MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Some Muslims in Minnesota are relieved to hear that Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat.

Lori Saroya is president of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. She says Monday that she feels a little safer now, knowing his decades of plotting against innocent people have come to an end.

She says bin Laden is a symbol of religious extremism, and because his voice was so loud, he was drowning out mainstream Muslim voices all over the world. She says most Muslims reject extremism and terrorism.

Zahra Aljabri is assistant civil rights director for CAIR-MN. She says it's unfortunate that bin Laden was connected with Islam, because he doesn't represent the religion. She's relieved officials stopped his rhetoric and the threat he posed to citizens worldwide.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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