In an interview conducted by Al Jazeera during October 2001, Osama bin Laden said: ” ‘Our goal is for our nation to unite in the face of the Christian Crusade. This is the fiercest battle. Muslims have never faced anything bigger than this. [President] Bush said it in his own words: *crusade.* When Bush says that, they try to cover up for him, then he said he didn’t mean it. He said *crusade.* ‘ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Raymond Ibrahim, ed./trans., The Al Qaeda Reader, Page 272