Today, the anniversary of September 11 terrorist attacks, I read with great interest the recent message of Osama Bin Laden. (Full transcript here).
There has been plenty of news coverage about the timing, appearance, and tone of the speech. But there has been insufficient analysis of one key component of the speech: its central message. So on September 11, I want to discuss the central message of Bin Laden’s tape to better appreciate the mindset of the leader of Islamic extremists.
If you were to guess who are the true enemies that Osama Bin Laden purports to be fighting, what would be your guess? Would you say the western media? Or the Bush Administration? Perhaps Israel or the Zionists? Based on his message of September 7, 2007, you may be surprised. It certainly surprised me.
The answer is that the true enemies of Islam are … corporations. According to Bin Laden, they are the true terrorists. They are the deceivers. They are the warmongers.
Why the Democrats Have Not Stopped the War? Answer: Corporations
[T]he world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of the tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven’t made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there, which has led to the vast majority of you being afflicted with disappointment…. [W]hy have the Democrats failed to stop this war, despite them being in the majority?….. So in answer to the question about the causes of the Democrats’ failure to stop the war, I say: they are the same reasons which led to the failure of former president Kennedy to stop the Vietnam war. Those with real power and influence are those with the most capital. And since the democratic system permits major corporations to back candidates, be they presidential or congressional, there shouldn’t be any cause for astonishment—and there isn’t any—in the Democrats’ failure to stop the war.
Why is the White House Keen to Wage War? Answer: Corporations
Why are the leaders of the White House keen to start wars and wage them around the world, and make use of every possible opportunity through which they can reach this purpose, occasionally even creating justifications based on deception and blatant lies, as you saw in Iraq?… It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations.
Who are the Real Terrorists? Answer: Corporations
And with that, it has become clear to all that they [the major corporations] are the real tyrannical terrorists. In fact, the life of all mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories of the major corporations…. The greatest of plagues and most dangerous of threats to the lives of humans is taking placed in an accelerating fashion as the world is being dominated by the democratic system, which confirms the massive failure to protect humans and their interests from the greed and avarice of the major corporations and their representatives.
From What Must We Liberate Ourselves? Answer: Corporations
So is there a form of terrorism stronger, clearer and more dangerous than this? This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings, and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system…. The capitalist system seeks to turn the entire world into a fiefdom of the major corporations under the label of ‘globalization’ in order to protect democracy. And Iraq and Afghanistan and their tragedies, and the reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes, and real estate mortgages; global warming and its woes; and the abject poverty and tragic hunger in Africa; all of this is but one side of the grim face of this global system.
Who Benefits from Man-Made Laws? Answer: Corporations
So it is imperative that you free yourselves from all of that and search for alternative, upright methodology in which it is not the business of any class of humanity to lay down its own laws to its own advantage at the expense of the other classes as is the case with you, since the essence of man-made positive laws is that they serve the interests of those with the capital and thus make the rich richer and the poor poorer.
Whom Shall the Mujahideen Fight? Answer: Corporations
There is a message for you in the Mujahideen…. The true religion also puts peoples’ lives in order with its laws; protects their needs and interests; refines their morals; protects them from evils; and guarantees for them entrance into Paradise…. And it will also achieve your desire to stop the war as a consequence, because as soon as the warmongering owners of the major corporations realize that you have lost confidence in your democratic system and begun to search for an alternative, and that this alternative is Islam, they will run after you to please you and achieve what you want to steer you away from Islam. So your true compliance with Islam will deprive them of the opportunity to defraud the peoples and take their money under numerous pretexts, like arms deals and so on.
So there you have it. The true enemies of Islam are major corporations. Democracy has been corrupted by corporations and the military-industrial complex. We should all accept that reality, forego the capitalist system, and accept Bin Laden’s open invitation to embrace Islam. That’s the message of Osama Bin Laden.
Because the evil word “corporations” is spoken multiple times by Osama, is he therefore to be disregarded outright?
Does accepting his premise render one unpatriotic and a traitor to all that is “good” about the melding of a presumed democracy with capitalism? What would Marx and Engels think?
Would your consideration of this subject in any manner make you vulnerable to heavy thinking and therefore put your personal relationships at risk? Would you have to begin attending meetings of Thinkers Anonymous?