Only days after the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, a Duke professor is trying to explain the motivations of the tragedy's organizer-jihadist Osama bin Laden.
Bruce Lawrence, professor of religion, edited and wrote the forward to the book Messages to the World-The Statements of Osama bin Laden. The text, which goes into print today and will arrive in bookstores in the fall, is the first to include the translations of the Arabic writings of bin Laden.
The book features a collection of 22 speeches and interviews given by the leader of the terrorist organization al Qaeda between 1994 and 2004.
Verso Books, a British publishing company, approached Lawrence in March, asking him to write the introduction and analyze bin Laden's writings.
"No one has ever looked at all of his writings," Lawrence said, adding that most of the resources about bin Laden are not written down, existing primarily as audio-cassettes or videos from al-Jazeera, an Arabic-language news network.
Lawrence said the new book focuses on understanding what makes bin Laden tick.
"If you read him in his own words, he sounds like somebody who would be a very high-minded and welcome voice in global politics," Lawrence said.
After analyzing his writings, Lawrence said he concluded bin Laden does not have an ultimate goal that he wants to achieve in his jihad but that he does have a specific target.
"He has no special bad language for Republican or Democratic presidents-they are all bad," Lawrence said.
He added that if bin Laden were to name his own "axis of evil"-a phrase used by President George W. Bush in reference to Iraq, Iran and North Korea-it would include Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former President Bill Clinton.
Lawrence noted that bin Laden is a persuasive speaker who can utilize the Arabic language for his purposes.
"A major purpose of this book is to show how he manipulates the Arabic language with an extraordinary awareness of past speakers: the prophet Muhammed and his companions, passages from the Qur'an, anecdotes from early Islamic history... and Islamic poetry," Lawrence explained.
He said bin Laden echoes the language of early Islamic speakers, from a time when Islam was the world power.
"He does it such a way as to appeal to the sensibilities of people who are devout and dissatisfied," Lawrence said.
He added that bin Laden is not just a good organizer and speaker but also a very clever agent and director of the information age.
"His whole career as a public figure on the world stage coincides with the Internet, satellite TV and the World Wide Web," he said. "And he makes use of all three."
Lawrence said he hopes the book will offer insight regarding the al Qaeda mastermind, as expressed through bin Laden's own words.
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