On Wednesday (15th November) ‘The Guardian’ removed Osama Bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ from its website. This came after 21 years the letter was published. The English translation of the original Arabic letter by the Islamic terrorist was published in ‘Observer’ of ‘The Guardian’ on 24th November 2002. Notably, Osama Bin Laden, in his letter, has explained why Al Qaeda executed the attacks of 9/11 and why they have waged Jihad against America.
In a notification, ‘The Guardian’ informed about the removal of this letter. The notification said, “This page previously displayed a document containing, in translation, the full text of Osama bin Laden’s “letter to the American people”, as reported in the Observer on Sunday 24 November 2002. The document, which was published here on the same day, was removed on 15 November 2023.”
The purported reason for removing this letter from the website is that the TikTok videos of reactions to this letter increasingly went viral. Readers also took to various other platforms to share their experiences. Many of these video makers said that this letter changed their perspective to look at things and reversed the way to look at ‘terrorism’ they have adopted for decades.
Over the past 24 hours, thousands of TikToks (at least) have been posted where people share how they just read Bin Laden’s infamous "Letter to America," in which he explained why he attacked the United States.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 16, 2023
The TikToks are from people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and… pic.twitter.com/EwjiGtFEE3
What is there in the letter written by Osama Bin Laden?
In his letter, Osama Bin Laden said, “Some American writers have published articles under the title ‘On what basis are we fighting?’ These articles have generated a number of responses, some of which adhered to the truth and were based on Islamic Law, and others which have not. Here we wanted to outline the truth – as an explanation and warning – hoping for Allah’s reward, seeking success and support from him. While seeking Allah’s help, we form our reply based on two questions directed at the Americans: (Q1) Why are we fighting and opposing you? (Q2)What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you?”
Answering these questions in detail, the terrorist – who was slain in 2011 – said in his letter, “As for the first question: Why are we fighting and opposing you? The answer is very simple: (1) Because you attacked us and continue to attack us. a) You attacked us in Palestine: Palestine, which has sunk under military occupation for more than 80 years. The British handed over Palestine, with your help and your support, to the Jews, who have occupied it for more than 50 years; years overflowing with oppression, tyranny, crimes, killing, expulsion, destruction and devastation. The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leaders of its criminals. And of course, there is no need to explain and prove the degree of American support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased. Each and every person whose hands have become polluted in the contribution towards this crime must pay its price, and pay for it heavily.”
He added, “(b) You attacked us in Somalia; you supported the Russian atrocities against us in Chechnya, the Indian oppression against us in Kashmir, and the Jewish aggression against us in Lebanon. (c) Under your supervision, consent and orders, the governments of our countries which act as your agents, attack us on a daily basis; These governments prevent our people from establishing the Islamic Shariah, using violence and lies to do so. These governments surrendered to the Jews and handed them most of Palestine. And our fight against these governments is not separate from our fight against you.”
Osama Bin Laden, in his letter, also accused the USA of ‘stealing the Arab wealth and oil at paltry prices using their international influence’, ‘occupying Muslim countries by spreading military bases throughout those countries’, ‘starving the Muslims of Iraq’, and ‘supporting the idea that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jews’.
Islamic justification from Quran, Sharia etc.
Osama Bin Laden rationalised Islamic terrorism by asserting that it is nothing but Jihad as ordered and permitted by the holy book ‘Quran’. He wrote in his letter, “It is commanded by our religion and intellect that the oppressed have a right to return the aggression. Do not await anything from us but Jihad, resistance and revenge. Is it in any way rational to expect that after America has attacked us for more than half a century, we will then leave her to live in security and peace?”
Holding American citizens equally responsible for all the problems inflicted upon the Islamic countries by the USA, Osama Bin Laden said in his letter that the American people have willfully chosen to uphold their so-called concepts of freedom and they have elected the governments in their countries executing the anti-Islamic policies. He argued that because these ‘attacks on Islam’ are done using the tax money and other resources of the American people, they are not innocent at all and they should also pay the price for the same.
‘Embrace Islam or get ready to be destroyed’
In his answer to the second question, Osama Bin Laden called the USA to Islam in order to resolve the conflict. He preached that Islam is the only true religion and that accepting it will solve the dispute. He wrote, “(Q2) As for the second question that we want to answer: What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you? (1) The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam. (2) The second thing we call you to, is to stop your oppression, lies, immorality and debauchery that has spread among you.”
Osama Bin Laden wrote, “We call you to be a people of manners, principles, honour, and purity; to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling, and trading with interest. It is saddening to tell you that you are the worst civilization witnessed in the history of mankind. You are the nation who, rather than ruling by the Shariah of Allah in its Constitution and Laws, choose to invent your own laws as you will and desire. You separate religion from your policies, contradicting the pure nature that affirms absolute authority to the Lord and your Creator. “
He further said, “What we call you to thirdly is to take an honest stance with yourselves to discover that you are a nation without principles or manners and that the values and principles to you are something which you merely demand from others, not that which you yourself must adhere to. We also advise you to stop supporting Israel, and to end your support of the Indians in Kashmir, the Russians against the Chechens and to also cease supporting the Manila Government against the Muslims in Southern Philippines.”
Osama Bin Laden described the Islamic Nation
He added, “We call upon you to end your support of the corrupt leaders in our countries. Do not interfere in our politics and method of education. Leave us alone, or else expect us in New York and Washington. If you fail to respond to all these conditions, then prepare for a fight with the Islamic Nation. The Nation of Monotheism, that puts complete trust on Allah and fears none other than Him.”
Describing the Islamic Nation, he added, “The Nation which is addressed by its Quran with the words, The Nation of honour and respect which only belongs to Allah, and to His Messenger and to the believers, The Nation of Martyrdom, the Nation that desires death more than you desire life, The Nation of victory and success that Allah has promised.”
Osama Bin Laden quoted multiple verses from the Quran to support his arguments in this letter. This letter came as an explainer to why Al Qaeda attacked the USA on 9th September 2001 when the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York were hit and destroyed by hijacked aeroplanes.
The Leftist ecosystem always tries to give political, and social contexts and justification to Islamic terrorism. Interestingly, The Guardian decided to remove a letter from the world’s most well-known Islamic terrorist that proclaimed Islamic dominance and the concept of the Islamic caliphate as the primary reason for his actions.
They have also not given any explanation as to why a letter by a slain terrorist continued to be on their website for 21 years without a reasonable critique of its content and claims.
