Moscow Patriarchate joins Vatican in denouncing celebrations at Bin Laden’s death

(April 04, 2011) The Moscow Patriarchate has joined the Vatican in warning against rejoicing over the death of Osama bin Laden, who was killed on 1st May by the US-led operation. "The Russian Orthodox Church does not share the joy that we have seen in some countries”, Archpriest Georgy Roschin, deputy head of the Patriarchate's department for relations between the Church and society told Interfax. He said “Whoever dies, be he the greatest evil or the greatest terrorist, he will be judged by God alone." The priest does not see the killing of the head of al Qaeda as solving the problem of terrorism itself. He said "The main issue is making the right decisions and celebrating achievements aimed at resolving the problem in general and not removing a member of a group terrorist”. However, the reaction of the supreme mufti, the spiritual authority of the of the Muslims of Central Russia, Talgat Tudzhuddin, has been the opposite. He said he was delighted at the killing of the sheikh of terror. "This is the only way to deal with international terrorism," said the Muslim leader. “Now we must think about how to truly eradicate global terrorism," Tudzhuddin added.