School denies American shot in Yemen proselytized

SANAA - Associated Press

The car of an American teacher who was shot dead by gunmen linked to al Qaeda is being towed after the attack in the southern Yemeni city of Taiz March 18, 2012. REUTERS photo

The school employing an American teacher gunned down in Yemen has denied accusations that he was proselytizing Christianity.

A text message that circulated by mobile phone in Yemen said that "holy warriors" had killed "a senior missionary" in the central city of Taiz, shortly after the teacher was shot dead Sunday by two gunmen on a motorcycle.

It was impossible to confirm the claim of responsibility. Al-Qaida and other militant groups are active in Yemen, which has suffered a breakdown of central state authority during the country's yearlong uprising.
Taiz security director Ali al-Saidi said Monday that the investigation is still ongoing.

A statement from the International Training Development Centre in Taiz identified the victim as Joel Shrum, an American development worker living in Yemen with his wife and two children since 2010.

The school denied that Shrum was proselytizing, saying that he "highly respected" Islam. It said Muslims and Christians work together on "human development, skill transfer and community development" projects there and that religious and political debates are not permitted.

The release said the school "is calling on the Yemeni people to rise up and rejects the hatred and violence in their country."