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 People celebrate the announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden at the White House.
May 3rd, 2011
06:16 PM ET
My Take: Why partying over bin Laden's death made me cringe
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN Today in my “Death and Immortality” course at Boston University we were supposed to be discussing suicide and euthanasia. Instead we spoke of the death of Osama Bin Laden, the celebrations that followed in its wake and the Facebook war that broke out later concerning the propriety of “celebrating death.” Many of my students partied in the streets and on nearby Boston Common after President Barack Obama announced to the world that bin Laden was dead. Others found those celebrations not only inappropriate but morbid - fit for Mardi Gras, perhaps, but not for the demise of a fellow human being, however odious.
May 3rd, 2011
04:03 PM ET
My Take: Bin Laden died long ago
By the Rev. David Lewicki, Special to CNN On Sunday night I watched the news as it crescendoed around the president’s speech declaring the death of Osama bin Laden. The talking heads worked capably with what few details they had. On the split screen, familiar spliced video footage replayed what little most of us know — or care to know — about bin Laden: wearing a turban, sitting drinking tea, a long salt and pepper beard, speaking to friends, crouching holding a machine gun, skyscrapers smoking. Twitter gave a way to take the public temperature. Some passed information without editorial: “Bin Laden is dead!” Others tried to score political points: “took O 2 years to do what B couldn’t do in 7,” or “THAT’S a ‘mission accomplished.’” Reports said impromptu crowds gathered in front of the White House and at Ground Zero exuberantly chanting “USA! USA!,” singing our anthem. Others retorted that they would not celebrate any person’s death, no matter who it was. Still others retrieved unsettling data about what it has cost us to find and kill bin Laden, in dollars and human lives. Finally, from those with an intimate connection to the innocents of 9/11, there were tweets about tears. Tears of relief? Tears because the news dragged them back to the still-tender memories of a decade ago? Yes and yes. I was a first-year theology student in New York City on that day in 2001; I know the tears. 
May 3rd, 2011
12:12 PM ET
'Book of Mormon' leads Tony Award nominationsBy Jonathan Epstein, CNN (CNN) - The nominees for this year's Tony Awards were announced Tuesday, and the musical "The Book of Mormon" leads with 14 nominations, including one for best musical. The Broadway production from the creators of "South Park" has some competition in that category from the musical "The Scottsboro Boys," which nabbed 12 nominations overall. "Anything Goes" is picked up nine Tony Awards noms, and the Daniel Radcliffe-starring musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" is nominated for eight. Read the full story on CNN's Marquee blog. You can read more about the 'Book of Mormon' here from the Belief Blog.
May 3rd, 2011
11:54 AM ET
My Take: Sea burial says bin Laden not a martyr
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN Shortly after we learned of the death of Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials said his body would be treated in accordance with Islamic traditions. What those officials did not say is that there are two Islamic burial traditions: one for ordinary Muslims and another for martyrs. For ordinary Muslims, the body is washed and then wrapped in a plain white shroud for burial. For martyrs, however, the body is not washed and it is buried in the clothes the martyr was wearing when he died. This is because a martyr’s blood is a badge of honor — proof positive that he died in service of Islam. |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.
Editor's Note: The Rev. David Lewicki is co-pastor of 