// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Controversial Islamic cleric shot dead in northern Nigeria
Yahaya Masussuka was awarded a peace prize last year by Nigeria's Network for Good Governance and Transparency
A controversial Islamic cleric in Nigeria has been murdered outside his home in the northern state of Katsina.
Two assailants arrived on a motorcycle and shot Yahaya Masussuka in the town of Dutsin-Ma as he was saying goodbye to visitors on Monday evening, sources told the BBC.
The 47-year-old preacher and one of his guests, who was also shot, were rushed to hospital but both were pronounced dead by the attending doctor, police said.
It is not clear why Masussuka was targeted, but the cleric had received death threats on social media where he posted videos in which he rejected some elements of mainstream Islam, including what happens to people after their death.
It is widely believed in Islam that a person's soul will be questioned in the grave by two angels. If they answer correctly, their soul sleeps peacefully until the day of judgement - if not it will be tormented.
This understanding comes from what is known as the Hadith, a collection of texts believed to be the spoken words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.
This serves as a key source of Islamic knowledge to help interpret the Quran, the central religious text of Islam.
But Masussuka based his teachings mainly on what was in Islam's holy book, questioned some of the hadiths - and did not believe that the dead were reawakened and questioned.
He was once jailed for nine months because he teased some respected scholars over their belief in this hadith and other teachings.