Requiem held For Bin Laden In Sudan

Remember how Obama told us Osama is not representative of the Muslim world, yet he gave Osama an Islamic burial?

Well, if Osama is not representative of the Muslim world at large, apparently, he is representative of at least three countries; Pakistan (where he was, apparently, hidden from our view with the knowledge of the government), Sudan and Kenya:

(Memri) A requiem for Osama bin Laden was held yesterday in Khartoum, the Sudan capital, by three organizations, One of the organizations is headed by the extremist Islamist Al-Tayeb Mustafa, leader of the Just Peace Forum and uncle of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.

During the prayers, the worshipers called bin Laden a "martyr" and shouted "Khabar, Khabar, oh Jews, the army of Muhammad will return (referring to the battle of Khabar, in which Muhammad killed 100 local Jews). The demonstrators also demanded that the street on which the U.S. Embassy is located be renamed after bin Laden.

In his sermon during the event, Abu Zaid Muhammad Hamza, leader of the Salafi organization Ansar Al-Sunna Al-Muhammadiyya, expressed hope that all the Muslim leaders would be like bin Laden. Islamist oppositionist Hassan Al-Turabi said that he was saddened by the death of his "friend" bin Laden even though he disagreed with his path. 

Hmmmm...."expressed hope that all the Muslim leaders would be like bin Laden"The religion of peace.

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• Reactions to Killing of Osama Bin Laden: Arab Criticism of Osama Bin Laden's Assassination.(Memri).It is noteworthy that Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Al-'Arabi said the Egyptian government had "no official response to the event," adding that Egypt opposed all forms of violence in international relations. In contrast, there were also responses condemning the assassination, threatening revenge, and expressing skepticism that bin Laden had, in fact, been killed. This report will focus on these reactions.

The Killing of Bin Laden – An American Act of Terrorism .

Isma'il Haniya, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, was the first, and so far the only, Arab leader to condemn the operation. He said: "We believe that this continues an American policy that is based on oppression and on the shedding of Arab and Muslim blood. Regardless of the different views in Arab and Islamic circles, we, of course, condemn the assassination or killing of a Muslim mujahid and an Arab. We pray for Allah to cover him with His mercy, next to the prophets, the righteous, and the martyrs."

Isma'il Al-Ashkar of Hamas, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, characterized the killing of bin Laden as "state terrorism that has been perpetrated against Muslims by America, which could have apprehended [bin Laden] and brought him to a just trial. With this crime, [America] has harmed itself and provoked Islam and the Muslims." He added that though Hamas and bin Laden had not seen eye to eye on all issues, Hamas nevertheless regarded him as "an ascetic and a mujahid who, though he was a billionaire, preferred to fight the Russians alongside his Afghan brothers..."

Ibrahim Al-Amin, board chairman of the pro-Syrian Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to Syria and Hizbullah, harshly condemned bin Laden's killing and the Arab reactions that welcomed it. He wrote: "...I cannot stand the criminals in the palaces and military bases in the West gloating over the man's death, or their counterparts across the world... I consider this man, with his mistakes and severity, to be the rival who gave these murderers insomnia – [these murderers] who were brought to power by stupid, hostile, and oppressing peoples. These peoples deserve to be harmed, because of the leaders, commanders, and spokesmen they elected. There is no place and no need right now for logic as long as we are dealing with the madness of those who continue to kill us anytime, anywhere. As far as they are concerned, no one deserves to live except for their own families, which are as filthy as they are, and except for anyone who agrees to be a wretched servant in their palaces…

"I feel revulsion at the American president's smiling face... The Americans fire weapons outside their territory only to kill innocents... They were overcome by fear when they attacked, shot at, and killed [bin Laden], and [then] examined him to verify their crime. They didn't want him to have [a grave] that would become a shrine... [so] they threw him into the sea... Don't these fools know that killing only causes [more] killing?..."

Bin Laden Was Not Buried in Accordance with the Shari'a

Much criticism was voiced regarding the manner of bin Laden's burial. Senior clerics, such as Egyptian Mufti Dr. 'Ali Gum'a and Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, claimed that Islam forbids burial at sea and requires that bodies be buried in the earth. The vice president of Al-Azhar University, Dr. Taha Abu Kuraisha, said that the casting of bin Laden's body into the sea was tantamount to mutilating his corpse.

In his column in the London-based daily Al-Hayat, Daoud Al-Shiryan, editor of the Alarabiya.net website, questioned the U.S. claim that bin Laden had been given a proper Islamic burial: "Sources from the Pentagon said that [the Americans had] adhered to all the rules of Islam in performing the prayers over bin Laden's body, but did not mention any details regarding the ritual cleansing of the body. Was the body washed by a Muslim?... It would seem that it was not, since the body was torn to shreds or burned, or because there was not enough [fresh] water, as the washing took place aboard a ship... The statement discussed the details of the prayers [said over bin Laden's body], and said that an officer had recited the prayers [in English], which were [then] translated to Arabic. We do not know why the translator himself did not recite the prayers himself, if he is fluent in Arabic. Perhaps the officer was a Muslim and the translator was not! If this were the case, how did they permit the translator to attend the prayers, and how many people recited the prayers over body?"

Bin Laden's Killing Exposes the U.S. as Unjust

Many writers asked why the Americans had not brought bin Laden to trial, arguing that this was further proof of America's unjust behavior. 'Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan, editor of the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, wrote: "Civilized countries that adhere to the law and to the principle of a fair and independent trial do not kill all of their enemies, and even if they do kill them, they do not cast their bodies into the sea. It was infuriating after the assassination to hear the American president declare that justice had been done."

In another article, 'Atwan wrote: "That U.S. President Barack Obama allowed an unarmed man to be killed is evidence that he is not the president of a democratic country that respects human rights and is committed to law and justice. [Rather], the man is the leader of a gang that specializes in killing, kidnapping, and terrorism. In a country of law and order, criminals or terrorists, and all those who break the law, are arrested and brought to justice in court... That is what the Allies did in the Nuremberg Trials against the Nazis, who killed more than 40 million people during the Second World War. I do not think that Sheikh Osama bin Laden is more dangerous than they [were]. Was his barbaric treatment the result of being an Arab and a Muslim?... Al-Qaeda's leader was assassinated to prevent him from being brought to trial, and this was done for the same reason that the U.S. refuses to release Tareq 'Aziz, Iraq's former deputy prime minister and foreign minister... It is afraid that during the trial, secrets will be exposed about the U.S. and its invasion of Afghanistan, and even about its clandestine role in 9/11..."

Saudi academic and journalist Dr. Malik Al-Ahmad also discussed what he called the American double standard: "The killing of bin Laden – if it proves to be true... indicates the moral, ideological, and judicial bankruptcy of the U.S. – which [claims to] adhere to human rights, justice, and respect. The scenario [presented by the U.S.], if it is accurate, is the height of contempt for Muslims, their values, and all they deem sacred... This screenplay, if accurate, is the best possible proof of America's barbarism..."

Syrian columnist Ziad Abu Shawish wrote in the daily Al-Watan, under the heading "The U.S. Celebrates The Murder And Proves Its 'Humaneness'": "On a daily basis, the U.S. incites to killing everywhere, which has created a culture that brought thousands of Americans into the streets to celebrate the killing of Sheikh bin Laden and others – in spite of everything that can be said about the vengeance that their Christian religion opposes..."

Bin Laden's Killing Will Only Increase the Violence

Alongside the condemnations, there were also threats about possible retaliation against the U.S. and the West by terrorist organizations. A senior member of the Egyptian organization Al-Jama'a Al-Islamiyya, Osama Mustafa Hassan Nasser, known as Sheikh Abu 'Omar Al-Masri, said that, by assassinating bin Laden the U.S. had "dug its own grave," because the act would open the gates of Hell and expose it to the revenge of the Muslims.

The Root of Terrorism Is U.S. Policy, Not Bin Laden

Another recurring claim was that the U.S. and Israel were the cause and the root of terrorism, so bin Laden's death would not stop this phenomenon. Al-Azhar Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayeb wrote that terrorism would not end because it stemmed from Israel's acts of oppression. Hafez Al-Barghouti, editor-in-chief of the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, wrote: "...The future of the Arab world is greater extremism, rather than moderateness, because Arab moderateness is greeted by the West with contempt. Bin Laden's killing will not lead to Al-Qaeda's dissolution, because he has become an emblem for the [terrorist] organizations. Al-Qaeda cells are dispersed throughout the world, and he has not been their [actual] leader for years. Al-Qaeda and [organizations] like it can be routed out only by eliminating the root causes [for their existence], which are still there and are in fact proliferating. As long as imperialist terrorism continues, Al-Qaeda will find excuses to be present... Bin Laden is not the only terrorist; he is part of an array with many components, which includes states, parties and [even] regimes that claim to be democratic..."

The U.S. Has Not Presented Evidence of Bin Laden's Death

Some writers cast doubt on the veracity of the report of bin Laden's death, claiming that the U.S. was lying regarding the unfolding of the operation and its results. Al-Quds Al-Arabi editor 'Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan wrote: "There is increasing doubt over the credibility of the official American account of the assassination of Al-Qaeda commander Sheikh Osama bin Laden... As of this writing, the American administration has yet to produce a single reliable piece of evidence that the Al-Qaeda commander has been killed. The doubts peaked when it was claimed that the body was 'buried' at sea, on the pretext that neither his native Saudi Arabia nor any other Islamic country had agreed to bury him on its soil.

"This administration is lying. I have not heard a single Islamic country confirm that the American administration phoned to propose that the body be buried on its soil. There are some 60 Islamic countries in the world; contacting them [all] on this issue would have taken several days. The burial – or, more accurately, throwing the body to the sharks – took place within hours of [Bin Laden's] assassination. Why the rush? Why not wait a few days or even weeks?... It is very difficult to believe a single detail of the American story – it is full of contradictions and – I don't hesitate to say it – lies. Is it conceivable that a man who fought the Soviets for 10 years and the Americans for more than 15 years, and who emphasized on more than one occasion that he aspired to die a martyr, and who more than once stressed that he strove for martyrdom, would use his wife as a human shield to protect himself?...

Syrian columnist 'Issa Al-Ayyoubi likewise doubted the American account: "Perhaps bin Laden died or was killed some time ago, and the U.S. discovered it... It was [the U.S.] that created him and made him a hero, and now it is 'creating' his death and making a big deal of it. But the official American account convinces no one, except for those who applaud American stories and films..."

Columnist Hazem Al-Hadidi wrote in the Egyptian Al-Akhbar: "There is no convincing proof that the U.S. killed bin Laden and buried him in the depths of the sea. The only thing we can be sure of is that bin Laden is in America's hands, and perhaps it is now interrogating him, trying to extract secrets about Al-Qaeda. The story that he was killed and buried at sea is a lowly and dubious propaganda film... [America] is concerned about what his supporters might do if they knew he was alive, and that is why it invented the media story about killing him and burying him at sea..."Hmmmmm.......And this latter might be the worst...just imagine that they believe that the US is holding their beloved 'hero' Osama Bin Laden alive as a captive?Read the full story here.