By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter

Religious leaders on Thursday condemned the Iraq insurgent group responsible for the beheading of Kim Sun-il after it said Kim was murdered because he was Christian.

The group, known as Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Unification and Holy War), posted a message on its Web site on Thursday that suggested the killing was linked to Kim’s religion.

``We have killed an infidel who tried to propagate Christianity in Iraq,’’ the message read. ``This infidel studied theology and was preparing to become a missionary in the Islamic world.’’

But Islamic and Christian leaders in Seoul refused to accept that the murder had anything to do with faith.

Lee Haeng-lae, prayer leader at Korea Central Mosque in Itaewon, said true Muslims would never kill a person because he or she was Christian. ``I’m sure that they did not kill Kim Sun-il just because he was Christian,’’ he said ``Muslims are understanding of other religions like Christianity and Buddhism.’’

Lee, whose mosque received threatening phone calls after Kim was found beheaded on June 22, was also determined that the insurgents’ claim would not trigger religious hatred.

Rev. Hong Keun-soo, former pastor at Hyangrim Presbyterian Church, agreed with Lee, saying: ``I don’t think this is a conflict between Christianity and Islam.’’

Hong said the violence in Iraq is politically motivated and the blame for it lay with political leaders. ``Christianity is a very pacifist religion, like Islam.’’

Kim, a 33-year-old interpreter who worked for a South Korean firm supplying goods to the U.S. military in Iraq, was killed after the South Korean government rejected his kidnappers’ demand to rescind its planned troop dispatch to the Middle Eastern country.

Like other attacks on foreign nationals in Iraq, Kim’s murder was seen as an attempt to frighten the government into withdrawing its support for the U.S.-led campaign. Thursday’s Internet posting comes more than three weeks after the beheading and is the first indication that the murder was religiously motivated.

In the message, the terrorist group also accused Cana General Trading Co., Kim’s employer, of Christian affiliations, attacking its policy of donating 10 percent of its profits to missionary work.

The Web site posted pictures of Kim before and after he was beheaded. One of them shows Kim’s head lying on the floor.

The Web site is blocked in South Korea.

Tawhid wa al-Jihad, allegedly led by al-Qaida operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, has claimed responsibility for a series of murders and attacks in Iraq, including the recent slaying of an interim governor and the beheading of American Nick Berg.

rjs@koreatimes.co.kr