BIN LADEN GOAL:
September 21, 2001
BY DAVE NEWBART STAFF REPORTER
Seventy-seven years after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, a former associate of Osama bin Laden testified in a Manhattan courtroom earlier this year that bin Laden hoped to one day see a single Muslim leader rule all Muslims around the world.
Such a community--referred to as a "caliphate'' or "Khalifa''--would be ruled according to a very strict interpretation of the Quran and would not allow for any secular law.
The associate-turned-government-witness, Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, is a native of Sudan who fought alongside bin Laden during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. His testimony in February helped convict four men involved in the bombings of two U.S. embassies, in Kenya and Tanzania, that resulted in the deaths of 224 people.
Bin Laden also has been tied to the bombings, which experts believe were an attempt to scare the United States away from Arab countries in Africa.
That was part of the overall plan "to make Khalifa,'' al-Fadl testified. The goal of bin Laden and al-Qaida--the group he controls--was to unite Muslims "under one man,'' al-Fadl said.
Bin Laden's plan, al-Fadl testified, was "to make Khalifa.''
The first caliphate dates to the days after the prophet Mohammed died in the 7th century. His first descendants were called caliphs and were considered the rulers of all of Islam.
Caliphs went in and out of power for centuries. Since World War I, there has been no caliph.
While there are nonviolent supporters of the concept, it is not embraced by mainstream Muslims, said Pakistan native Samina Ahmed, a research fellow in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
And experts disagree on to what extent bin Laden or his followers believe it is possible to re-create such a global Muslim community.
But most agree that bin Laden is seeking to overthrow Islamic states that he believes are propped up by the U.S. government. He accepts only two countries, those with the most extreme Islamic governments--Afghanistan and Sudan.
"I don't doubt it for a second that, ultimately, bin Laden's aim is to liberate the Arab and Muslim countries and topple their corrupt and sinful leaders,'' said Fewez Gerges, author of America and Political Islam: Clash of Cultures or Clash of Interests? "Then, he wants to go on to re-create the concept of Khalifa.''
Fundamentalist Muslims who buy into the concept of a caliphate can justify violence against the United States by saying they are doing it to drive the United States out of those states--and turn them into truly Islamic parts of a united community, experts said.
The ruler would live in bin Laden's native country, Saudi Arabia, the site of the holiest Muslim sites, Mecca and Medina. It's unlikely that bin Laden sees himself as the caliph, experts said; rather, he uses the caliph concept to unite the diverse groups in his terrorist network.
"He is working with a whole bunch of related groups in different countries, some of whom put more emphasis on the caliph than others," said Khalid Duran, a reform-minded Muslim and author of Children of Abraham: An Introduction to Islam for Jews. "But this is a common bond.''
And to those who do support the concept, bin Laden has used it to gain like any good politician.
Indeed, when al-Fadl was cross-examined during the embassy bombing trial, he said he supported the idea of Khalifa or a caliphate.
"They use religious symbolism and rhetoric because it's very important in recruiting fresh foot soldiers,'' Gerges said.
"While we know bin Laden and his lieutenants are as cynical as any politician in the world, the foot soldiers buy their arguments and are willing to invest their lives in them.''
BIN LADEN GOAL: UNITE MUSLIMS
In the federal trial of four men who were convicted in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, attorneys questioned a former associate of Osama bin Laden, a man named Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, about bin Laden's desire to create a caliphate, or Khalifa -- a worldwide Muslim community ruled by one person. Some excerpts from the court testimony:
Q. And one of the things [leaders of al-Qaida] talked to you about was something I think you referred to as a khalifa, right?
A. Al-Fadl: Khalifa, yes.
Q. And "Khalifa'' means that all of the Muslim world should be united into a single--I'm going to use the word country, but it really means a single entity?
A. You're right.
Q. And you believed that, didn't you?
A. Yes.
Q. When you talk about Khalifa, what you say is all Muslims should be joined together?
A. You're right, under one man.
Q. Under one man, a khalifa?
A. Yes.
Q. And that was one of the goals of al-Qaida, wasn't it?
A. Yes
Q. And it was a goal you accepted?
A. Yes.
Q. Can you tell us what Osama bin Laden said he was going to do after the Russians left Afghanistan?
A. He thinking about making group . . . [t]o be ready for another step because, in Afghanistan, everything is over.
Q. And did he explain at that time what that other step was?
A. They say we have to make Khalifa.
Q. Can you explain to the jury what a Khalifa is?
A. Khalifa mean we need one Muslim leader for the whole Muslim [people]
suntimes.com |
