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AKARTA: The Islam Defenders Front (FPI) held a memorial on Wednesday evening to pay tribute to Osama bin Laden, who was recently killed in a US intelligence operation in Pakistan.

Members of the FPI held prayers for Bin Laden at the group’s headquarters in Petamburan, West Jakarta. The prayers were led by the organization’s chair, Habib Rizieq Shihab.

FPI Jakarta chair Habib Salim Umar Alatas said that Bin Laden was a hero to him and his followers.

In spite of the memorial, Salim said that the FPI did not believe that Bin Laden had perished in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operation. “If [Osama] was indeed shot dead, then show us his corpse,” Salim said as quoted by vivanews.com.

Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Mustafa Kamal said he could understand that members of the FPI wanted to hold a memorial for Bin Laden.

“These are members of the community expressing their convictions. This reflects a protest against US government policies that violate the law,” the PKS chair at the House of Representatives said as quoted by detik.com. — JP