Dead Russian spy to be buried as a Muslim

Timesonline ^ | December 4, 2006 | Philippe Naughton

[BMC1]

Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian intelligence agent poisoned in London, is to be buried according to Muslim tradition after converting to Islam on his deathbed.

The spy's father, Walter Litvinenko, said in an interview published today that his son - who was born an Orthodox Christian but had close links to Islamist rebels in Chechnya - made the request as he lay dying in University College Hospital.

"He said ’I want to be buried according to Muslim tradition’," Mr Litvinenko told Moscow's Kommersant daily.

"I said, ’Well son, as you wish. We already have one Muslim in our family - my daughter is married to a Muslim. The important thing is to believe in the Almighty. God is one.’"

Nine Scotland Yard detectives were preparing to fly to Moscow as early as today to speak to witnesses who met Litvinenko around the time of his poisoning, which is believed to have happened on November 1 at a sushi restaurant in Piccadilly.

The Russian foreign ministry confirmed today that visas had been issued to the investigators and the prosecutor-general's office also offered "to provide all necessary help to British colleagues within the framework of international agreements and the law of the Russian Federation".

[MadIvan]

This article is not posted in complete form - following the link, the headline is as follows:

British police arrive in Moscow to hunt for spy death clues

The quote about his deathbed conversion is also not quite right - see this link:

"He said ’I want to be buried according to Muslim tradition’," Mr Litvinenko told Moscow's Kommersant daily.

We have no independent verification from non-Russian sources to say that this is true.

Ivan

[Retief]

How can Muslim religion be so attractive?

You get to have up to four wives if you're Muslim. Sounds pretty darn attractive if you're a man.