This is the 1996 declaration of war on the United States and their allies written by Osama Bin Laden a Saudi dissedent who is angry at his own country, and the foreign forces which entered the Middle East during the Gulf War.
While the text is heavily ladden with scripture, the most interesting idea which is presented is the proclamation that America's military failures in Somalia, Beruit, Mogadeshu, and the impact of terrorist activities, has slowed America's involvement around the world. This has been seen in the reluctance to get involved in the Balkans, and has, in the eye's of Bin Laden and his followers, shown to them that terrorism is working.
DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST THE AMERICANS OCCUPYING THE
LAND OF THE TWO HOLY PLACES
(EXPEL THE INFIDELS FROM THE ARAB PENINSULA)
A MESSAGE FROM USAMA BIN MUHAMMAD BIN IN LADEN UNTO HIS MUSLIM
BRETHREN ALL OVER THE WORLD GENERALLY AND IN THE ARAB PENINSULA SPECIFICALLY
Praise be to Allah, we seek His help and ask for his pardon. we take refuge in
Allah from our wrongs and bad deeds. Who ever been guided by Allah will not be misled, and
who ever has been misled, he will never be guided. I bear witness that there is no
God except Allahno associates with Him and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and
messenger.
{O you who believe! be careful of your duty to Allah with the proper care which is due
to Him, and do not die unless you are Muslim} (Imraan; 3:102), {O people be careful of
your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the
same kindand spread from these two, many men and women; and be careful of your duty to
Allah , by whom you demand one of another your rights, and (be careful) to the ties of
kinship; surely Allah ever watches over you} (AnNisa; 4:1), {O you who believe! be careful
of your duty to Allah and speak the right word; He will put your deeds into a right state
for you, and forgive you your faults; and who ever obeys Allah and his Apostle, he
indeed achieve a mighty success} (AlAhzab; 33:7071).
Praise be to Allah, reporting the saying of the prophet Shu'aib: {I desire nothing but
reform so far as I am able, and with non but Allah is the direction of my affair to the
right and successful path; on him do I rely and to him do I turn} (Hud; 11:88). Praise be
to Allah, saying: {You are the best of the nations raised up for the benefit of men; you
enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah} (AalImraan; 3:110).
Allah's blessing and salutations on His slave and messenger who said: (The people are
close to an all encompassing punishment from Allah if they see the oppressor and fail to
restrain him)
It should not be hidden from you that
the people of Islam had suffered from aggression, iniquity and injustice imposed on them
by the ZionistCrusaders alliance and their collaborators; to the extent that
the Muslims blood became the cheapest and their wealth as loot in the hands of
the enemies. Their blood was spilled in Palestine and Iraq. The horrifying pictures
of the massacre of Qana, in Lebanon are still fresh in our memory. Massacres in
Tajakestan, Burma, Cashmere, Assam, Philippine, Fatani, Ogadin, Somalia, Erithria,
Chechnia and in BosniaHerzegovina took place, massacres that send shivers in the
body and shake the conscience. All of this and the world watch and hear, and not
only didn't respond to these atrocities, but also with a clear conspiracy between
the USA and its' allies and under the cover of the iniquitous United Nations, the
dispossessed people were even prevented from obtaining arms to defend themselves.
The people of Islam awakened and
realised that they are the main target for the aggression of the Zionist Crusaders alliance.
All false claims and propaganda about "Human Rights" were hammered down and
exposed by the massacres that took place against the Muslims in every part of the world.
The latest and the greatest of these aggressions,incurred by the Muslims since the death
of the Prophet (ALLAH'S BLESSING AND SALUTATIONS ON HIM) is the occupation of the land of
the two Holy Places the foundation of the house of Islam, the place of the revelation, the
source of the message and the place of the noble Ka'ba, the Qiblah of all Muslims by the
armies of the American Crusaders and their allies. (We bemoan this and can only say:
"No power and power acquiring except through Allah").
Under the present circumstances, and
under the banner of the blessed awakening which is sweeping the world in general and the
Islamic world in particular, I meet with you today. And after a long absence,
imposed on the scholars (Ulama) and callers (Da'ees) of Islam by the iniquitous crusaders
movement under the leadership of the USA; who fears that they, the scholars and callers of
Islam, will instigate the Ummah of Islam against its' enemies as their ancestor
scholarsmay Allah be pleased with them like Ibn Taymiyyah and Al'iz Ibn
AbdesSalaam did. And therefore the Zionist Crusader alliance resorted to killing and
arresting the truthful Ulama and the working Da'ees (We are not praising or
sanctifying them; Allah sanctify whom He pleased). They killed the Mujahid Sheikh Abdullah
Azzaam, and they arrested the Mujahid Sheikh Ahmad Yaseen and the Mujahid Sheikh
Omar Abdur Rahman (in America).
By orders from the USA they also
arrested a large number of scholars, Da'ees and young people in the land of the two
Holy Places among them the prominent Sheikh Salman AlOud'a and Sheikh Safar AlHawali
and their brothers;(We bemoan this and can only say: "No power and power acquiring
except through Allah"). We, myself and my group, have suffered some of this injustice
ourselves; we have been prevented from addressing the Muslims. We have been pursued in
Pakistan, Sudan and Afghanistan, hence this long absence on my part. But by the
Grace of Allah, a safe base is now available in the high Hindukush mountains in Khurasan ;
where_by the Grace of Allahthe largest infidel military force of the world was destroyed.
And the myth of the super power was withered in front of the Mujahideen cries of Allahu
Akbar (God is greater).
Today we work from the same mountains
to lift the iniquity that had been imposed on the Ummah by the Zionist Crusader alliance,
particularly after they have occupied the blessed land around Jerusalem, route of the
journey of the Prophet (ALLAH'S BLESSING AND SALUTATIONS ON HIM) and the land of the two
Holy Places.We ask Allah to bestow us with victory, He is our Patron and He is the Most
Capable. From here, today we begin the work, talking and discussing the ways of correcting
what had happened to the Islamic world in general, and the Land of the two Holy Places in
particular. We wish to study the means that we could follow to return the situation to
its' normal path. And to return to the people their own rights, particularly after the
large damages and the great aggression on the life and the religion of the people. An
injustice that had affected every section and group of the people; the civilians, military
and security men, government officials and merchants, the young and the old people as well
as schools and university students. Hundred of thousands of the unemployed
graduates, who became the widest section of the society, were also affected.
Injustice had affected the people of
the industry and agriculture. It affected the people of the rural and urban areas. And
almost every body complain about something. The situation at the land of the two Holy
places became like a huge volcano at the verge of eruption that would destroy the Kufr and
the corruption and its' sources. The explosion at Riyadh and AlKhobar is a warning
of this volcanic eruption emerging as a result of the sever oppression, suffering,
excessive iniquity, humiliation and poverty.
People are fully concerned
about their every day livings; every body talks about the deterioration
of the economy, inflation, ever increasing debts and jails full of prisoners.
Government employees with limited income talk about debts of ten thousands and
hundred thousands of Saudi Riyals . They complain that the value
of the Riyal is greatly and continuously deteriorating among most of the main
currencies. Great merchants and contractors speak about hundreds and thousands of
million Riyals owed to them by the government. More than three hundred forty
billions of Riyal owed by the government to the people in addition to the daily
accumulated interest, let alone the foreign debt. People wonder whether
we are the largest oil exporting country?! They even believe that this situation is a
curse put on them by Allah for not objecting to the oppressive and illegitimate behaviour
and measures of the ruling regime:
Ignoring the divine Shari'ah law;
depriving people of their legitimate rights; allowing the American to occupy the
land of the two Holy Places; imprisonment, unjustly, of the sincere scholars. The
honourable Ulamah and scholars as well as merchants, economists and eminent
people of the country were all alerted by this disastrous situation.
Quick efforts were made by each group
to contain and to correct the situation. All agreed that the country is heading
toward a great catastrophe, the depth of which is not known except by Allah. One big
merchant commented : `' the king is leading the state into `sixtysix' folded
disaster'', (We bemoan this and can only say: "No power and power acquiring
except through Allah"). Numerous princes share with the people their feelings,
privately expressing their concerns and objecting to the corruption, repression and
the intimidation taking place in the country. But the competition between influential
princes for personal gains and interest had destroyed the country. Through its course of
actions the regime has torn off its legitimacy:
(1) Suspension of
the Islamic Shari'ah law and exchanging it with man made civil law. The
regime entered into a bloody confrontation with the truthful Ulamah and the
righteous youths (we sanctify nobody; Allah sanctify Whom He pleaseth).
(2) The inability
of the regime to protect the country, and allowing the enemy of the Ummah the
American crusader forces to occupy the land for the longest of years.
The crusader forces became the main cause of our disastrous condition, particularly in the
economical aspect of it due to the unjustified heavy spending on these forces. As a
result of the policy imposed on the country, especially in the field of oil industry where
production is restricted or expanded and prices are fixed to suit the American
economy ignoring the economy of the country. Expensive deals were imposed on the
country to purchase arms. People asking what is the justification for the very
existence of the regime then?
Quick efforts were made by
individuals and by different groups of the society to contain the situation and to prevent
the danger. They advised the government both privately and openly; they send
letters and poems, reports after reports, reminders after reminders, they explored every
avenue and enlist every influential man in their movement of reform and correction. They
wrote with style of passion, diplomacy and wisdom asking for corrective measures and
repentance from the "great wrong doings and corruption " that had engulfed
even the basic principles of the religion and the legitimate rights of the people.
But to our deepest regret the
regime refused to listen to the people accusing them of being ridiculous and imbecile. The
matter got worse as previous wrong doings were followed by mischief's of greater
magnitudes. All of this taking place in the land of the two Holy Places! It is no longer
possible to be quiet. It is not acceptable to give a blind eye to this matter.
As the extent of these infringements
reached the highest of levels and turned into demolishing forces threatening the
very existence of the Islamic principles, a group of scholarswho can take no more
supported by hundreds of retired officials, merchants, prominent and educated people
wrote to the King asking for implementation of the corrective measures. In 1411 A.H.
(May 1991), at the time of the gulf war, a letter, the famous letter of Shawwaal, with
over four hundred signatures was send to the king demanding the lift of oppression and the
implementation of corrective actions. The king humiliated those people and
choose to ignore the content of their letter; and the very bad situation of the
country became even worse. People, however, tried again and send more letters and
petitions. One particular report, the glorious Memorandum Of Advice, was handed over to
the king on Muharram, 1413 A.H (July 1992), which tackled the problem pointed
out the illness and prescribed the medicine in an original, righteous and scientific
style. It described the gaps and the shortcoming in the philosophy of the regime and
suggested the required course of action and remedy. The report gave a description
of:
(1)The intimidation and harassment
suffered by the leaders of the society, the scholars, heads of tribes, merchants, academic
teachers and other eminent individuals;
(2)The situation of the law within
the country and the arbitrary declaration of what is Halal and Haram (lawful and unlawful)
regardless of the Shari'ah as instituted by Allah;
(3)The state of the press and the
media which became a tool of truthhiding and misinformation; the media carried out the
plan of the enemy of idolising cult of certain personalities and spreading scandals
among the believers to repel the people away from their religion, as Allah, the
Exalted said: {surely as for those who love that scandal should circulate between the
believers, they shall have a grievous chastisement in this world and in the here after}
(AnNoor, 24:19).
(4)Abuse and confiscation of human
rights;
(5)The financial and the economical
situation of the country and the frightening future in the view of the enormous amount of
debts and interest owed by the government; this is at the time when the wealth of the
Ummah being wasted to satisfy personal desires of certain individuals!! while
imposing more custom duties and taxes on the nation. (the prophet said about the woman who
committed adultery: "She repented in such a way sufficient to bring forgiveness to a
custom collector!!").,
(6)The miserable situation of the
social services and infrastructure especially the water service and supply , the basic
requirement of life.,
(7)The state of the illtrained and
illprepared army and the impotence of its commander in chief despite the incredible amount
of money that has been spent on the army. The gulf war clearly exposed the situation.,
(8)Shari'a law was suspended and man
made law was used instead.,
(9)And as far as the foreign policy
is concerned the report exposed not only how this policy has disregarded the Islamic
issues and ignored the Muslims, but also how help and support were provided to the enemy
against the Muslims; the cases of GazaAriha and the communist in the south of Yemen
are still fresh in the memory, and more can be said.
As stated by the people of knowledge,
it is not a secret that to use man made law instead of the Shari'a and to support the
infidels against the Muslims is one of the ten "voiders" that would strip a
person from his Islamic status (turn a Muslim into a Mushrik, non believer status).
The All Mighty said: {and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are the
unbelievers} (AlMa'ida; 5:44), and {but no! by your Lord! they do not believe (in reality)
until they make you a judge of that which has become a matter of disagreement among them,
and then do not find the slightest misgiving in their hearts as to what you have decided
and submit with entire submission} (AnNissa; 4:65).
In spite of the fact that the report
was written with soft words and very diplomatic style, reminding of Allah, giving truthful
sincere advice, and despite of the importance of advice in Islam being absolutely
essential for those in charge of the people and the large number who signed this document
as well as their supporters, all of that was not an intercession for the Memorandum . Its'
content was rejected and those who signed it and their sympathisers were ridiculed,
prevented from travel, punished and even jailed. Therefore it is very clear that the
advocates of correction and reform movement were very keen on using peaceful means in
order to protect the unity of the country and to prevent blood shed. Why is it then
the regime closed all peaceful routes and pushed the people toward armed actions?!! which
is the only choice left for them to implement righteousness and justice. To whose
benefit does prince Sultan and prince Nayeff push the country into a civil war that
will destroy everything? and why consulting those who ignites internal feuds, playing the
people against each other and instigate the policemen, the sons of the nation, to abort
the reform movement. While leaving in peace and security such traitors who implement
the policy of the enemy in order to bleed the financial and the human resources of the
Ummah, and leaving the main enemy in the area the American Zionist alliance enjoy peace and
security?! The advisor (Zaki Badr, the Egyptian exminister of the interior) to prince
Nayeff minister of interior was not acceptable even to his own country; he was sacked from
his position there due to the filthy attitude and the aggression he exercised on his own
people, yet he was warmly welcomed by prince Nayeff to assist in sins and
aggressions. He unjustly filled the prisons with the best sons of this Ummah
and caused miseries to their mothers. Does the regime want to play the civilians
against their military personnel and vice versa, like what had happened in some of the
neighbouring countries?!! No doubts this is the policy of the American Israeli alliance as
they are the first to benefit from this situation.
But with the grace of Allah, the
majority of the nation, both civilians and military individuals are aware of the wicked
plan. They refused to be played against each others and to be used by the
regime as a tool to carry out the policy of the American-Israeli alliance through
their agent in our country: the Saudi regime. Therefore every one agreed that the
situation can not be rectified (the shadow cannot be straighten when its' source, the rod,
is not straight either) unless the root of the problem is tackled. Hence it is
essential to hit the main enemy who divided the Ummah into small and little countries and
pushed it, for the last few decades, into a state of confusion. The Zionist Crusader
alliance moves quickly to contain and abort any "corrective movement" appearing
in the Islamic countries. Different means and methods are used to achieve their target; on
occasion the "movement" is dragged into an armed struggle at a
predetermined unfavourable time and place. Sometime officials from the Ministry of
Interior, who are also graduates of the colleges of the Shari'ah, are leashed out to
mislead and confuse the nation and the Ummah (by wrong Fatwas) and to circulate false
information about the movement. At other occasions some righteous people were
tricked into a war of words against the Ulama and the leaders of the movement, wasting the
energy of the nation in discussing minor issues and ignoring the main one that is the
unification of the people under the divine law of Allah. In the shadow of these
discussions and arguments truthfulness is covered by the falsehood, and
personal feuds and partisanship created among the people increasing the division and the
weakness of the Ummah; priorities of the Islamic work are lost while the blasphemy and
polytheism continue its grip and control over the Ummah. We should be alert to these
atrocious plans carried out by the Ministry of Interior. The right answer is
to follow what have been decided by the people of knowledge, as was said by Ibn Taymiyyah
(Allah's mercy upon him): "people of Islam should join forces and support each other
to get rid of the main "Kufr" who is controlling the countries of the Islamic
world, even to bear the lesser damage to get rid of the major one, that is the great
Kufr".
If there are more than one duty to be
carried out, then the most important one should receive priority. Clearly after
Belief (Imaan) there is no more important duty than pushing the American enemy out
of the holy land. No other priority, except Belief, could be considered before
it; the people of knowledge, Ibn Taymiyyah, stated: "to fight in defence
of religion and Belief is a collective duty; there is no other duty after Belief
than fighting the enemy who is corrupting the life and the religion. There is no
preconditions for this duty and the enemy should be fought with one best abilities. (ref:
supplement of Fatawa). If it is not possible to push back the enemy except by the
collective movement of the Muslim people, then there is a duty on the Muslims to ignore
the minor differences among themselves; the ill effect of ignoring these differences, at a
given period of time, is much less than the ill effect of the occupation of the Muslims'
land by the main Kufr. Ibn Taymiyyah had explained this issue and emphasised the
importance of dealing with the major threat on the expense of the minor one. He described
the situation of the Muslims and the Mujahideen and stated that even the military
personnel who are not practising Islam are not exempted from the duty of Jihad
against the enemy.
Ibn Taymiyyah , after mentioning the
Moguls (Tatar) and their behaviour in changing the law of Allah, stated that: the ultimate
aim of pleasing Allah, raising His word, instituting His religion and obeying His
messenger (ALLAH'S BLESSING AND SALUTATIONS ON HIM) is to fight the enemy, in every
aspects and in a complete manner; if the danger to the religion from not fighting is
greater than that of fighting, then it is a duty to fight them even if the intention of
some of the fighter is not pure i.e . fighting for the sake of leadership (personal gain)
or if they do not observe some of the rules and commandments of Islam. To repel the
greatest of the two dangers on the expense of the lesser one is an Islamic principle which
should be observed. It was the tradition of the people of the Sunnah (AhlulSunnah) to join
and invade fight with the righteous and non righteous men. Allah may support this religion
by righteous and non righteous people as told by the prophet (ALLAH'S BLESSING AND
SALUTATIONS ON HIM). If it is not possible to fight except with the help of non righteous
military personnel and commanders, then there are two possibilities: either fighting will
be ignored and the others, who are the great danger to this life and religion, will take
control; or to fight with the help of non righteous rulers and therefore repelling the
greatest of the two dangers and implementing most, though not all, of the Islamic
laws. The latter option is the right duty to be carried out in these circumstances
and in many other similar situation. In fact many of the fights and conquests
that took place after the time of Rashidoon, the guided Imams, were of this type. (majmoo'
al Fatawa, 26/506). No one, not even a blind or a deaf person , can deny the presence of
the widely spread mischief's or the prevalence of the great sins that had reached
the grievous iniquity of polytheism and to share with Allah in His sole right of
sovereignty and making of the law. The All Mighty stated: {And when Luqman said to his son
while he admonish him: O my son! do not associate ought with Allah; most surely polytheism
is a grievous iniquity} (Luqman; 31:13). Man fabricated laws were put forward
permitting what has been forbidden by Allah such as usury (Riba) and other matters. Banks
dealing in usury are competing, for lands, with the two Holy Places and declaring
war against Allah by disobeying His order {Allah has allowed trading and forbidden usury}
(Baqarah; 2:275). All this taking place at the vicinity of the Holy Mosque in
the Holy Land! Allah (SWT) stated in His Holy Book a unique promise (that had not been
promised to any other sinner) to the Muslims who deals in usury: {O you who believe! Be
careful of your duty to Allah and relinquish what remains (due) from usury, if you are
believers * But if you do (it) not, then be appraised of WAR from Allah and His Apostle}
(Baqarah; 2:278279). This is for the "Muslim" who deals in usury (believing that
it is a sin), what is it then to the person who make himself a partner and equal to Allah,
legalising (usury and other sins) what has been forbidden by Allah. Despite of all of the
above we see the government misled and dragged some of the righteous Ulamah and
Da'ees away from the issue of objecting to the greatest of sins and Kufr. (We bemoan this
and can only say: "No power and power acquiring except through Allah").
Under such circumstances, to push the
enemy the greatest Kufr out of the country is a prime duty. No other duty after
Belief is more important than the duty of had . Utmost effort should be made
to prepare and instigate the Ummah against the enemy, the American-Israeli alliance
occupying the country of the two Holy Places and the route of the Apostle (Allah's
Blessings and Salutations may be on him) to the Furthest Mosque (AlAqsa Mosque).
Also to remind the Muslims not to be engaged in an internal war among themselves, as that
will have grieve consequences namely:
Osama Bin Laden's Declaration of War on America in the Middle East Part 2