Subscribe Today
Request a Clip
Following are excerpts from an interview with Omar Bin Laden, son of Osama Bin Laden, which aired on Channel 1 Egyptian TV on January 28, 2008:
Omar Bin Laden: "There is no coercion in Islam." Whoever wants to wage Jihad is welcome, and whoever does not want to – that's fine too.
Interviewer: Do you consider this to be a real Jihad for the sake of Islam, which benefits the religion of Islam?
Omar Bin Laden: What exactly do you mean?
Interviewer: The Jihad you are talking about. Should the killing of civilians be considered Jihad?
Omar Bin Laden: The truth is that I condemn the killing or attacking of any civilian whatsoever – whether in the name of Allah or in the name of democracy. I condemn this, and so does Islam.
[...]
Terrorism exists all over the world. If we assume, for the sake of argument, that my father is a terrorist, then we must assume that Bush and Sharon are terrorists too.
Interviewer: I completely agree.
[...]
Omar Bin Laden: My father believes that these acts, especially in European countries... The truth is that he condemns any killing in Islamic countries.
[...]
Interviewer: You mean he does not want to kill Muslims.
Omar Bin Laden: He does not want to kill Muslims or even innocent [non-Muslims], but the things is that the politics...
Interviewer: He does not want this? Are you saying he was forced to do this? I don't understand.
Omar Bin Laden: No, he even forbids these acts...
Interviewer: But he did this.
Omar Bin Laden: Where exactly did he do this? Tell me where, so I can explain the situation to you.
Interviewer: Do you think that Sheik Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda have nothing to do with 9/11?
Omar Bin Laden: My father is connected to it, as he himself admitted. We heard it on the news. But I personally do not agree with the killing of civilians anywhere...
Interviewer: Omar, that's your personal opinion, but Osama Bin Laden did these things.
Omar Bin Laden: But the question is why he did those things. You would like to know his perspective, wouldn't you?
Interviewer: No, we know his perspective. He views this as Jihad for the sake of Allah, and so on. But you say that he forbids the killing of civilians.
Omar Bin Laden: Jihad does not command you to kill civilians, right? Omar Ibn Al-Khattab said: "Do not kill an old man, a woman, a child, a poet, or a monk in his monastery."
Interviewer: So how do you explain this contradiction?
Omar Bin Laden: That's the problem.
Interviewer: How do you explain this contradiction? You say that Sheik Osama Bin Laden believes that killing civilians is forbidden, according to the teachings of Islam, and according to the conduct of the Prophet Muhammad in all his wars – but he is doing the opposite.
Omar Bin Laden: That's because he does not consider these people to be civilians. That's his personal point of view.
Interviewer: What about you?
Omar Bin Laden: I do consider them to be civilians.
[...]
He offered them a truce. But they don't want to recognize him to begin with, and so they cannot reach any truce or agreement with him. So why did they recognize Gerry Adams? They do have truces. They say that they are not willing to recognize terrorists, so why did they make a truce with Gerry Adams in South Ireland [sic]?
[...]
Why did he attack American civilians? Because in his opinion, it was the American people itself that elected the president and his policy – twice, no less – and they pay him taxes, and so on. Therefore, according to his personal perspective, the [Americans] support this oppressive policy.
Latest Clips
