Geelani termed Osama ‘Martyr’
SRINAGAR: Syed Ali Shah Geelani Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader asked people to hold funeral prayers on Friday for Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda who was shot dead in Pakistan on May 2 by a US Navy team.
A Hurriyat spokesman said in a statement, on Friday afternoon Geelani has appealed to Imams and people to hold funeral prayers in absentia for bin Laden after Friday prayers.
Terming him a ‘martyr’, Geelani said bin Laden was not just one person but “he represented a thinking which opposed foreign occupational forces”.
“His heart bore the pain of the entire Muslim Ummah (community). He gave up his life of comfort to fight for their cause,” the statement said.
The separatist leader said he wanted to participate in the funeral prayers but he has been placed under house arrest by the police since Thursday morning.
