| Letter to the American People | |
|---|---|
 Osama bin Laden, 1st General Emir ofal-Qaeda | |
| Created | November 2002 |
| Commissioned by | Al-Qaeda |
| Author | Osama bin Laden[1][2] |
| Purpose | |
| ||
|---|---|---|
Personal 1st General Emir of al-Qaeda Works Killing and legacy | ||
Letter to the American People (Arabic:رسالة إلى الشعب الأمريكي,romanized: Risāla ʾIlā al-Shʿab al-ʾAmrīkī; also known asLetter to America) is amanifesto ofOsama bin Laden, published byal-Qaeda in November 2002. Initially appearing on aSaudi website linked to al-Qaeda, its English translation was widely shared online and was published[2] byThe Observer, a British Sunday newspaper affiliated withThe Guardian. The letter criticizesAmerican foreign policy in the Middle East—particularly as it applies to its support of Israel—to justify attacks on American targets; it also employsantisemitic tropes.[6][7][1][8] While the letter presents rationalization for theSeptember 11 attacks perpetrated by al-Qaeda a year prior, it does not explicitly claim responsibility for them (bin Laden would first publicly do so in a2004 video tape).
The content blends religious, moral, and political critiques against the United States, portraying it asan imperial power hostile to theMuslim world and justifies war against the U.S. The letter criticizes the U.S. for not adoptingsharia (Islamic law), condemns its economic practices likeusury, and accuses it of moral decay due to the social acceptance of practices contrary to purported Islamic values. It also accuses the U.S. of supporting oppressive regimes in Muslim countries and exploiting their resources. The letter justifies targeting American civilians in retaliation against the indiscriminate attacks ofU.S. military forces, arguing that U.S. nationals indirectly support U.S. policies through democracy and taxes. It urges Americans to embrace Islam and demands the U.S. to withdraw its military from Muslim lands and end support for corrupt leaders. It also propagatesconspiracy theories, including the claim that AIDS was a "Satanic American Invention".[6][7]
The letter gained renewed attention in 2023 amid theGaza war, after a compilation ofTikTok videos referencing the letter went viral on Twitter.[9]The Guardian removed the letter from its website, citing context issues. TikTok, responding to the videos' virality, removed hashtags and videos related to or featuring the letter's contents. This resurgence sparked discussions ononline radicalization,state-sponsored Internet propaganda, andInternet censorship, and the implications of suppressing or allowing access to such content.[6][7]
The letter was published in 2002 on a Saudi website previously used fordissemination byal-Qaeda. Following the publication, the letter's English translation was repeatedly posted online byIslamists in the United Kingdom.[10] In November 2002, British newspaperThe Observer published the translated letter.[10][2][7]
Karen J. Greenberg asserted that the letter's attribution to Osama bin Laden was debatable, arguing that it lacked accompanying video or audio and that issues likeAIDS andincest, which had not been brought up in bin Laden's past messages, were mentioned in it. Nevertheless, she has included it in the collection of statements of Bin Laden published in her 2010 bookAl-Qaeda Now.[11]
Faisal Devji theorized that the letter was primarily a propaganda tool due to the wide array of topics it addresses.[12] In his analysis of bin Laden's accusations, Devji refers to the manifesto as "a stereotyped litany of global wrongs more ethical than political in nature." Simultaneously, Devji lauded the letter for presenting a highly ethical and "well-reasoned analysis" that challenged theAmerican political system andU.S. foreign policy.[12]
Robert O. Marlin has listed the letter among the two most significant documents issued by bin Laden, alongside his 1996 Declaration of War against the United States.[3]
In his letter, Bin Laden's critique of the United States emerges, blending religious doctrines, moral judgments, and political grievances. The letter portrays the United States as a deeply hostile imperial power implementing aggressive policies against theMuslim world, and justifies waging defensive war against the U.S.[2] Bin Laden wrote:
"Why are we fighting and opposing you? The answer is very simple:
(1) Because you attacked us and continue to attack us.[2]
One criticism of the letter is the U.S.'s rejection of IslamicSharia law in its governance. It contrasts the secular, human-designed legal system of the U.S. with the divine law of Islam, portraying the former as a product of human desires and whims.[2]
Economic practices in the U.S., particularly the allowance of usury (interest on loans), are condemned. The author decries usury as a violation not only of Islamic principles but also of moral standards across religions. Bin Laden suggests that such economic policies contribute to wider social and economic injustices andaccuses Jews of controlling the United States "policies, media and economy".[2] The letter also states:
It brings us both laughter and tears to see that you have not yet tired of repeating your fabricated lies that the Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was promised to them in theTorah. Anyone who disputes with them on this alleged fact is accused ofanti-semitism. This is one of the most fallacious, widely-circulated fabrications in history. Thepeople of Palestine are pureArabs and originalSemites. It is theMuslims who are the inheritors ofMoses (peace be upon him) and the inheritors of the real Torah that has not been changed.[13]
Bin Laden lambasts the U.S. for what he perceives as widespread moral decay, citing the social acceptance and legalization of practices like fornication, homosexuality, and gambling. These, in his view, stand in stark contrast to Islamic values.[2] The letter also depicts the United States as a country with deep hypocrisy, employing double standards against non-Western nations. Some examples of American hypocrisy listed in the letter include U.S. support for theIsraeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the forced abduction andtorture of prisoners inGuantanamo prison without trials.[14] Bin Laden wrote:
"Let us not forget one of your major characteristics: your duality in both manners and values; your hypocrisy in manners and principles. ... The freedom and democracy that you call to is for yourselves and forwhite race only; as for the rest of the world, you impose upon them your monstrous, destructive policies and governments, which you call the 'American friends'. Yet you prevent them from establishing democracies. When theIslamic party in Algeria wanted to practice democracy and they won the election, you unleashed your agents in theAlgerian army onto them, and to attack them with tanks and guns, to imprison them and torture them – a new lesson from the 'American book of democracy'!!!"[2]
The letter also accuses the U.S. of supporting oppressive regimes in Muslim countries, thereby preventing the establishment of Islamic Sharia law and contributing to the oppression of Muslims. The U.S. is held accountable for economic exploitation, particularly of oil resources in Muslim regions, and for its military involvement in these countries. This includes its support for Israel, notably in actions against Palestinians and plans regardingJerusalem.[2]
In the letter, bin Laden argues for targeting American civilians, saying that as taxpayers, they indirectly support their government's military interventions in Muslim countries and policies towards Israel. This stance leads to his call forjihad, resistance, and revenge.[2]
The letter invites Americans to embraceIslam, cease what it denounces as oppressive and immoral acts, and reflect on their societal and political values. Bin Laden also demands the U.S. to withdraw its military forces from Muslim lands, end its support for corrupt leaders in these regions, and cease interfering withIslamic education.[2]
The letter concludes with a warning of continued and escalating war if these demands are not met.[2]
The letter received renewed attention amid theGaza war, after several videos onTikTok highlighted the letter and Bin Laden's views againstU.S. support for theIsraeli occupation ofPalestinian territories.[7][15]Euronews andThe Washington Post noted that TikTok users endorsed the parts of the letter related to theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict, but omitted mention of its homophobic and misogynistic arguments.[16][9]
TikTok removed thehashtag "#lettertoamerica" and other variations from itssearch engine shortly after the videos had spread, withThe Washington Post reporting that tagged videos received more than 15 million views in total prior to its removal.[17][9] Alex Haurek, a spokesperson for TikTok, stated that reports of the videos trending on the platform were inaccurate before going on to say that TikTok was "proactively and aggressively" removing videos from the platform for violating its rules on supporting acts ofterrorism.[18][9]Yashar Ali, an American journalist, shared a compilation of these videos that had over 38 million views on Twitter as of November 16, 2023.[9] An article inThe Washington Post suggested that the spread of the letter had been limited prior to Ali's compilation posts, following which the coverage of the letter skyrocketed.[9]Wired suggested that the controversy was being used by American right-wing and far-right figures to push for the ban of TikTok. Some disinformation researchers suggested that the letter's resurgence was possibly the result of a coordinated influence campaign.[19] Several sources described the reaction to the videos as amoral panic.[20][21]
The renewed attention to the letter promptedThe Guardian to retract it from its website, citing the lack of context surrounding the letter as the reason for its removal.[15]
The sudden propagation of the letter and attempts to suppress its contents have sparked commentary regarding online youth radicalization, state-sponsored Internet propaganda, and Internet censorship.Renée DiResta, a writer and research manager atStanford Internet Observatory (SIO), criticizedThe Guardian onThreads for removing the full text from its website, saying,
Don't turn the long-public ravings of a terrorist into forbidden knowledge, something people feel excited to go rediscover. Let people read the murderer's demands – this is the man some TikTok fools chose to glorify. Add more context.[9]
In contrast, Marco Bastos, a senior lecturer in media and communication atCity, University of London, describedThe Guardian as being in a no-win scenario.
If they don't take down the content, the content will be leveraged and it will be discussed, potentially shared and is going to go viral – if not out of context, then certainly outside of the scope of the original piece... If they take it down, they’re going to be accused, as they are right now, of censorship.[9]
TheSITE Intelligence Group, an Israeli-American non-governmental group that tracksonline extremism, reported that users of Islamistforums associated with al-Qaeda celebrated the document's newfound attention.[9] In response to the letter trending on various platforms, theIsrael Defense Forces posted a brief message on Twitter condemning the letter.[22]
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