Son of Oman's religious leader stabbed in dog dispute
Son of Oman's religious leader stabbed in dog dispute
Omar al-Khalili, son of Oman's grand mufti, was slashed with a knife outside a mosque after preventing an expatriate from entering the prayer hall with his dog.
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Oman's multi-denominational Muslim communities live peacefully [AFP]
The son of Oman's leading religious figure was recovering in hospital over the weekend after being attacked for preventing a dog from entering a mosque.
Omar al-Khalili suffered minor cuts to his arm and stomach after being involved in a fight with the dog's owner outside a Mawaleh mosque on Friday night.
Seventeen-year-old Khalili is the son of Grand Mufti Ahmed al-Khalili, the highest religious authority in the sultanate's dominant Ibadi Muslim community.
Another 17-year-old is about allegedly stabbing Khalili in the fight.
The expatriate had reportedly tried to enter a mosque, north of the capital Muscat, with his dog, an animal commonly seen as "unclean" by Muslims.
Khalili tried to bar the dog's entrance to the prayer hall before being involved in an altercation with the other owner.
Locals said that the dog has caused trouble before and regularly disturbs neighbours with its yelping.
The owner could face three years in jail if found guilty of the assault.
Oman is a Muslim majority country with large Ibadi and Sunni populations, and a smaller Shia community living mainly in Muscat.
The grand mufti is the head of Oman's Ibadi community and has proved controversial in the past. He has described gyms and health clubs as "dens of vice" and called for a ban on alcohol.
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