© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

After slaughtering a Muslim-turned-Christian, Islamic extremists have reportedly returned the man's body to his Palestinian family in four pieces.

According to a report from the Barnabas Fund, the newly converted man left his friends and family earlier this month bound for a mountainous region of the Palestinian Authority area. He reportedly took Christian material with him – videos, cassette tapes and a Bible. After approximately 10 days, the body of the man, who left behind a wife and two small children, was returned to his home, having been cut into four pieces. The family believes the act was meant a warning to other Muslims who might consider becoming Christians.

The Barnabas Fund is withholding further details about the story due to concern for the safety of the family.

The organization records incidents of Christian persecution in the Holy Land and elsewhere, and works for changes in the way Islam is taught. Under Muslim sharia law, any male who leaves Islam faces the death penalty.

According to the Barnabas Fund, local Christians working to support converts from Islam report that Islamic militants in the Palestinian Authority area deliberately target converts. The terror group Hamas reportedly receives funding from Iran specifically for this purpose.