Chennai Imam leads funeral prayers for Osama

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 7, 2011:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/chennai-imam-leads-funeral-prayers-for-osama/272136.html

CHENNAI: Stating that Osama Bin Laden was not an orphan and was one among the 170 crore Muslims, Chief Imam of the city-based Makkah Masjid on Friday conducted a 'janazah' prayer for Osama in which about 10,000 people participated.

Speaking to reporters after the funeral prayer, Moulana Shamsudeen Qasimi, Chief Imam of Makkah Masjid, said, "Without proving to the world that Osama bin Laden was really behind the twin-towers attack, the United States has killed him by portraying him as the world's most dreaded terrorist and buried him like an orphan."

"Osama was not an orphan and he was very much part of the 170 crore Muslim population living in the world, hence we organised a 'janazah' (funeral) prayer, as was the custom with every deceased Muslim," the Moulana added.

Had Osama been proved guilty and the government asked the public to punish him in the open on Mount Road, the first bullet to be fired on Osama should have been from a Muslim only, as Islam was against terrorism, he said.
"We feel that US president Barack Obama orchestrated the drama at Abbottabad to improve his diminishing popularity among US citizens, since elections in the country are fast approaching," Qasimi said.

When asked whether any permission was sought from local authorities to conduct the prayer, Qasimi said, "We never sought permission for the event as it would be held indoors. Moreover, we don't see any hurdle on that front as this very state allowed several condolence meetings for the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran, who was behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi."