'Exclusive' Interview With Usama Bin Ladin on 11 Sep Attacks
in US
Karachi Ummat in Urdu 28 Sep 01 pp 1, 7
["Exclusive" interview with Usama Bin Ladin by unidentified Ummat special
correspondent: "The US should search attackers within itself", place and date not given,
first paragraph is Ummat introduction]
[FBIS Translated Text]
Kabul: Prominent Arab Mujahid [holy warrior] Usama Bin Ladin has said that he or his
al-Qua'ida group has nothing to do with the 11 September suicidal attacks in Washington
and New York. He said the US Government should find the attackers within the country.
In an exclusive interview with daily "Ummat," he said these attacks could be the act of
those who are part of the American system and are rebelling against it and working for
some other system. Or, Usama said, this could be the act of those who want to make the
current century a century of conflict between Islam and Christianity. Or, the American
Jews, who are opposed to President Bush ever since the Florida elections, might be the
masterminds of this act. There is also a great possibility of the involvement of US
intelligence agencies, which need billions of dollars worth of funds every year. He said
there is a government within the government in the United States. The secret agencies,
he said, should be asked as to who are behind the attacks. Usama said support for attack
on Afghanistan was a matter of need for some Muslim countries and compulsion for
others. However, he said, he was thankful to the courageous people of Pakistan who
erected a bulwark before the wrong forces. He added that the Islamic world was
attaching great expectations with Pakistan and, in time of need, 'we will protect this
bulwark by sacrificing of lives.' Following is the interview in full detail:


Ummat: You have been accused of involvement in the attacks in New York and
Washington. What do you want to say about this? If you are not involved, who might
be?
Usama: In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful. Praise be to Allah,
Who is the creator of the whole universe and Who made the earth as an abode for peace,
for the whole mankind. Allah is the Sustainer, who sent Prophet Muhammad for our
guidance. I am thankful to the Ummat Group of Publications, which gave me the
opportunity to convey my viewpoint to the people, particularly the valiant and Momin
[true Muslim] people of Pakistan who refused to believe in lie of the demon. I have
already said that I am not involved in the 11 September attacks in the United States. As
a Muslim, I try my best to avoid telling a lie. Neither I had any knowledge of these
attacks nor I consider the killing of innocent women, children, and other humans as an
appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women, children, and
other people.

Such a practice is forbidden ever in the course of a battle. It is the United
States, which is perpetrating every maltreatment on women, children, and common
people of other faiths, particularly the followers of Islam. All that is going on in Palestine
for the last 11 months is sufficient to call the wrath of God upon the United States and
Israel. There is also a warning for those Muslim countries, which witnessed all these as a
silent spectator. What had earlier been done to the innocent people of Iraq, Chechnya,
and Bosnia? Only one conclusion could be derived from the indifference of the United
States and the West to these acts of terror and the patronage of the tyrants by these
powers that America is an anti-Islamic power and it is patronizing the anti-Islamic forces.
Its friendship with the Muslim countries is just a show, rather deceit. By enticing or
intimidating these countries, the United States is forcing them to play a role of its choice.
Put a glance all around and you will see that the slaves of the United States are either
rulers or enemies [of Muslims]. The US has no friends, nor it wants to keep one because
the prerequisite of friendship is to come to the level of the friend or consider him at par
with you. America does not want to see anyone equal to it. It expects slavery from
others. Therefore, other countries are either its slaves or subordinates. However, our
case is different. We have pledged slavery to God Almighty alone and after this pledge
there is no possibility to become the slave of someone else. If we do that, it will be
disregardful to both our Sustainer and his fellow beings. Most of the world nations
upholding their freedom are the religious ones, which are the enemies of United States, or
the latter itself considers them as its enemies. Or the countries, which do not agree to
become its slaves, such as China, Iran, Libya, Cuba, Syria, and the former Russia.

Whoever committed the act of 11 September are not the friends of the American people.
I have already said that we are against the American system, not against its people,
whereas in these attacks, the common American people have been killed. According to
my information, the death toll is much higher than what the US Government has stated.
But the Bush administration does not want the panic to spread. The United States should
try to trace the perpetrators of these attacks within itself; the people who are a part of the
US system, but are dissenting against it. Or those who are working for some other
system; persons who want to make the present century as a century of conflict between
Islam and Christianity so that their own civilization, nation, country, or ideology could
survive.

They can be any one, from Russia to Israel and from India to Serbia. In the US
itself, there are dozens of well-organized and well-equipped groups, which are capable of
causing a large-scale destruction. Then you cannot forget the American Jews, who are
annoyed with President Bush ever since the elections in Florida and want to avenge him.
Then there are intelligence agencies in the US, which require billions of dollars worth of
funds from the Congress and the government every year. This [funding issue] was not a
big problem till the existence of the former Soviet Union but after that the budget of these

agencies has been in danger. They needed an enemy. So, they first started propaganda
against Usama and Taliban and then this incident happened. You see, the Bush
administration approved a budget of $40 billion. Where will this huge amount go? It
will be provided to the same agencies, which need huge funds and want to exert their
importance. Now they will spend the money for their expansion and for increasing their
importance. I will give you an example. Drug smugglers from all over the world are in
contact with the US secret agencies. These agencies do not want to eradicate narcotics
cultivation and trafficking because their importance will be diminished. The people in
the US Drug Enforcement Department are encouraging drug trade so that they could
show performance and get millions of dollars worth of budget. General Noriega was
made a drug baron by the CIA and, in need, he was made a scapegoat. In the same way,
whether it is President Bush or any other US President, they cannot bring Israel to justice
for its human rights abuses or to hold it accountable for such crimes. What is this? Is it
not that there exists a government within the government in the United Sates? That
secret government must be asked as to who made the attacks.
Ummat: A number of world countries have joined the call of the United States for
launching an attack on Afghanistan. These also include a number of Muslim countries.
Will al-Qua'ida declare a jihad against these countries as well?
Usama: I must say that my duty is just to awaken the Muslims; to tell them as to what is
good for them and what is not. What does Islam says and what the enemies of Islam
want? Al-Qua'ida was set up to wage a jihad against infidelity, particularly to encounter
the onslaught of the infidel countries against the Islamic states. Jihad is the sixth
undeclared element of Islam. [The first five being the basic holy words of Islam, prayers,
fast, pilgrimage to Mecca, and giving the poor-due] Every anti-Islamic person is afraid
of it. Al-Qua'ida wants to keep this element alive and active and make it part of the daily
life of the Muslims. It wants to give it the status of worship. We are not against any
Islamic country nor we consider a war against an Islamic country as Jihad. We are in
favor of armed jihad only against those infidel countries, which are killing innocent
Muslim men, women, and children just because they are Muslims. Supporting the US
act is the need of some Muslim countries and the compulsion of others. However, they
should think as to what will remain of their religious and moral position if they support
the attack of the Christians and the Jews on a Muslim country like Afghanistan. The
orders of Islamic Shariat [jurisprudence] for such individuals, organizations, and
countries are clear and all the scholars of the Muslim brotherhood are unanimous on
them. We will do the same, which is being ordered by the Ameerul Momineen [the
commander of the faithful] Mulla Omar and the Islamic scholars. The hearts of the
people of Muslim countries are beating with the call of jihad. We are grateful to them.
Ummat: The losses caused in the attacks in New York and Washington have proved that
giving an economic blow to the US is not too difficult. US experts admit that a few more
such attacks can bring down the American economy. Why is al-Qua'ida not targeting
their economic pillars?

Usama: I have already said that we are not hostile to the United States. We are against
the system, which makes other nations slaves of the United States, or forces them to
mortgage their political and economic freedom. This system is totally in control of the
American Jews, whose first priority is Israel, not the United States. It is simply that the
American people are themselves the slaves of the Jews and are forced to live according to
the principles and laws laid by them. So, the punishment should reach Israel. In fact, it
is Israel, which is giving a blood bath to innocent Muslims and the US is not uttering a
single word.
Ummat: Why is harm not caused to the enemies of Islam through other means, apart
from the armed struggle? For instance, inciting the Muslims to boycott Western
products, banks, shipping lines, and TV channels.
Usama: The first thing is that Western products could only be boycotted when the
Muslim fraternity is fully awakened and organized. Secondly, the Muslim companies
should become self-sufficient in producing goods equal to the products of Western
companies. Economic boycott of the West is not possible unless economic self-
sufficiency is attained and substitute products are brought out. You see that wealth is
scattered all across the Muslim world but not a single TV channel has been acquired
which can preach Islamic injunctions according to modern requirements and attain an
international influence. Muslim traders and philanthropists should make it a point that if
the weapon of public opinion is to be used, it is to be kept in the hand. Today's world is
of public opinion and the fates of nations are determined through its pressure. Once the
tools for building public opinion are obtained, everything that you asked for can be done.
Ummat: The entire propaganda about your struggle has so far been made by the Western
media. But no information is being received from your sources about the network of al-
Qua'ida and its jihadi successes. Would you comment?
Usama: In fact, the Western media is left with nothing else. It has no other theme to
survive for a long time. Then we have many other things to do. The struggle for jihad
and the successes are for the sake of Allah and not to annoy His bondsmen. Our silence
is our real propaganda. Rejections, explanations, or corrigendum only waste your time
and through them, the enemy wants you to engage in things which are not of use to you.
These things are pulling you away from your cause. The Western media is unleashing
such a baseless propaganda, which make us surprise but it reflects on what is in their
hearts and gradually they themselves become captive of this propaganda. They become
afraid of it and begin to cause harm to themselves. Terror is the most dreaded weapon in
modern age and the Western media is mercilessly using it against its own people. It can
add fear and helplessness in the psyche of the people of Europe and the United States. It
means that what the enemies of the United States cannot do, its media is doing that. You
can understand as to what will be the performance of the nation in a war, which suffers
from fear and helplessness.

As a Mus­lim, I try my best to avoid telling a lie.