This is the first of two religious edicts which justifies violence against Western interests in the Middle East. It was written in August of 1996 and published in the London-based Al Quds Al Arabi , a newspaper that Osama bin Laden has often used to impart his views. The epistle was translated by the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights, an organization sympathetic to bin Laden's cause, and later distributed on the Internet in October of 1996.
A MESSAGE FROM OSAMA BIN MUHAMMAD BIN IN LADEN TO HIS MUSLIM BRETHREN ALL OVER THE WORLD GENERALLY AND IN THE ARAB PENINSULA SPECIFICALLY
Praise be to Allah, we seek His help and ask for his pardon. We take refuge in Allah from our wrongs and bad deeds. Who ever been guided by Allah will not be misled, and who ever has been misled, he will never be guided. I bear witness that there is no God except Allah-no associates with Him – and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.