Arizona - USA: Valley's Muslim leaders hail death of bin Laden

"He was not a Muslim leader at all but rather a terrorist leader and mass murderer. And we being Muslims and Americans extremely rejoice that he has finally been brought to justice." [Latif Ahmed - Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Chandler]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: AZ Central | Pinal Counrt
By Daniel González | May. 3, 2011

Several Valley Muslim leaders on Monday rejoiced at the death of Osama bin Laden, calling the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks an evil person who did not represent the teachings of Islam.

"He was not a Muslim leader at all but rather a terrorist leader and mass murderer. And we being Muslims and Americans extremely rejoice that he has finally been brought to justice," said Latif Ahmed, president of the Phoenix-area chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Chandler.

Ahmed and other Muslim leaders said bin Laden's death dealt a major blow to al-Qaida and other extremists who use Islam as a basis for terrorism.



But they said they fear the threat, though reduced, has not been eliminated because other extremists will rise up.

The Muslims also had differing opinions on whether the U.S. should have followed Islamic procedures for handling bin Laden's remains, including washing the corpse, placing it in a white sheet and burying the body at sea.

Some said the U.S. was right to follow the procedures, though they pointed out that burial at sea is not customary unless the person dies at sea and cannot be returned quickly to land.

"If someone is dead, you pay respect to the dead, no matter how evil they were, we still bury them properly," said Anas Hlayhel, chairman of the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Others, however, said the U.S. should not have treated him with such respect.

"I was a bit offended as a Muslim that they thought he needed a Muslim burial," said Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.

"I think we need to be careful that sometimes being overly cautious in political correctness actually ends up appeasing militants about their faith."

Jasser, a Valley doctor and former Navy officer, founded the group in the wake of the terrorist attacks to counter mixing political issues with Islam to foment terrorism.

"There is nothing more offensive to me than this man and what he stands for, so I was elated that he was captured and killed," Jasser said.




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