A prominent religious leader known for allowing the Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic members to pray alongside other worshippers at his mosque in southern Kyrgyzstan has been killed in a security raid.

Muhammadrafiq Kamalov -- also known as Rafiq Qori Kamoluddin -- had defended his practice of allowing suspected members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir to worship at his mosque the town of Kara-Suu.

But authorities are describing Kamoluddin in death as a member of an Islamist terror group.

Official Version Of Events

A National Security Service official said today that the imam of Kara-Suu's Al-Sarahsiy Mosque was killed late on August 6 on the outskirts of the nearby city of Osh.

Nurbek Tokbaev from Kyrgyz Service said the counterterrorism raid was conducted in cooperation with security services from neighboring Uzbekistan.

Tokbaev described Kamoluddin as a "terrorist" and a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which has been blamed for a number of violent attacks on government targets. He said two other alleged IMU members were also killed in a firefight with authorities.

Tokbaev alleged that the "group of militants" was preparing to carry out a series of terrorist attacks in Kyrgyzstan. He inventoried items that officials claim Kamoluddin and the others had in their vehicle.
Popular Imam

Kamoluddin headed a mosque where up to 10,000 people gathered for Friday prayers. He was prominent not only in southern Kyrgyzstan, but also in neighboring countries.

His popularity was based in part on his stance over the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir group. Kamoluddin allowed members of Hizb ut-Tahrir to pray in his mosque. Yet he was also highly critical of the group, which seeks to establish Islamic rule through a caliphate.

In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL in May, Kamoluddin made his stance clear.

"Firstly, I am not a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir. I don't read their literature, and don't want to [read it]," Kamoluddin said. "There have been offers made to my family -- to my sons and daughters -- from Hizb ut-Tahrir, but I strictly forbid them [from joining]. But I also do not support the view that Hizb ut-Tahrir are terrorists, enemies of the government, or enemies of the people. And to those who say they aren't Muslims -- they are Muslims. They are a particular group, but they want Islam and they serve Islam."

Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir frequently came to his mosque from neighboring countries -- including Uzbekistan, which has jailed the highest number of suspected Hizb ut-Tahrir members.

Official Distrust

Authorities in Kyrgyzstan, where Hizb ut-Tahrir is outlawed, had questioned Kamoluddin several times in the past.

On May 24, Kamoluddin was reportedly detained and questioned by National Security Service forces. He said the officers told him they had evidence of his links to militants behind a deadly cross-incursion into Kyrgyzstan in May. Kamoluddin denied any links to the incident.

Security sources reportedly told him that a book by Kamoluddin, with his telephone number on the cover, had been found in the possession of militants. Kamoluddin had expressed surprise to a regional news agency, ferghana.ru, at being implicated in wrongdoing solely on the basis of a phone number scrawled on a book. He was released after questioning on May 25.

PHOTO CAPTION

Muhammadrafiq Kamalov.

RFE