In a video released by Osama bin Laden on November 3, 2001, he “described at length all the political problems suffered in Islamic lands in the last century, and said many of them could be traced back to the United Nations. He referred to its secretary general, Kofi Annan, as a ‘criminal.’ He used one of the strongest Islamic insults to condemn Muslim leaders who work through the organization. ‘Those who want to solve our tragedies through the U.N. are hypocrites, deceiving God, the prophet and deceiving all believers,’ he said. ‘Who issued the resolution on the division of Palestine in 1947 which gave the Muslim country to the Jews? It was the U.N. Those who pretend they are leaders of the Arab world and remain members of the U.N. are infidels.’ ”
– Neil MacFarquhar and Jim Rutenberg, “Bin Laden, in a Taped Speech, Says Attacks in Afghanistan are a War Against Islam,” The New York Times, Nov. 4, 2001