Beliefs and ideology of Osama bin Laden

Sharia

Following an extreme form of Islamism, Bin Laden believed that the restoration of God's law will set things right in the Muslim world. He stated, "When we used to follow Muhammad's revelation we were in great happiness and in great dignity, to Allah belongs the credit and praise." He believed "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world was Afghanistan under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban before that regime was overthrown in late 2001.

Differences with Wahhabi Ideology

Bin Laden's connection with contemporary Wahhabi Islam is disputed. Some believe his ideology is different in crucial ways. While modern Wahhabi doctrine states that only political leaders can call for jihad, bin Laden believed he could declare jihad. Modern Wahhabism forbids disobedience to a ruler unless the rule has commanded his/her subjects to violate religious commandments. Furthermore, the basic goals of bin Laden are different to contemporary Wahhabists. Bin Laden was most interested in "resisting western domination and combating regimes that fail to rule according to Islamic law," while Wahhabism focuses on correct methods of worshiping God, removing idols, and ensuring adherence to Islamic law.

On the other hand, some believe bin Laden "adopted Wahhabi terminology" when they called America `the Hubal of the age`, since Hubal was a stone idol and idolatry (shirk) was the primary Wahhabi sin.

Jihad

In a January 2004 message Bin Laden called for the establishment of provisional underground ruling councils in Muslim countries to be made up of "ulema, leaders who are obeyed among their people, dignitaries, nobles, and merchants." The councils would be sure "the people" had "easy access to arms, particularly light weapons; anti-armored rockets, such as RPGs; and anti-tank mines" to fight "raids" by "the Romans," i.e. United States.

His interviews, video messages and other communications always mentioned and almost always dwelt on need for jihad to right what he believed were injustices against Muslims by the United States and sometimes other non-Muslim states, the need to eliminate the state of Israel, and to force the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Middle East. Occasionally other issues arose; he called for Americans to "reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling, and usury," in an October 2002 letter.

East Timor

In his November 2001 statement, Osama bin Laden criticized the UN and Australian "Crusader" forces for ensuring the independence of the mostly Catholic East Timor from the mostly Muslim state of Indonesia.

India

Bin Laden considered India to be a part of the 'Crusader-Zionist-Hindu' conspiracy against the Islamic world.

Saudi Arabia

Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia and had a close relationship with the Saudi royal family, but his opposition to the Saudi government stemmed from his radical ideology. The Saudi decision to allow the U.S. military into the country in 1990 to defend against a possible attack by Saddam Hussein upset bin Laden, although he was not necessarily opposed to the royal family at this time or going to war with Iraq and even offered to send his mujahedeen from Afghanistan to defend Saudi Arabia should Iraq attack, an offer which was rebuked by King Fahd. From his point of view, "for the Muslim Saudi monarchy to invite non-Muslim American troops to fight against Muslim Iraqi soldiers was a serious violation of Islamic law".

Bin Laden, in his 1996 declaration entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places", identified several grievances that he had about Saudi Arabia, the birthplace and holy land of Islam. Bin Laden said these grievances about Saudi Arabia:

Bin Laden wanted to overthrow the Saudi monarchy (and the governments of Middle Eastern states) and establish an "Islamic Republic" according to Shari'a law (Islamic Holy Law), to "unite all Muslims and to establish a government which follows the rule of the Caliphs."

Soviet Union

In 1979, bin Laden opposed the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan and would soon heed the call to arms by Afghan freedom fighters. Bin Laden would use his own independent wealth and resources to get Arab fighters from Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait and Turkey to join the Afghans in their battle against the Soviets. While bin Laden praised the U.S. intervention early on, being happy that the Afghans were getting aid from all over the world to battle the Soviets, his view of the U.S. soon grew sour, stating "Personally neither I nor my brothers saw evidence of American help. When my mujahedin were victorious and the Russians were driven out, differences started..."

After two years into the Soviet war, bin Laden headed to Sudan to continue his work as a construction engineer and an agriculturalist, building bridges alongside some of the people he had fought alongside during the war.

United Kingdom

Bin Laden believed that Israeli Jews controlled the British government, directing it to kill as many Muslims as it could. He cited British participation in 1998's Operation Desert Fox as proof of this allegation.

United States of America

Bin Laden's stated motivations of the September 11 attacks include the support of Israel by the United States, the presence of the U.S. military in the Saudi Arabian borders, which he considered to be sacred Islamic territory, and the U.S. enforcement of sanctions against Iraq. Bin Laden had a complicated relationship with the United States, as he was supported by the U.S. in the Soviet-Afghan war. However, he first called for jihad against the United States in 1996. This call solely focused on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia; bin Laden loathed their presence and wanted them removed in a "rain of bullets".

Bin Laden's hatred and disdain for the U.S. were also manifested while he lived in Sudan. There he told Al-Qaeda fighters-in-training:

Grievances against the United States

In his 1998 fatwa entitled, "Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders" bin Laden identified three grievances against the U.S.:

Bin Laden criticized the United States in a "letter to the American people" published in late 2002, and further outlined his grievances with the United States in a 2004 speech directed towards the American people.

Favorable opinion of two American authors

In 2011, in a review of a new book from former CIA officer Michael Scheuer, professor and writer Fouad Ajami wrote that "[i]n 2007, [bin Laden] singled out two western authors whose knowledge he had high regard for: Noam Chomsky and" Scheuer.

John F. Kennedy conspiracy theory

Bin Laden supported the conspiracy theory that John F. Kennedy was killed by the "owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its (Vietnam War) continuation":

In the Vietnam War, the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that it was a necessary and crucial war, and during it, Donald Rumsfeld and his aides murdered two million villagers. And when Kennedy took over the presidency and deviated from the general line of policy drawn up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its continuation. And so Kennedy was killed, and al-Qaida wasn't present at that time, but rather, those corporations were the primary beneficiary from his killing. And the war continued after that for approximately one decade. But after it became clear to you that it was an unjust and unnecessary war, you made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war, not even the most violent of its murderers, Rumsfeld.

Killing of non-Islamic believers

According to bin Laden's ideology, non-Islamic believers may be deliberately killed in support of jihadism. This position evolved from an earlier, less violent one. In a 1998 interview, he alleged that in fighting jihad, "we differentiate between men and women, and between children and old people," unlike hypocritical "infidels" who "preach one thing and do another." But two years later he told another interviewer that those who say "killing a child is not valid" in Islam "speak without any knowledge of Islamic law", because killing non-Islamic believers may be done in vengeance. In other words, bin Laden's interpretation of Islamic doctrine allows retaliation against U.S. citizens because of perceived indiscriminate U.S. aggression against Muslims. To another question by a Muslim interviewer about Muslims killed in the September 11 attacks, bin Laden replied that "Islamic law says that Muslim should not stay long in the land of infidels," although he suggested Muslim casualties in the attack were collateral damage.

Other ideologies

In his messages, bin Laden has opposed "pan-Arabism, socialism, communism, democracy and other doctrines," with the exception of Islam. Democracy and "legislative council[s] of representatives," are denounced, calling the first "the religion of ignorance," and the second "councils of polytheism." In what one critic has called a contradiction, he has also praised the principle of governmental "accountability," citing the Western democracy of Spain: "Spain is an infidel country, but its economy is stronger than ours because the ruler there is accountable."

Opposition to music

Bin Laden opposed music on religious grounds. Despite his love of horse racing and ownership of racing horses, the presence of a band and music at the Khartoum race track annoyed him so much that he stopped attending races in Sudan. "Music is the flute of the devil," he told his Sudanese stable-mate Issam Turabi.

Support for environmentalism

Osama bin Laden and his aides have, on more than one occasion, denounced the United States for damaging the environment.

You have destroyed nature with your industrial waste and gases more than any other nation in history. Despite this, you refuse to sign the Kyoto agreement so that you can secure the profit of your greedy companies and industries.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's aide, said global warming reflected

how brutal and greedy the Western Crusader world is, with America at its top

Bin Laden has also called for a boycott of American goods and the destruction of the American economy as a way of fighting global warming.

Technology

On the subject of technology, bin Laden is said to have ambivalent feelings –being interested in "earth-moving machinery and genetic engineering of plants, on the one hand," but rejecting "chilled water on the other." In Afghanistan, his sons' education reportedly eschewed the arts and technology and amounts to "little other than memoriz[ing] the Quran all day".

Masturbation

Osama bin Laden believed that masturbation was justifiable in "extreme" cases.

Jews, Christians, and Shia Muslims

Bin Laden was profoundly anti-Semitic, and delivered many warnings against alleged Jewish conspiracies: "These Jews are masters of usury and leaders in treachery. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next."

At the same time, bin Laden's organization worked with Shia militants: "Every Muslim, from the moment they realize the distinction in their hearts, hates Americans, hates Jews, and hates Israelis. This is a part of our belief and our religion." and was apparently inspired by the successes of Shia radicalism—such as the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the implementation of Sharia by Ayatollah Khomeini, and the human wave attacks committed by radical Shia teenagers during the 1980s Iran–Iraq War. While in Sudan, "senior managers in al Qaeda maintained contacts with" Shia Iran and Hezbollah, its closely allied Shia "worldwide terrorist organization. ... Al Qaeda members received advice and training from Hezbollah." where they are thought to have borrowed the techniques of suicide and simultaneous bombing. Because of the Shia-Wahhabi enmity, this collaboration could only go so far. According to the US 9/11 Commission Report, Iran was rebuffed when it tried to strengthen relations with al Qaeda after the October 2000 attack on USS Cole, "because Bin Laden did not want to alienate his supporters in Saudi Arabia."