From Publishers Weekly
Notable for its scope and comprehensiveness, this collection of 24 newly translated public statements by Osama bin Laden offers a nuanced and revealing view of Public Enemy No. 1. Best suited for those whose knowledge of bin Linden is based upon brief, pixilated clips or quotes gleaned from news accounts, the book will provide those who have studied the man and his rarified interpretation of Islam with little, if anything, that is new. Tracing bin Laden's ascendancy from the disgruntled Saudi exile of 1994 whose letters of complaint had a nearly timid tone (in a December 1994 letter to a Saudi judicial leader, bin Laden addresses the recipient as "Honorable sheikh" and writes, "we pray that you do not take these words out of turn or consider them to overstep the limits of etiquette.") to the bombastic jihadist leader in hiding with a $50-million bounty on his head, his statements depict not only a fiery communicator with a knack for manipulating traditional Islamic beliefs, but a revolutionary figure whose romanticized view of himself and his cause carries echoes of iconic revolutionaries past. Familiarity with the Koran will help readers contextualize and evaluate bin Laden's claims (footnotes citing Koranic passages accompany each invocation), though even the uninitiated will have no trouble in identifying arguably willful misinterpretations. (Bin Laden cites, for instance, a verse that concludes, "God has endless bounty and knowledge," to support cautioning "Muslims to be very wary and careful about befriending Jews and Christians.") Those looking for a comprehensive and unexpurgated explanation of the man behind contemporary radical Islam have a powerful reference here.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Book Description
Over the last ten years, Osama Bin Laden has exploited the modern media to considerable effect, issuing a series of carefully tailored public statements. These communications, from interviews with Western and Arabic journalists to faxes and video transcripts, have been crucial in emphasizing Bin Laden’s central role in modern Islamic militancy. Moreover, the reception of these statements in the western media has helped transform him into a mythical figure with an extraordinary, unprecedented hold over western political culture.
Newly translated from the Arabic originals, annotated and with a critical introduction from Islamic scholar Bruce Lawrence, this collection places the statements in their religious, historical and political context. It shows how Bin Laden’s views both draw on and differ from other strands of radical Islamic thought; it also demonstrates how his arguments vary in degrees of assurance and consistency, and how his evasions concerning the true nature and extent of his own group, and over his own role in terrorist attacks, have contributed to the perpetuation of his own personal mythology.
Newly translated from the Arabic originals, annotated and with a critical introduction from Islamic scholar Bruce Lawrence, this collection places the statements in their religious, historical and political context. It shows how Bin Laden’s views both draw on and differ from other strands of radical Islamic thought; it also demonstrates how his arguments vary in degrees of assurance and consistency, and how his evasions concerning the true nature and extent of his own group, and over his own role in terrorist attacks, have contributed to the perpetuation of his own personal mythology.
