Asia-Pacific

Filipino Muslims condemn bin Laden killing

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-06 16:39

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine police have stopped a march on the US Embassy by dozens of Muslims protesting the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Officers used anti-riot shields to push back the marchers from Manila's main mosque before they reached the boulevard leading to the seaside embassy compound after Friday's noon prayers. The protesters later dispersed peacefully.

Protest leader and Islamic cleric Alim Jamil Yahya says he condemns the "brutal killing" of bin Laden and describes the al-Qaida founder's burial at sea as a desecration of his body.

He says that although many Muslims did not agree with bin Laden's methods, they still revered as a martyr because he fought for freedom against oppression by "the satanic US hegemony."