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The “War” on Terrorism: A Cultural Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2012

Fawaz A. Gerges
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Extract

Clearly, Osama bin Laden does not subscribe to any international rules in his unholy struggle against the world. The fatwa (religious ruling) issued in February 1998 by the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders—the network of terrorist organizations bin Laden established—holds that “to kill the Americans and their allies-civilians and military—is an individual duty for every Muslim.” It makes no distinction between noncombatants and combatants, viewing civilians as soldiers in a zero sum confrontation.

Type
Articles
Information
Ethics & International Affairs , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , March 2002 , pp. 18 - 20
Copyright
Copyright © Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs 2002

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References

1 World Islamic Front Statement, “Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders,” available at http://www.atour.com/news/international/20010928b.htmlGoogle Scholar.

2 See the recruiting tape of Osama bin Laden, which I translated and edited with some colleagues for Columbia University, available at http://www.ciaonet.org/cbr/cbr00Google Scholar.

3 See, for example, the thought-provoking essay by Fredric Smoler, “Fighting the Last War—and the Next,” American Heritage(December 2001), pp. 38–42Google Scholar.

4 See the recruiting tape of Osama bin LadenGoogle Scholar.

5 See Fawaz A. Gerges, ‘The Arab Tide Turns Against Bin Laden,’ Los Angeles Times, January 4, 2002Google Scholar.