While American’s are rejoicing over the news of the death of Osama bin Laden, the Muslim world is reeling because of his alleged burial. Muslim tradition allows burial at sea, though only in one circumstance: the deceased must have died at sea, far from a coastline.

According to the religion, if the deceased passes at sea but close to a shoreline, it is customary for the body to be returned to land for a proper burial. If they die on land, it is unheard of to dump the body in water.

Intentionally or not, this act could provoke otherwise passive Muslims. The United States government has claimed that it followed Muslim tradition in cleansing the body before disposing of it. While this may be true, the fact is many Muslims feel their religion has been disrespected.

Interestingly, there is a small faction of Muslims who can conceivably understand how the U.S. made their decision. Islam law is the law of Muslims, however, according to their religion, any of the laws can be overlooked in an emergency situation.

Eating pork is not acceptable for Muslims, yet if one were starving to death, it would be considered acceptable. From the United States’ point of view, if they were unable to find a nation willing to accept bin Laden’s corpse to bury it within the given 24 hour timeframe, it could be understood why a burial at sea would be deemed necessary. However, there is a feeling in the Muslim world that finding a nation to bury him in land wouldn’t have been too difficult.

Osama Bin Laden Death Anf Burial Controvers