The Al Qaeda Reader Since 9/11, statements and writings of Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders published in the Western press have offered chilling glimpses of the organization and the beliefs fueling its war on the West. THE AL QAEDA READER presents a deeper, and much more frightening, portrait. — As an assistant in the African and Middle Eastern Division of... more » the Library of Congress, Raymond Ibrahim had unparalleled access to writings by Bin Laden and his cohorts. He found striking differences in both tone and content between statements published in English and those written in Arabic and distributed in the Muslim world. Ibrahim’s translations of these documents trace the origins and evolution of Al Qaeda and reveal an ideology that calls for a relentless jihad against non-Muslim “infidels,” repudiates democracy in favor of Islamic law, stresses the importance of martyrdom, and mocks the notion of “moderate” Islam.
The most stunning aspect of these translations is how grounded they are in the traditional sources of Islamic teachings: the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet. The members of Al Qaeda use these as powerful weapons of persuasion, reminding followers (and would-be recruits) that Muhammad and his warriors spread Islam through the power of the sword and that the Koranis not merely allegory or history but literal Truth which commands all Muslims to action. Westerners from across the political spectrum will be fascinated and enlightened by THE AL QAEDA READER's insights into the nature of Islamic texts and the ways in which Al Qaeda has used these texts to manufacture hatred against our civilization and our way of life.« less