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Following are excerpts from an audio message by Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, which was posted on the Internet on October 1, 2010:
To the Islamic nation: Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings.
Let me congratulate you on the arrival of the blessed month of Ramadhan, the month of the Koran, fasting, and prayer into the night, the month of charity and jihad.
Let us strive in worship, and avoid that which distracts us from the remembrance of Allah.
My Muslim brothers, the effects of the great climate changes on our nation, which cause tragedies and great catastrophes, have encompassed many of the Islamic lands, and the accustomed relief response is no longer sufficient.
The number of victims of the current climate changes is very high, and is expected to rise even more, according to the studies. This number is much higher than the number of victims of wars. For these wars, the countries recruit the fiercest of men into their armies, send them to the best training programs, and allocate a large portion of their budgets. The countries of the region spend more than 100 billion Euros yearly on their armies, without this having any effect on the cause of Palestine, whereas the relief efforts are granted only marginal importance.
What we witness today – rapid desiccation, especially in Africa, and floods in other areas, which caused thousands of casualties in a few days in Pakistan alone, not to mention millions of people harmed or displaced – requires that people with kind hearts and men of firm will act in earnest and great haste to save their Muslim brothers in Pakistan.
The catastrophic floods that struck Jeddah were to be expected, for a very simple reason: like many other cities, Jeddah is not built only on the banks of the wadis. Many of its installations and homes were built in the path of the water. I'm not here to determine who is responsible for this catastrophe. There will be a time and place for that. I am just describing reality in order to avoid a repetition of flood catastrophes, and to find fundamental solutions to these dangers to people's lives.