Murder
On November 10, 1994, Suleiman Adam Musa, a known religious fanatic had gone into the club with intent to kill, under the pretense that he was delivering post to some singers. Khojali, who had been closest at hand to him along with another artist, Abdel Gadir Salim, were the random subjects of his attack. The latter survived. Official spokespeople for the authorities dubbed the killer as a 'mad man', although this was debated because Musa had held a 10 minute conversation with Salem, one of his subjects in which he appeared perfectly sane, whilst he had also carried the traits of not a mad man, but of a reasonably sane extremist. He called Allah Akbar (God is Great), and declared himself a mujahid as he carried out the stabbings.
The incident sparked great emotions in the hearts of the Sudanese who believed that the 'mad-man' had acted under the guidance of the fanatical government.
Unlike some other Sudanese artists who had openly resisted the oppression of the government that had controlled media transmission to prevent popular love songs that were not about love for one's country or religion from being aired, Khojali remained mutual. Regardless of this, he is the first artist to have been killed in a politically motivated attack in the country’s history.
It was revealed after the attack that Musa had intended to harm the Sudanese artist, Mohammed Wardi, who was famed for his bold and free opposition of the government. Upon finding him away in London to promote his latest release, Musa lashed out on Khojali, and Salem as the random alternatives.
Read more about this topic: Khojali Osman
Famous quotes containing the word murder:
“I walk toward one of our ponds; but what signifies the beauty of nature when men are base? We walk to lakes to see our serenity reflected in them; when we are not serene, we go not to them. Who can be serene in a country where both the rulers and the ruled are without principle? The remembrance of my country spoils my walk. My thoughts are murder to the State, and involuntarily go plotting against her.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The horror of Gandhi’s murder lies not in the political motives behind it or in its consequences for Indian policy or for the future of non-violence; the horror lies simply in the fact that any man could look into the face of this extraordinary person and deliberately pull a trigger.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)
“Anybody who’s been through a divorce will tell you that at one point ... they’ve thought murder. The line between thinking murder and doing murder isn’t that major.”
—Oliver Stone (b. 1946)