Osama bin Laden's death may have been only the third time the New York Times actually stopped their presses, but maybe they should go for four, because Glenn Beck and many Muslims both agree that the terrorist shouldn't have been given a burial at sea. Perhaps a good bronzing would have been more appropriate?
Counterterrorism adviser John Brennan told the Times, “The disposal of — the burial of Bin Laden’s remains was done in strict conformance with Islamic precepts and practices." But Beck gave his own fantasy about what to do with bin Laden's body, saying, "I really would have put this guy in a meat grinder with a pig," and complained that he got a "dignified burial at sea." And the Muslim family of a maintenance worker killed on 9/11 agrees. Son Sal Gjonbalaj said, "If you ask me, he didn't even deserve to be washed or wrapped [in accordance with Islamic law]. I hope they dropped him in shark-infested waters...Just consider all the 9/11 victims whose remains still haven't been identified. They didn't get a proper burial. Why should he?"
Many Muslims are also hoping bin Laden's death would change America's perception of the religion. "I look forward to the day when someone doesn't look at my daughter wearing a hijab and categorize her," said Mohammad Razvi, founder of the Council of Peoples Organization. Khalid Latif, a Muslim chaplain for the NYPD, said, "He was setting a precedent that was violent. Now that he's gone, Muslims won't have to say why Islam's not bad. They can talk about why it's good."
On the other hand, some say bin Laden's burial wasn't at all "dignified." Abdul-Sattar al-Janabi, of Baghdad's Abu Hanifa mosque, told the Post the burial was not performed in accordance with sharia law: "What was done... is forbidden by Islam and might provoke some Muslims." Of course, some of them are also provoked by cartoons, so there's probably no pleasing them anyway.
