeral prayer.

``The imam said a special passage for him from the Quran,'' said Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, head of Britain's Muslim parliament.

Walter Litvinenko and Zakayev both insisted the former spy had converted to Islam on his deathbed, although some friends disputed the claim - saying he had merely expressed empathy with Chechen Muslims. Siddiqui said the mosque had been told Litvinenko converted to Islam 10 days before he was admitted to a hospital last month.

Vladimir Bukovsky, a friend and fellow Putin critic, said Litvinenko had asked that his body eventually be moved to Chechnya. The region in southern Russia is mostly Muslim and plagued by rebel attacks as well as violence blamed on federal troops and forces of the Moscow-backed Chechen government.

``On his deathbed, he asked to be buried when the war is over in Chechen soil,'' Bukovsky said. ``He was a fierce defender of Chechnya and critic of the Kremlin.''

Litvinenko's father told Radio Free Europe on Wednesday that his son had said he had converted to Islam two days before his death. Several friends also said the former agent had converted.

``It was a deeply personal thing, the result of a very intimate personal process, and there's absolutely no connection to his political views,'' said a Russian friend, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

He said the Litvinenko family had decided to hold a nonreligious burial because they feared an ``inevitable attempt by Litvinenko's enemies to portray him as an associate of Islamist extremists.''

Zakayev said that on the day before Litvinenko died, the former spy was visited in hospital by an imam, who read a Quranic verse traditionally said over the dying.

---

Associated Press Writers Jim Heintz in Moscow and Raphael Satter and Katie Fretland in London contributed to this story.
 

noreen9

New Member
salam


when i hear stories like this it makes me stronger in the belief of allah and islam as the true deen not that i dont believe init but makes me happy if you get what im trying to say inshallah but subhanallah allah guides whom he wills and none can be led astray and those whom are misguided non can guide them allah-hu akbar may allah guide the muslims aswell as the non muslims inshallah


waslam
 

zarah

Islam
Staff member
Assalamu Alaikum

:salam2:

Wow I just read this article in "Metro",I was gobsmacked!:SMILY335:

Mashallah that is great news.May Allah(Swt) bring us all to the straight path and protect us from evil.(Ammen)

Jazzak-Allah khair for sharing.

:wasalam: :arabi1:
 
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