Ron Rae wants to know:
Did Osama bin Laden ever issue a fatwa against the United States? If so, when?
In August 1996, Osama bin Laden declared jihad against the U.S. The term "jihad" has been subject to a variety of interpretations. Most modern Muslims use it to mean "struggle" – in the sense of trying to stay true to Islam. But bin Laden and other fundamentalists use it to mean a holy war against those who they deem to oppose Islam.
In bin Laden's declaration, he outlined his goals as: driving the U.S. forces from the Arabian Peninsula, overthrowing the Saudi Arabian government, liberating Muslim holy sites and supporting Islamic revolutionary groups around the world. He declares the U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf fair game for attack by Saudis.
Read the text here.
In February 1998, bin Laden issued a joint fatwa, or religious proclamation, along with the Islamic Group, Al Jihad, the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh and the "Jamaat ul Ulema e Pakistan." Under the name "World Islamic Front," it called for all Muslims to kill Americans and their allies, military or civilian, "in any country in which it is possible to do it."
Read the text here.
Ben and Jennifer Britton ask:
Where can we find a biography of bin Laden?
Only a few Western journalists have ever spoken to bin Laden, and he's known to be very secretive. So there's lots of confusion about facts that should be simple.
One of the few to have interviewed bin Laden is terrorism expert Peter Bergen. His book, “Holy War Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden,” was due out next spring but is now being rushed through the final stages of publishing for later this fall.
Meantime, online biographies have popped up all over.
Here are some useful resources:
“Hunting bin Laden,” the companion Web site to the PBS documentary.
A profile of Osama bin Laden, from the BBC program Panorama.
^TOP
