Michael Moore reportedly crushed he couldn’t make it to Egypt in time for the festivities.

(Reuters) — Hundreds of Islamist Salafists defied security forces and held special prayers Friday for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, killed in a U.S. raid in Pakistan this week.

Some Islamists regard Saudi-born bin Laden, who was inspired by Egyptian militants, as a martyr.

“We will pray, we will pray,” some 200 men chanted as police tried to stop the special prayers at the Salafist-run al-Nour Mosque in the Abbasiyah quarter of Cairo after regular Friday noon prayers.

Some of the worshippers marched toward the heavily guarded U.S. embassy in central Cairo, marched around Tahrir (Liberation) Square, scene of mass demonstrations that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February, and then dispersed.

Some demonstrators described bin Laden as a holy warrior.

“Bin Laden exchanged the pleasures of this life for those of the afterlife,” said Abdel-Mutaleb Said, a 51-year-old engineer as he marched toward the U.S. embassy.