As the sun rose, the men from the raiding party chanted verses from the Qu’ran, spread their chequered scarves on the dirt, and prayed for Osama bin Laden’s swift passage to paradise. It was a ritual they’d performed a hundred times for their fallen comrades. But there were no outbursts of grief or pledges of vengeance. Bin Laden had been a good Muslim, said the small, wiry Taliban judge leading the ritual. Bin Laden had surrendered a life of luxury for one of hardship, and his “death on the battlefield” was befitting. Beyond that, as far as the Taliban are concerned, “His death had no impact,” said the judge, who goes by the nom de guerre ‘Khanjari’
