Texas terrorist funeral held under strict police conditions

The funeral of the Texas synagogue terrorist took place this morning under strict conditions to limit numbers ordered by the police, the JC understands.It comes after Pakistan is said to have refused to accept the body of gunnman Faisal Askram over fears he would be buried as a martyr.

After entering Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville on January 15 and taking a rabbi and three worshippers hostage, Akram, 44 was shot dead by the FBI.

Around 70 mourners, mostly friends, neighbours and family members, watched today as his casket was brought into the cemetery in his hometown of Blackburn just before 9am this morning.
A photo of Akram’s grave showed a burial mound festooned with flowers as mourners gathered nearby. Janazah (funeral) prayers for Akram were performed in a small hall in the Muslim section of the cemetery.

The emotional father was consoled by his two surviving sons, and by his grandchildren, the teenage sons of Faisal Akram. It is understood the police requested the funeral should not take place outside the local mosque over fears it would attack large crowds. Sources said that US authorities told the family to pay for the repatriation expenses of the body.

It is not exactly known how much the family paid but one source claimed it was more than $7,000. The family had received the dead body in London on early Thursday morning. It was driven to Blackburn where it was kept at the mortuary overnight by the Blackburn Muslim Burial Society.