In a statement issued on February 23, 1998, titled Al-Qaeda’s Declaration of War Against Americans, Osama bin Laden wrote: “[I]n compliance with Allah’s order, we hereby issue the following decree to all Muslims: The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies–civilians and military–is an individual obligation incumbent upon every Muslim who can do it […]
2/23/1998
On February 23, 1998, Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader Ayman al-Zawahiri “and bin Laden merged their organizations with groups from Pakistan and Bangladesh to form the World Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders, creating the organization now known as al Qaeda. The new front promised to wage jihad against all Americans–civilians and military alike–until […]
2/23/1998
On February 23, 1998, “bin Laden and [Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader Ayman al-] Zawahiri decided to declare war on America unambiguously and publicly. The two were joined by three other prominent jihadists: Rifa’I Ahmed Taha, who led a splinter group of al Gamaa al Islamiyya that had merged with Islamic Jihad; Sheikh Mir Hamza, secretary […]
2/23/1998
Journalist Peter Bergen pointed out a CIA analysis on February 23, 1998, the day after bin Laden’s Manifesto of the World Islamic Front: ” ‘These fatwas are the first from these groups that explicitly justify attacks on American civilians anywhere in the world.’ ” – Peter Bergen, Holy War, Inc., Page 99 […]
2/23/1998
Regarding bin Laden’s February 23, 1998, fatwa against the United States: “The bin Laden unit at the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center issued an alert memo within days of this manifesto’s issuance. The unit’s professional analysts, specialists in political Islam–recognized an escalation in the February 23 attack on ‘Crusaders and Jews.’ The statements were ‘the first from […]
2/23/1998
“Since the Gulf War in 1991, bin Laden now declared [in his manifesto of February 23, 1998], the United States ‘has been occupying the most sacred lands of Islam: the Arabian Peninsula. It has been stealing its resources, dictating to its leaders, humiliating its people, and frightening its neighbors. It is using its rule in […]
2/23/1998
“On February 23, 1998, bin Laden unveiled a coalition that reflected his spreading ambition and rising international charisma. He announced a new enterprise: the International Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders. Bin Laden had worked for hours on the front’s manifesto. Its contents were dictated over his satellite telephone to editors at a […]
2/23/1998
“In February [23] 1998, the 40-year-old Saudi exile Usama Bin Ladin and a fugitive Egyptian physician [and Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader], Ayman al Zawahiri, arranged from their Afghan headquarters for an Arabic newspaper in London to publish what they termed a fatwa issued in the name of a ‘World Islamic Front.’ ” In it, they […]
2/23/1998
According to a CIA memorandum released on February 23, 1998, the day after bin Laden’s fatwa against the U.S.: ” ‘These fatwas are the first from these groups that explicitly justify attacks on American civilians anywhere in the world. Both groups [bin Laden and a coalition of Islamic groups in London] have hinted in the […]
2/23/1998
In bin Laden’s ‘World Islamic Front Statement Urging Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders,’ signed on February, 23, 1998, he wrote: ” ‘for over seven years, the United States has been occupying the most sacred of the Islamic lands, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and […]