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Arab World: Where Some Are Mourning Osama Bin Laden

Categories: Middle East & North Africa, Bahrain, Kuwait, Breaking News, International Relations, Politics, Religion, War & Conflict

This post is part of our special coverage The Death of Osama Bin Laden [1].

A tweet in Arabic saying that a million Bin Ladens will now rise

A tweet in Arabic saying that a million Bin Ladens will now rise

The end of Al Qaeda's Saudi leader Osama Bin Laden was met with tributes and remembrance by many users on Twitter from across the Arab world. Here is a sample of tweets from users in Bahrain and Kuwait, who say that Bin Laden may have died but his ideology will live on.

These reactions express the views of the people I quote and are not representative of the entire Arab world, where views cover a wide spectrum, from joy to disbelief.

Kuwaiti Mubarak Al Bathaali tweets [2] [ar]:

ان كان توفاه الله ففي أمة محمد ألف أسامه وان دين الاسلام لا يتوقف لأجل رجل إنما هذه الامة يتوارثها الابطال على مر السنين منذ عهد رسول الله
If he had died, then (Prophet) Muhammad's Ummah (Islamic community) has another 1,000 Osamas. The Islamic religion will not stop with one man. This is an ummah which has been inherited by heroes over generations, from the times of the Prophet.

Still in Kuwait, Dr Sajed Al Abadli adds [3] [ar]:

أسامه بن لادن ليس شخصا.. أسامه بن لادن فكرة.. مات الشخص.. هل ماتت الفكرة؟
Osama bin Laden is not a person. Osama bin Laden is an ideology. A person has died… did the ideology die too?

And Nabil Al Awadhy adds [4] [ar]:

قد نختلف مع بعض أفكار ابن لادن لكن أسأل الله أن يغفر له ويرحمه ويتقبله في الشهداء أما الجهاد الشرعي فهو ماض إلى يوم الدين
We may differ with some of Bin Laden's ideas but I ask Allah to forgive him and have mercy on his soul and welcome him as a martyr. As for the legitimate Jihad (war), it will continue until the Day of Judgement.

Moving on to Bahrain, Fatima Buhassan notes [5] [ar]:

ربما سقط بن لادن لكنه رفع الملايين ممن زرع فيهم روح الجهاد ليصبح هناك مليون بن لادن في هذا العالم ليسقط أمثال أوباما
Bin Laden may have died but he has created millions, whom he gave the spirit of Jihad (Islamic holy war) to create a million Bin Laden's in this world, who are able to overthrow the likes of Obama

Fellow Bahraini Mubarak Mattar adds [6] [ar]:

مع اختلافنا مع القاعدة إلاأننا نفخربموت رجل مسلم استطاع أن يهز العالم في وقت لم تستطع كل الجيوش العربية ذلك #OBL
With all our differences with Al Qaeda, we are proud of the death of a Muslim man who was able to shake the world at a time all the Arab armies united couldn't do that

and he continues [7] [ar]:

رحمة الله عليك يا اسامة .. لن افرح لمقتلك .. أنت الوحيد الذي قلت لا في زمن قالت العرب نعم ! #Osama #Binladen
May Allah have mercy on you Osama. I wasn't happy for your death .. you are the only one who said “No” in an era where the Arabs said “Yes.”

Still in Bahrain, Dr Adel Abdulla notes [8] [ar]:

ابن لادن ليس شخصا بل ظاهرة، وقتله سيفرخ منه آلافا، وأمريكا تستقطب عداوة البشرية بامتياز، وموت الشخص لا يميت الفكرة والأيديولوجيا
Bin Laden is not a human being but a phenomena. His death may make thousands happy and the US attracts the hate of humanity with excellence. The death of one person does not kill the idea or the ideology
Screen shot of the We are all Osama bin Laden page on Facebook [9]

Screen shot of the 'We are all Osama bin Laden' page on Facebook.

Meanwhile on Facebook, pages of support like We are all Osama bin Laden [9] have popped up.

Stay tuned for more reactions on this story from across the Middle East and North Africa.

This post is part of our special coverage The Death of Osama Bin Laden [1].