Analysis of Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden by Bruce Lawrence - Book Report/Review Example

In his book, Messages to the World: The ments of Osama bin Laden, Bruce Lawrence provides readers with an overview of bin Laden’s ideals. During the War on Terror, bin Laden’s own statements and notions have often been overlooked in the media, which is interesting because he has been central to the War on Terror (Lawrence, 2005). Regardless, bin Laden has made several public statements and sent them to the media in order to push and provide his own analysis of the situation. Bin Laden’s message has the ideals of Al Qaeda at heart, although he also takes the affects America has on other countries as well as his own religion very seriously (Lawrence, 2005). Bruce Lawrence thus gives his readers insight into the many ideals put forth by bin Laden, and he uses analysis to undermine some of the mythical fear associated with the terrorist movement. Lawrence emphasizes the point that bin Laden’s own take on his religion is radical and very different from most mainstream Muslims and other Islamic movements (Lawrence, 2005.). In actuality, bin Laden actually differs from many of the other radical sects. His own comments and statements have created a mythological concept about him as well; he is either viewed as a savior or a terrorist, depending on which side of the argument a person considers (Messages to the World, n.d.). Take, for example, the following quote from Lawrence’s book: We continue to make America bleed profusely to the point of bankruptcy, Allah willing. And that is not too difficult for Allah. Whoever says that Al Qaeda triumphed over the White House administration, or that the White House administration lost this war—this is not entirely accurate, for if we look carefully at the results, it is impossible to say that Al Qaeda is the only cause of these amazing gains. The White House policy, which strove to open war fronts to give business to their various corporations—in armament, oil, and construction…also helped accomplish these astonishing achievements for Al Qaeda. It appeared to some analysts and diplomats that we and the White House play as one team to score a goal against the United States of America, even though our intentions differ (qtd Lawrence, 2005, p. 62). Therefore, while America sees bin Laden as the enemy, bin Laden has no trouble reversing the roles and seeing America as the “bad guys.” This is generally the source of any type of struggle along these lines, as each side points the finger at the other. However, this struggle stems mainly from idealistic beliefs, and the fact that bin Laden organized 9-11 is something that no American can forgive. Although bin Laden attempts to justify his actions, western countries cannot accept the killings of thousands of innocent people as any type of acceptable sacrifice. Lawrence provides his readers with a total of twenty-four translated statements made by bin Laden. By reviewing these statements, individuals are able to get a feel for bin Laden and understand his very limited interpretation of the Muslim religion. The writings start in 1994, and begin with a letter of complaint from bin Laden, and this letter is relatively mild in character (Lawrence, 2005). In his writings, bin Laden seems to evolve into a more into the man we perceive him as today—the leader of a separatist sect who has no problems enforcing his ideals on others. His letter regarding his Saudi exile states: "Honorable sheikh" we pray that you do not take these words out of turn or consider them to overstep the limits of etiquette" (qtd Larence, 2005, p. 24). This is a very different type of tone when compared with later letters in which bin Laden is very certain of himself, and has no problems offending others in order to describe his ideals. Another letter sent in 1994 was written to a Saudi leader demonstrate the man more as we know him today; forceful and very certain of himself and his own beliefs; a man who believes that he is a revolutionary and tries to relate himself to other revolutionaries. (Lawrence, 2005.) Furthermore, bin Laden has no issues using the Koran to try and validate his ideals in his letters. It is evident that he does misinterpret the meanings of these texts, however, and simply uses them to suit his own notions and desires. “Bin Laden cites, for instance, a verse that concludes, ‘God has endless bounty and knowledge,’ to support cautioning ‘Muslims to be very wary and careful about befriending Jews and Christians.’” (qtd in Lawrence, 2005, p. 82) Bin Laden has never been shy of expressing his opinion, even when it comes to American politics. It is clear that he closely watches and monitors what goes on in the outside world, although he is a wanted man in exile and living on the run. For instance, he sent out comments prior to the 2004 election, comparing the Muslim world to the United States and pointing out many similarities (Lawrence, 2005). He did this probably with a sense of critical humor, since he wanted to insult Bush and compared Bush’s presidency to several corrupt governments in the middle east (Lawrence, 2005). He stated that he: found no difficulty in leading Bush and his administration on, in light of the similarity between them and the regimes in our countries, half of whom we would describe as being ruled by the military, and the other half by sons of kings and presidents. We have long experienced them. This similarity goes back to the visits of Bush Senior to the region. While some of our people were dazzled by America and hoped that these visits would make an impression on our countries, in fact it was he who was impressed by these monarchic and military regimes. He envied the fact that they could remain in power for decades, embezzling the nation’s funds with neither account nor regulation. So he brought tyranny and the suppression of liberties to his own country and called it the Patriot Act, implemented under the pretext of fighting terrorism.” (qtd in Lawrence, 2005, p. 86). Thus, the point of bin Laden’s speech is certainly to insult the United States, demonstrating that the U.S. has, in fact, started to act more like Middle Eastern countries—of course, especially the corrupt ones. This is certainly an insult to the Bush administration, as part of what bin Laden is claiming is that US elections are rigged, and the president acts more like a dictator. His own words seem to present him more as if he is an actual candidate, stating that global participation was necessary in American elections. He ended by stating: “I say to you in truth that your security lies not in the hands of Kerry, Bush or al-Qaida. It lies in your own hands, and whichever state does not encroach upon our security thereby ensures its own.” (qtd. In Lawrence, 2005 p. 121). Bin Laden thus attempts to show that Al Qaeda has come a long way and made progress, but he is also poking at Bush’s and the Unites States’ politics. However, his presentation of Al Qaeda as a global entity is an interesting concept, because, for the most part, it is. Bin Laden wants the United States to leave the Muslim world alone and to see the Muslim states as countries, equal to that of the United States. Thus, Al Qaeda is willing to fight for this equality, and that is why we see the violence from the terrorist group. Lawrence’s presentation of bin Laden’s comments push the concept that this man, whom so many westerners view as a type of iconic devil figure, actually possesses views that he can argue and support. He is an intelligent man that is capable of manipulating Islamic concepts to suit his own needs. This is not to say that he is not a religious man himself, but he has formed an offshoot sect of Islamic thought that follows his own concepts and notions, and believes in him stoically as a leader. Lawrence further shows his readers that when dealing with bin Laden’s rhetoric, readers sometimes have to be patient do work through the man’s arguments (Lawrence, 2005). . Bin Laden’s statements can be very repetitive, probably because the man wants to drive the point home and wants the world to see his views as the correct ones (Lawrence, 2005). Readers need to make sure that they take a full look at the texts, and avoid only grabbing what they want to see and hear. It can be difficult for westerners to read these ideas with an open mind, simply because of the general hatred felt for this man in the western world. Bin Laden has stirred up so much controversy in so many aspects of the world, and thus frightened and angered countless people, that it can be quite easy for an individual to lose focus, become emotional, and fail to read the works critically. Lawrence, in his introduction, attempts to prevent this type of oversight by trying to make the reader focus on the politics of the Middle East, with a strict adherence to what is going on in the Arab World (Lawrence, 2005). Therefore, he urges his western readers to see the writings in the context of what is going on in the Middle East, and to try not to focus so much on what is going on in the United States. It needs to be remembered that the War in Iraq has once again brought Islamic countries to the forefront of media attention, although the Arab countries still do not necessarily share a common ground or goal in this aspect (Lawrence, 2005). Lawrence provides a successful compilation of bin Laden’s statements, and also provides helpful points in his own introduction in order to guide the reader to more clearly viewing bin Laden’s notions. As stated before, it can be easy, as a western reader, to read emotionally and thus read too much, or too little, into what bin Laden has stated. Therefore, as Lawrence warns his readers, we need to take a step back when considering this man’s work, and make sure to take a critical approach. References Lawrence, B (2005). “Osama bin Laden’s message to the World.” The Statements of Osama Bin Laden. Verso, London. Read More