Letter to Osama Bin Laden
Dr. Sarah Badran wrote a letter to Osama Bin Laden: ” There is among people one whose words about this world’s life may please you greatly and who calls on God to witness what is in his heart; yet such a one is most stubborn in dispute. And when he turns his back, he goes about the earth, spreading corruption and destroying tillage and progeny, and God does not love corruption. (Quran 2:204-205)”
Don’t know if he listens…
letter to Osama Bin Laden
11/20/2004 – Political – Article Ref: IV0411-2529
By: Dr. Sarah Badran
Iviews* –
In the name of God, most Compassionate most Merciful.
May peace indeed be upon those who follow God’s guidance.
Huwa alhayyu alQayyoom
(God) The Living, The Self-subsisting
I listened very carefully to your message that was addressed to me, and my fellow Americans on Friday, October 29 2004. I listened to it in Arabic, free of interpretation or mis-translation, lest I misjudge the content of your message or your intent. I listened to it with Islam in my heart and mind, knowing that God is all Merciful and all Knowing.
With your appearance you convey an image of a pious, God fearing man. Some of our Muslim youth derive inspiration from you, seeing in you a courageous, religious mujahid, seeking to free the oppressed. They say that you are being slandered, that we must believe your denial of planning 9/11, and they say that a heart that knows Islam could never condone such a barbaric act. The Taliban believed in you, protecting you at their own risk, knowing that such a pious man could never lie!
And now you have finally admitted to taking responsibility for 9/11.
When I read the following verses from the Quran, I cannot help but think they describe you:
There is among people one whose words about this world’s life may please you greatly and who calls on God to witness what is in his heart; yet such a one is most stubborn in dispute. And when he turns his back, he goes about the earth, spreading corruption and destroying tillage and progeny, and God does not love corruption. (Quran 2:204-205)
I listened to your message in amazement, not because any of the things you said were a surprise to me, but because you say such things and still invoke the name of God. You can never justify 9/11 and its aftermath. I say this first as a Muslim, and then again as an Arab and yet again as an American.
Do you really, for one moment, feel that you have done an atom’s worth of good for your fellow Muslims and Arabs? You have created chaos and havoc. Although the haters of Islam would find any excuse to promote their intense dislike of Islam, you have given them the ammunition and the excuse they needed. In my opinion you share in the responsibility of bringing death and destruction in Afghanistan. You have shamed the brave Mujahedeen who truly fought a Jihad to remove an occupying force. As much as I blame my government for a preemptive war on Iraq that has resulted in the death of 100,000 Iraqis, you also share in this horrendous atrocity.
Do you really believe that you are shining the beautiful light of Islam upon the people of America and the West? Do you think for a second that you can reach the hearts and minds of people by threats of terror?
The Quran is clear in its teachings, illustrated by the lives of the Prophets – Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed peace be upon them all. You describe that the pain of witnessing the suffering of other Muslims became too much to bear, and that is what pushed you to plan mass murder and chaos. That is not the path of “al nafs al mutma’inna”, or the soul of a true believer.
Injustice on behalf of others cannot compel us to do the same. Collateral killing is not part of Islamic vocabulary. Instead of promoting your convoluted version of Islam, you would serve Islam and your own soul much better if you were to apply the following verses of the Quran in your own life and around the world.
O ye who believe! stand out firmly for God, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear God. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do. (Quran 5:8)
Call all mankind unto your Lord’s path with wisdom and kind preaching and argue with them in the most kindly manner, for your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who are guided to the right path – Hence if you respond to an attack, respond only to the extent of the attack leveled against you; but to bear yourselves with patience is indeed far better – For God is with those who restrain themselves, and those who do good. (Quran 16:125,126,128)
Have you seen more suffering or witnessed more pain than Mohammed, Jesus, Moses or Abraham, peace be upon them all? They indeed showed true faith, and you are distorting their message and have dishonored the name of Islam.
Patience is paramount in times of hardship and peril. Your actions have blinded any shortsighted Westerners to Islam, and have suffocated Muslims struggling to promote the message of the Most Compassionate and all Merciful God.
Dr. Sarah Badran is a physician based in Los Angeles, California.