Why Osama Bin Laden Was Buried At Sea

According to UK-based Imam Dr Abduljalil Sajid, Chairman of the Muslim Council for Religious & Racial Harmony, four key steps need to be followed:

Washing
Shrouding in white cloth
Ritual prayer
Burial

There is no necessity for an imam to be present, he says, but the procedures should be carried out by Muslims at least one of whom "knows the minimum basic Muslim law of burial".

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US officials tell me the last thing they want is for his burial place to become a terrorist shrine”
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Jonathan Karl

ABC News
Whether any such person was present is impossible to know, he says, based on the limited information provided. But he also questions whether sea burial was appropriate in this case.

It is correct to carry out a burial at sea when someone dies on a sea journey, he says, but in this case there was no sound reason for it.

This is from the BBC.COM