Social media users were divided in their opinions regarding the morality and veracity of Osama bin Laden’s letter, with some praising it and others denouncing or making fun of it.
Credit: NDTV
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Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden
Born in Saudi Arabia, he was a militant and dissident Islamic leader who founded al-Qaeda in 1988 and served as its first general emir until his death in May 2011. His outfit, which is considered to be pan-Islamist in ideology, has been classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union, NATO, the United Nations Security Council, and several other nations.
Osama was born into the noble bin Laden family in Riyadh. After the Afghan–Soviet War, in 1979, he joined the Afghan mujahidin in their fight against the Soviet Union while still a student at local institutions. His group, Maktab al-Khidamat, attracted foreign mujahidin into the fight in 1984. For a global jihad, he established al-Qaeda in 1988. The Saudi royal family rejected Bin Laden’s offer of assistance against Iraq during the Gulf War (1990–1991) and instead turned to the United States for backing. Because of his anti-American and pan-Islamist beliefs, Bin Laden was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1991.
After that, he moved his headquarters to Sudan until 1996, at which point he departed to found a new base in Afghanistan with the help of the Taliban. In August 1996 and February 1998, respectively, Bin Laden issued two fatawa (proclamations of holy war) against the United States. The 1998 US embassy attacks in East Africa were planned by him. After that, he was placed on the FBI’s lists of Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists.
Osama Bin Laden’s Letter to America
After some users uploaded a decades-old letter written by former Al Qaida head Osama bin Laden on TikTok and then re-shared it on X (previously Twitter), the post went viral. After bin Laden’s 2002 ‘Letter to America’ ignited a debate regarding US backing for Israel in its current conflict with Hamas, TikTok removed the hashtag #lettertoamerica (which had over two million views) from its search results, according to NBC News. The White House has criticized some social media users for suggesting that the Al Qaeda founder’s document provides an alternate viewpoint of US engagement in Middle Eastern conflicts.
The letter was sent a year after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which claimed the lives of over 3,000 people. Users began sharing links to The Guardian’s version of the letter, which helped bring the matter to light. The letter, which was written 21 years ago, was removed off The Guardian’s website. Bin Laden aimed to respond to the following queries in his letter to the American people: “Why are we fighting and opposing you?” along with,what do the terrorist team call the Americans to, and what do the terrorist team want from the Americans?
Social media users were divided in their opinions regarding the morality and veracity of bin Laden’s letter, with some praising it and others denouncing or making fun of it. Discussion participants stated the letter made them rethink their opinions on US involvement in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.Furthermore, they stated that they do not support or justify bin Laden’s planning of the 9/11 attacks..
Critics of TikTok claimed that this proved the app, which is owned by the massive Chinese internet company ByteDance, has been covertly promoting propaganda to a young audience in the United States. In addition, Bin Laden accused the US of supporting Palestinian oppression and condemned US backing for Israel in his letter. According to The Washington Post, the former head of Al Qaida also attacked US actions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Chechnya, and Lebanon.
Bin Laden, who perished in 2011 in Pakistan during a US special operation.
The White House has denounced the message’s dissemination, stating that no one should ever denigrate the 2,977 American families who are currently grieving for a loved one by linking themselves to Osama bin Laden’s hateful remarks. Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, is one of the politicians who have attacked the letter and demanded social media reform.
Videos displaying bin Laden’s letter, according to TikTok representative Ben Rathe, are against the platform’s policies.
