Nobody wanted Osama bin Laden’s body, so he was buried at sea in an unorthodox move that local Islamic leaders and scholars say was the last choice left.

U.S. officials have said that bin Laden’s body was handled according to Islamic ritual, which included washing the body, wrapping it in a shroud and reciting prayers over the body. The body was dropped into the northern Arabian Sea because no country was willing to accept the remains.

Typically, a Muslim’s body is buried at sea only if the person dies on a ship and can not be buried underground in a timely manner, said Imam Talal Eid of the Islamic Institute of Boston.

“I would say there were no other options available except this way,” Eid said. He said the three essential steps leading up to burial were followed.

Jabbar Al-Obaidi, a Bridgewater State College professor and coordinator of the school’s Middle East studies program, said bin Laden’s death was “an extremely exceptional case” — his citizenship had been revoked from his native country and no one else wanted his body for burial.

“(Bin Laden) was murderous. I don’t know how Muslim ritual would apply to him, honestly,” he said.

He said a body must be buried within 24 hours of death. Though he called it unheard of in Muslim culture to bury someone at sea, he believes it was the right decision.

“It would not really make a difference how he was buried, but I strongly support those countries who said, ‘We don’t want him to be buried in our land,’ ” Eid said.

Source : Boston Herald