Area Muslim leaders and national Islamic groups joined the chorus Monday of those saying al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden got just what he deserved.

"Any person who loves peace and wants to see Islam presented in its true light welcomes what has taken place," said Khalil Akbar, the imam, or prayer leader, at Charlotte's Masjid Ash-Shaheed. "I don't think any mainstream Muslim will be sad at the death of this hijacker of their faith, this killer of many innocent people."

Many of al-Qaida's innocent victims - in Indonesia, in Afghanistan and in the World Trade Center on 9-11 - were Muslims, Akbar and others pointed out.

"Indeed, al-Qaida has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own," the Muslim American Society in Charlotte said in a statement. "We concur with the president that his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity."

Though that sentiment seemed to sum up the predominant Muslim view in Charlotte and around the country, some said that doesn't necessarily mean Muslims will take to the streets to celebrate the killing.

"The death of anyone, especially a person (like bin Laden) who is an evildoer, is not a joyful occasion. (Because) he's got great punishment coming his way," said Jibril Hough, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Charlotte, the city's largest mosque. "But was his death warranted? Sure."

National Islamic groups also said justice - and national and world security - had been served by bin Laden's death.

"We join our fellow citizens in welcoming the announcement that Osama bin Laden has been eliminated as a threat to the nation and the world through the actions of American military personnel," said the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based civil rights group. "As we have stated repeatedly since the 9-11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam."

The Muslim Public Affairs Council, also based in Washington, sounded another theme heard from many Muslims on Monday: that the death of bin Laden was an opportunity to "turn the page" on a decade that saw U.S. wars in Muslim countries and widespread suspicion of all Muslims, not just violent extremists who joined al-Qaida.

"We hope this is a turning point away from the dark period of the last decade, in which bin Laden symbolized the evil face of global terrorism," the council said in a statement.

Hough of the Islamic Center of Charlotte said it is time to end wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya and to stop linking "average Muslims (to) those who would misrepresent our faith and do folks harm."