Anita Rachman – PKS president Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq told journalists on Monday afternoon that there was a "fifty-fifty" chance that Osama bin Laden had actually been killed by US security forces.
He said he needed evidence, including DNA tests, to be completely convinced that it was bin Laden. "Just like the case of Saddam Hussein, it was brought forward with all the evidences." Meanwhile, the body of bin Laden was reportedly buried at sea on Monday.
When asked whether he would rather have the late leader of Al Qaeda dead or alive, Luthfi said that the life and death was none of his business, but rather "it's all within God's hands."
He said the death of bin Laden would not rid the world of terrorism so long as poverty remained, stating that acts of terrorism were necessarily driven by ideology but could also be driven by economic reasons.
On the issue of addressing the rise of radicalism in Indonesia through education, Luthfi said the country didn't need to change its curriculum. "Changing the curriculum is the United States' agenda for the Middle East. We don't need to follow suit," he said.