Free Republic

DUBAI: The burial at sea of Osama bin Laden “demeaned and humiliated” his family, the sons of the slain Al-Qaeda founder have said, while accusing US President Barack Obama for obliterating a defenceless family. Eldest son Omar bin Osama bin Laden, speaking on behalf of his brothers, issued a statement disclosed by US monitoring group SITE Intelligence on Tuesday, a day after it was posted on jihadist websites. “It is unacceptable — humanely and religiously — to dispose of a person with such importance and status among his people, by throwing his body into the sea in that way, which...

Islamic scholars and clerics were divided Monday over whether it was appropriate for American forces to bury Osama bin Laden at sea, a decision that added an ambiguous coda to a life that had been clouded in ambiguity and secrecy over the past decade. Bin Laden, who left a legacy of death and destruction upon sites around the world, has no final burial place. American officials on Monday stressed that the sea burial was arranged according to Islamic custom, but some clerics objected that Bin Laden should have been buried on land in a simple grave.

CAIRO (AP) — Muslim clerics said Monday that Osama bin Laden's burial at sea was a violation of Islamic tradition that may further provoke militant calls for revenge attacks against American targets. Although there appears to be some room for debate over the burial — as with many issues within the faith — a wide range of Islamic scholars interpreted it as a humiliating disregard for the standard Muslim practice of placing the body in a grave with the head pointed toward the holy city of Mecca. Sea burials can be allowed, they said, but only in special cases where...