Photo, above: Prayer: The funeral prayer was so well attended that many people had to stay outside the building
At least 500 people turn up at Muslim cemetery for burial of Copenhagen gunman – despite objections from Islamic group that owns it
- Omar El-Hussein, 22, murdered two people last weekend in Danish capital
- The fanatic was then gunned down by police following a shootout
- He was buried today in a Muslim cemetery on the outskirts of the city
- Authorities had fears ‘over extremist attitudes and actions on both sides’
The gunman who killed two people in Copenhagen was today buried in a Muslim cemetery in the city, despite objections from the Islamic group that owns it.
Omar El-Hussein, 22, murdered two people last weekend following a bloody rampage through the Danish capital that ended when he was killed in a shootout with police.
The ceremony at the Islamic Society of Denmark was attended by approximately 500 mourners and sympathisers, before he was buried in a Muslim cemetery on the outskirts of the city.
Mourners: Stewards surround the hearse carrying the body of Omar El-Hussein, who murdered two people last weekend following a bloody rampage in Copenhagen
Final journey: Ahmet Deniz, head of the Islamic Burial Fund’s support group said he had concerns before the ceremony about the burial
But Ahmet Deniz, head of the Islamic Burial Fund’s support group told newspaper Jyllands-Posten, that he had concerns before the ceremony about the burial.
He said that the group said it had considered denying a request by El-Hussein’s parents to have him buried in their cemetery, but that its rules did not allow for it.
He added: ‘My concern is over extremist attitudes and actions on both sides. Both from his friends and from young Danish people who perhaps could also riot later.’
The funeral was open to the public, but reports from the scene said it was mostly attended by young men, who were described as ‘wearing large black coats with many of them having covered their faces’.
Before the ceremony, Copenhagen Police urging anyone attending to ‘show appropriate respect’ while Kasem Said Ahmad, who conducted the burial ceremony, said that he would require everyone to ‘remain silent’.
Ahmad rejected suggestions that a large turnout at the funeral would be a sign of support for the alleged killer.
He said: ‘It is support for the family, not for him. I do not think that anyone is coming to pay homage to him.’
After the burial, controversial Salafist Adnan Avdic – who had previously called El-posed for pictures at the the plot.
Two people – a documentary maker and a volunteer security guard at Copenhagen’s main synagogue – died in two separate shootings last Saturday and Sunday.
Soon afterwards, El-Hussein was then killed in a firefight with police which concluded a shooting spree that authorities say may have been inspired by the terror attacks in Paris last month.
El-Hussein first gunned down film director Finn Nørgaard at a free speech debate in the city, but it is believed his target was Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who has received numerous death threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad.
After fleeing the scene, El-Hussein then appeared nine hours later outside a synagogue in Copenhagen where he fired nine rounds with two hand guns, killing Jewish security guard Dan Uzan and wounding two police officers.
