Anti-American Terrorism and the Middle East A Documentary Reader

by Rubin, Barry; Rubin, Judith Colp

• ISBN13: 9780195157154
• ISBN10: 019515715X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-09-12
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

"Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you. Islamsays: Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword and in the shadow of thesword. The sword is the key to Paradise, which can be opened only for HolyWarriors." These words appear in an article entitled "Islam is Not a Religion ofPacifists," written in 1942 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's, who, 37 yearslater, would lead the Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran. Ahalf-century later, Usama bin Ladin, in a "Declaration of War" published in anIraqi newspaper, would write, "Our youths believe in paradise after death. . . .Those youths know that their reward is in fighting you, the United States. . .They have no intention except to enter paradise by killing you. An infidel andan enemy of God like you." In the six decades that have elapsed sinceKhomeini's treatise was published, militant Islam has evolved and gainedconsiderable strength, yet also remained remarkably consistent. The Westernworld's response to the September 11, 2000 terrorist attacks on the World TradeCenter and the Pentagon has largely taken the form of questions: How could thishappen? Why is America so reviled in certain quarters of the Arab world? Whydidn't we know? This unique volume sets out to answer these questions notthrough the words or interpretations of Western analysts and commentators butrather in the unfiltered words of the militants themselves.L Tracing the originsof contemporary anti-Americanism in the Middle East to the Muslim Brotherhoodthat sprang up in Egypt in the 1940s, Barry Rubin and Judy Colp Rubin haveassembled nearly one hundred key documents, distilled to their essence, chartingthe evolution of radical Muslim ideology, the growing militancy that hasfostered terrorism in the name of Islam, and world reactions to the September 11attacks. Among the documents included are the charters of such organizations asHizballah, Hamas, and World Islamic Front; speeches by Syrian president Hafizal-Asad and Iraqi president Saddam Hussein; Al-Qa'ida recruitment materials;terrorist training manuals; and, importantly, numerous conflicting and deeplyconflicted responses to September 11 by journalists, clerics, and activists inthe Arab world (among them Ali Uqleh Ursan, Chairman of the Syrian Arab Writers'Association, who writes, "I cannot hide my sympathy toward the innocentAmericans, who fell victim, first and foremost, to the policy of their owngovernment").L Supplemented by an annotated chronology, a glossary of terms, andprefatory sections that contextualize each of the selections, this comprehensivereference serves not only as essential historical background to the ongoingaftermath of the September 11 attacks, but more generally as an invaluableframework for understanding the motivations and worldview of violent Islamicfundamentalism.

Author Biography

Barry Rubin is Director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center and editor of the journal, Middle East Review of International Affairs. His previous documentary reader, The Israel-Arab Reader, coedited with Walter Laqueur, now in its sixth edition, has been in print for thirty years. Judith Colp Rubin is a journalist who has covered the Middle East extensively for a variety of U.S. print media.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 3
The Radical Critique of Islam	p. 7
The Islamist View of Life as a Perennial Battle	p. 11
On the Doctrine of the Muslim Brothers (1940s)	p. 27
Islam Is Not a Religion of Pacifists (1942)	p. 29
Paving the Way (1955)	p. 29
Speech at Feyziyeh Theological School (August 24, 1979)	p. 32
On the Nature of the Islamic State (September 8, 1979)	p. 35
Suicide Operations Are Legitimate Defense (April 8, 1997)	p. 36
Speech to Organization of Islamic Countries Meeting (December 9, 1997)	p. 37
Fatwa on the Taliban (November 29, 2000)	p. 40
The Revolutionaries	p. 43
The Importance of Afghanistan for the Islamist Revolution (January 2002)	p. 47
Program (February 1985)	p. 50
Charter (August 1988)	p. 54
The Letter of Demands to the King of Saudi Arabia (April 1992)	p. 60
Abdullah Azzam, the Struggling Sheikh (July 1996)	p. 62
Interview with Umar Abd al-Rahman (April 1997)	p. 64
The Islamic State in Egypt Is Approaching (April 1997)	p. 67
On the Islamist Revolution in Egypt (January 2002)	p. 69
Interview with Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdissy (December 1997)	p. 73
Interview with Mullah Ma'soum Afghani (April 1997)	p. 75
American Policy and Anti-Americanism	p. 77
The Truth about U.S. Middle East Policy	p. 81
The United States Will Not Intervene Militarily (November 7, 1979)	p. 106
No Room for Leniency (November 12, 1979)	p. 107
Memo to President Jimmy Carter on Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan (December 26, 1979)	p. 108
State of the Union Address (January 23, 1980)	p. 110
Speech to Syrian Soldiers (October 1, 1981)	p. 112
U.S. Policy Views Mideast as "U.S. Possession" (February 16, 1985)	p. 114
On U.S. Hostages (February 1987)	p. 115
On U.S. Policy (February 17, 1987)	p. 117
On U.S. Hostages (February 1987)	p. 118
A Strategy for the Arab World (February 24, 1990)	p. 119
Indictment against the Khobar Tower Bombers of June 1996 (June 21, 2001)	p. 123
Second Speech to Organization of Islamic Countries Meeting (December 9, 1997)	p. 126
The New Barbarism (December 2, 1998)	p. 129
Letter to President Bill Clinton (December 3, 1998)	p. 130
An Anti-American Sermon (October 2000)	p. 131
Why Attack America (January 2002)	p. 131
Usama Bin Ladin and His Movement	p. 135
Declaration of War (August 1996)	p. 137
Interview with Usama bin Ladin (October 1996)	p. 142
Statement: Jihad against Jews and crusaders (February 23, 1998)	p. 149
Interview with Usama bin Ladin (December 1998)	p. 151
Encyclopedia of the Afghan Jihad: Training Manual (December 1999)	p. 157
Testimony of Jamal Ahmad al-Fadl (February 6-7, 2001)	p. 169
Testimony of Ahmad Ressam (July 3-5, 2001)	p. 173
Al-Qa'ida Recruitment Video (2000)	p. 174
Al-Qa'ida's War on America	p. 185
FBI Most Wanted (October 10, 2001)	p. 189
Letter to al-Qa'ida Cell (August 1997)	p. 204
Report on the Bomb Attacks in Kenya and Tanzania (January 1999)	p. 207
Testimony of Ali A. Muhammad (October 21, 2000)	p. 209
Testimony of John Michael Anticev (February 27-28, 2001)	p. 210
Responsibility for the Terrorist Atrocities in the United States, September 11, 2001 (October 4, 2001)	p. 214
Executive Order: Sanctions on the Afghan Taliban (July 6, 1999)	p. 218
Resolution 1267 (October 15, 1999)	p. 219
Testimony on the Taliban (July 20, 2000)	p. 220
Testimony of Ahmad Ressam (July 3-5, 2001)	p. 223
Worldwide Threat 2001: National Security in a Changing World (February 7, 2001)	p. 225
September 11, al-Qa'ida, and the Taliban	p. 229
Suicide Note (September 18, 2001)	p. 233
Responsibility for the Terrorist Atrocities in the United States, September 11, 2001 (October 4, 2001)	p. 238
The Hijackers of September 11 (September 27, 2001)	p. 240
Videotape of a Private Meeting (December 13, 2001)	p. 243
Interview with Mullah Umar Muhammad (September 21, 2001)	p. 247
Broadcast by Usama bin Ladin (October 7, 2001)	p. 249
Al-Qa'ida Statement (October 10, 2001)	p. 251
Al-Qa'ida Statement (October 13, 2001)	p. 253
Broadcast by Usama bin Ladin (November 3, 2001)	p. 255
Dawn Interview with Usama bin Ladin (November 10, 2001)	p. 261
Interview with Usama bin Ladin (December 27, 2001)	p. 264
Indictment against Zacarias Moussaoui (December 2001)	p. 268
September 11 as a Great Success (February 27, 2002)	p. 273
Pre-Attack Videotape (Summer 2001)	p. 276
Post-Attack Videotape (Fall 2001)	p. 277
Middle East Reaction to September 11	p. 279
Broadcast by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (September 12, 2001)	p. 283
A Blow from Within (September 13, 2001)	p. 284
The American Government Had Contaminated My Humanity (September 15, 2001)	p. 286
Interview with Ayman al-Zawahiri (October 7, 2001)	p. 288
To Anthrax (November 1, 2001)	p. 289
Is Usama bin Ladin the Culprit? Has World War III Started? (September 14, 2001)	p. 291
We Would Help the United States If It Would Help Us (September 17, 2001)	p. 293
A Little Justice to Help Uproot Terrorism (September 21, 2001)	p. 294
Open Letter to President George W. Bush (October 19, 2001)	p. 296
Egypt Is a Sovereign State (October 19, 2001)	p. 300
Address to the UN General Assembly (November 10, 2001)	p. 301
Editorial in Ha'aretz (September 12, 2001)	p. 304
September 11 and Islamic Sharia (September 14, 2001)	p. 305
After Afghanistan: Liberating Islam (September 17, 2001)	p. 307
Envy and Hate (September 22, 2001)	p. 309
Sharon Is a Terrorist--And You? (November 3, 2001)	p. 311
The Fight against Terrorism Must Begin with Curricular, Educational, and Media Reform in the Arab World (November 29, 2001)	p. 313
September 11 and the War Against Terrorism	p. 317
Address to the Nation (September 11, 2001)	p. 319
Address to Joint Session of Congress (September 20, 2001)	p. 320
Address to the Nation (October 7, 2001)	p. 326
Address to the UN General Assembly (November 10, 2001)	p. 328
Speech to the Labor Party Conference (October 1, 2001)	p. 334
Executive Order on Blocking Terrorist Financing (September 24, 2001)	p. 339
Executive Order on Establishing the Office of Homeland Security (October 8, 2001)	p. 340
Executive Order on Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War against Terrorism (November 13, 2001)	p. 341
Analysis of U.S. Counterterrorism Legislation (October 25, 2001)	p. 344
Resolution 1373 (September 28, 2001)	p. 348
Chronology of Middle East-Connected Terrorism against Americans	p. 351
Glossary of Terms	p. 367
Glossary of Names	p. 371
Index	p. 375
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