Radicals Name Osama's Watery Grave 'Martyr's Sea'

Obama shrugs off criticisms burial was disrespectful
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted May 6, 2011 10:25 AM CDT
Radicals Name Osama bin Laden's Watery Grave 'Martyr's Sea'
The USS Carl Vinson, the ship that buried Osama bin Laden at sea, is seen in this Jan. 18, 2010 file photo.   (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Daniel Barker)

The administration has said it buried Osama bin Laden at sea in part so devotees wouldn’t have a shrine to flock to—but that may have backfired. Radicals are now calling the entire Arabian Sea “Martyr’s Sea,” according to the Muslim Chaplain of Cambridge University. “Given Muslim ideas of holiness diffusing over large areas, it is possible that a pilgrimage will develop as radicals stand on beaches contemplating the virtues of their dead hero,” he said, according to the Daily Mail.

He added that Muslim scholars have criticized the sea burial as “religiously improper.” Barack Obama responded to such criticism in a 60 Minutes interview that will air Sunday. “We took more care on this than, obviously, bin Laden took when he killed 3,000 people,” Obama said, according to Reuters. “He didn’t have much regard for how they were treated and desecrated.” He said the White House had consulted with Islamic law experts to determine a “respectful” burial. (More Barack Obama stories.)

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