BEIRUT: Lebanese reactions to the killing of Osama Bin Laden ranged from apathy to regret, with many questioning the validity of U.S. claims that the Al-Qaeda leader was dead.
A bearded man who was heading to a nearby mosque for prayers in the Msaitbeh neighborhood of Beirut lamented the killing of bin Laden, calling his death “a big loss for Muslims.”
“We are by his side. He used to fight the Jews and the infidels,” he said, declining to give his name.
Another man, who works in a nearby shop that sells Muslim outfits and accessories, was less outspoken in his support for bin Laden.
“We say ‘May God have mercy on him’ because he is a Muslim,” he noted. “If he did something good, he will be awarded after death.”
Future Movement MP Jamal Jarrah, whose nephew Ziad was among the 19-member group that carried out the September 11 attacks for which bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda is held responsible, told The Daily Star the Al-Qaeda leader was responsible for the deaths of many innocent people. He added that his nephew had been a “victim” of bin Laden’s ideology. “This dark thinking yields nothing for Islam and has nothing to do with this religion. Islam calls for tolerance,” he said.
Jarrah voiced hope that following the death of bin Laden, “the U.S. will reconsider its view of Islam and Muslims.”
Meanwhile, people in the Zkak al-Blat neighborhood were skeptical about bin Laden’s death.
“I do not believe he died. Where is his body?” asked a man sitting near a mosque in the area. “They said they buried his body in the sea. Is this believable? I think the aim of this announcement is to detract attention from what is happening in Bahrain.”
Omar, who owns a DVD shop in the same neighborhood expressed no interest in the matter. “Thousands of people are dying every day; why should I care for the death of a person like bin Laden?” he asked.
Elie Trad, who owns a grocery store in Gemmayzeh, said he had serious doubts about the death of bin Laden.
“I am always skeptical … They said they took his body. If this is true, then they should show his body so people believe them,” Trad said.
Although he said the killing of bin Laden had no effect on Lebanon because bin Laden lived far from the country, Trad added “that as long as there are people who have the same mentality as bin Laden’s, we cannot live peacefully in Lebanon.”
In Sidon, residents of the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, which is home to many Islamist groups and figures, were apathetic toward bin Laden’s killing, despite the fact that some Palestinian refugees in the camp welcomed the Sept. 11 attacks with celebratory gunfire. Bin Laden’s portraits are also often on display during demonstrations in the camp.
Officials from Islamist groups and many residents refused to speak to the media, saying only, “May God have mercy on him [bin Laden].”
Ahmad Abu Shaikha, a resident of the camp, told The Daily Star bin Laden was not very close to the Palestinian cause. “Is Osama bin Laden a Palestinian? Is he here? Pakistan is thousands of kilometers away from Ain al-Hilweh camp,” he said.
Um Mohammad Mustafa, a refugee in the camp who was buying vegetables from the market, said it would have been better if bin Laden “attacked Tal-Aviv and killed Israelis in September 2001 instead of attacking New York.”
In Tripoli, some residents told The Daily Star that the killing of bin Laden dealt a blow to “resistance against imperialism.” – With additional reporting by Mohammed Zaatari and Antoine Amrieh