Letter to the American People

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Letter to the American People
Osama bin Laden, 1st General Emir of al-Qaeda
CreatedNovember 2002
Commissioned byAl-Qaeda
Author(s)Osama bin Laden[1][2]
Purpose
  • Justifying Al-Qaeda's war against United States as defensive Jihad against US aggression[3][1][4]
  • Promising the escalation of war until the withdrawal of American forces from Muslim lands[1][3]
  • Criticism of American cultural values, support for Israel and for their government[1][5]

Letter to the American People (Arabic: رسالة إلى الشعب الأمريكي, romanized: Risāla ʾIlā al-Shʿab al-ʾAmrīkī, also known as the Letter to America) is a

antisemitic tropes.[6][7][1][8]

The content blends religious, moral, and political critiques against the United States, portraying it as

conspiracy theories, including the claim that AIDS was a "Satanic American Invention".[6][7]

The letter gained renewed attention in 2023 amid the

online radicalization, state-sponsored Internet propaganda, and Internet censorship, and the implications of suppressing or allowing access to such content.[6][7]

History

Further information: Fatawā of Osama bin Laden

The letter was published in 2002 on a Saudi website previously used for dissemination by Al-Qaeda. Following the publication, the letter's English translation was repeatedly posted online by Islamists in the United Kingdom.[10] In November 2002, British newspaper The Observer published the translated letter.[10][2][7]

Karen J. Greenberg asserted that the letter's attribution to Osama bin Laden was debatable, arguing that it lacked accompanying video or audio and that issues like AIDS and incest, which had not been brought up in bin Laden's past messages, were mentioned in it. Nevertheless, she has included it in the collection of statements of Bin Laden published in her 2010 book Al-Qaeda Now.[11]

American political system and U.S. foreign policy.[12]

Robert O. Marlin has listed the letter among the two most significant documents issued by bin Laden, alongside his 1996 Declaration of War against the United States.[3]

Contents

In his letter, Bin Laden's critique of the United States emerges, blending religious doctrines, moral judgments, and political grievances. The letter portrays the United States as a deeply hostile imperial power implementing aggressive policies against the Muslim world, and justifies waging defensive war against the US.[2] Bin Laden wrote:

"Why are we fighting and opposing you? The answer is very simple:

(1) Because you attacked us and continue to attack us.[2]

One criticism of the letter is the U.S.'s rejection of Islamic

Sharia law in its governance. It contrasts the secular, human-designed legal system of the U.S. with the divine law of Islam, portraying the former as a product of human desires and whims.[2]

Economic practices in the U.S., particularly the allowance of usury (interest on loans), are condemned. The author decries usury as a violation not only of Islamic principles but also of moral standards across religions. Bin Laden suggests that such economic policies contribute to wider social and economic injustices and

Algerian army onto them, and to attack them with tanks and guns, to imprison them and torture them – a new lesson from the 'American book of democracy'!!!"[2]

The letter also accuses the U.S. of supporting oppressive regimes in Muslim countries, thereby preventing the establishment of Islamic Sharia law and contributing to the oppression of Muslims. The U.S. is held accountable for economic exploitation, particularly of oil resources in Muslim regions, and for its military involvement in these countries. This includes its support for Israel, notably in actions against Palestinians and plans regarding Jerusalem.[2]

In the letter, bin Laden argues for targeting American civilians, saying that as taxpayers, they indirectly support their government's military interventions in Muslim countries and policies towards Israel. This stance leads to his call for jihad, resistance, and revenge.[2]

The letter invites Americans to embrace Islam, cease what it denounces as oppressive and immoral acts, and reflect on their societal and political values. Bin Laden also demands the U.S. to withdraw its military forces from Muslim lands, end its support for corrupt leaders in these regions, and cease interfering with Islamic education.[2]

The letter concludes with a warning of continued and escalating war if these demands are not met.[2]

Resurgence during the Israel–Hamas war

The letter received renewed attention amid the Israel–Hamas war, after several videos on TikTok highlighted the letter and Bin Laden's views against U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.[7][15] Euronews and The Washington Post noted that TikTok users endorsed the parts of the letter related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, but omitted mention of its homophobic and misogynistic arguments.[16][9][clarification needed]

TikTok removed the hashtag "#lettertoamerica" and other variations from its search engine shortly after the videos had spread, with The Washington Post reporting that tagged videos received more than 15 million views in total prior to its removal.[17][9] Alex Haurek, a spokesperson for TikTok, stated that reports of the videos trending on the platform were inaccurate before going on to say that TikTok was "proactively and aggressively" removing videos from the platform for violating its rules on supporting acts of terrorism.[18][9] Yashar Ali, an American journalist, shared a compilation of these videos that had over 38 million views on Twitter as of November 16, 2023.[9] An article in The Washington Post suggested that the spread of the letter had been limited prior to Ali's compilation posts, following which the coverage of the letter skyrocketed.[9] Wired suggested that the controversy was being used by American right-wing and far-right figures to push for the ban of TikTok. Some disinformation researchers suggested that the letter's resurgence was possibly the result of a coordinated influence campaign.[19] Several sources described the reaction to the videos as a moral panic.[20][21]

The renewed attention to the letter prompted The Guardian to remove the letter from its website, citing the lack of context surrounding the letter as the reason for the removal.[15]

The sudden propagation of the letter and attempts to suppress its contents have sparked commentary regarding online youth radicalization, state-sponsored Internet propaganda, and Internet censorship. Renée DiResta, a writer and research manager at Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO), criticized The Guardian on Threads for removing the full text from its website, saying,

Don't turn the long-public ravings of a terrorist into forbidden knowledge, something people feel excited to go rediscover. Let people read the murderer's demands – this is the man some TikTok fools chose to glorify. Add more context.[9]

In contrast, Marco Bastos, a senior lecturer in media and communication at City, University of London, described The Guardian as being in a no-win scenario.

If they don't take down the content, the content will be leveraged and it will be discussed, potentially shared and is going to go viral – if not out of context, then certainly outside of the scope of the original piece... If they take it down, they’re going to be accused, as they are right now, of censorship.[9]

Reactions in the Middle East

The

online extremism, reported that users of Islamist forums associated with Al-Qaeda celebrated the document's newfound attention.[9] In response to the letter trending on various platforms, the Israel Defense Forces posted a brief message on Twitter condemning the letter.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-85109-947-4
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America'". Observer. The Observer. 2002-11-24. Archived from the original on 2004-06-15. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  3. ^
    ISBN 1-55643-548-7
    .
  4. ISBN 1-85065-775-0
    .
  5. ISBN 978-1-6667-0-394-8
    .
  6. ^ a b c O'Sullivan, Donie; Thorbecke, Catherine; Gordon, Allison (2023-11-16). "Some young Americans on TikTok say they sympathize with Osama bin Laden". CNN. Archived from the original on 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  7. ^ a b c d e Reporter, Giulia Carbonaro US News (2023-11-16). "Bin Laden's letter to US stuns young Americans: 'He was right'". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  8. ISBN 978-0-7748-2234-3
    .
  9. ^
    ISSN 0190-8286. Archived
    from the original on 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  10. ^
    ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original
    on 2004-06-10. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  11. ISBN 978-0-521-85911-0. Archived
    from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8014-4437-1
    .
  13. ISBN 978-1-85109-947-4
    .
  14. ^ Moench, Shah, Mallory, Simmone (16 November 2023). "Why Osama bin Laden's 'Letter to America' Went Viral on TikTok". Time. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ a b Koebler, Jason; Maiberg ·, Emanuel (2023-11-15). "The Guardian Deletes Osama Bin Laden's 'Letter to America' Because It Went Viral on TikTok". 404 Media. Archived from the original on 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  16. ^ "TikTok takes down videos promoting Osama bin Laden's 'letter to America' after text went viral". Euronews. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  17. ^ Tolentino, Daysia (2023-11-17). "TikTok removes hashtag for Osama bin Laden's 'Letter to America' after viral videos circulate". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  18. ^ Levine, Alexandra S. (2023-11-16). "TikTok Videos Praising 9/11 Have Exploded, But The Company Denies They're Trending". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  19. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived
    from the original on 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  20. ^ Ohlheiser, A. W. (2023-11-17). "The controversy over TikTok and Osama bin Laden's "Letter to America," explained". Vox. Archived from the original on 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  21. ^ Pearson, Jordan (2023-11-17). "A Century-Old, Debunked Theory Is Fueling the TikTok Moral Panic". Vice. Archived from the original on 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  22. ^ Suter, Tara (2023-11-17). "Israeli military slams bin Laden letter going viral on social media". The Hill. Archived from the original on 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2023-11-17.

External links

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