He was far from a "real" muslim. Infact Iraq under his reign was surprisingly secular incognito - that's actually the only way to rule such a country with an iron fist I reckon.
About his sentence. Nothing special. He means nothing in international politics these days. He's just a symbol of things past. I'm against capital punishment in general, even in such extreme cases where we're dealing with a tyrant/mass-murderer. No one should be eligable to take one's life unless it's consenting euthanasia.
Will he become a martyr for insurgents? Probably. But honestlly... they don't need any more martyrs. Extreme Islamic fundamentalists have perfected the art of goading people into doing things. They don't need more martyrs. And if they needed some they'd just make them up.
Offtop:
Queenie your "location" is soooo distracting.