Bin Laden's 1996 fatwā is entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places". This document is sometimes called the Ladenese epistle, a term derived from bin Laden's surname. It is a long piece, and complains of American activities in numerous countries. It was faxed to Arab language newspapers internationally but particularly in England. It first appeared in the London-based Arabic paper Al-Quds Al-Arabi.
1998 fatwā
The 1998 fatwā reached Al QudsAl Arabi by fax, and was signed by five people, four of whom represented specific Islamist groups:
Osama bin Laden
Ayman al-Zawahiri, "emir of the Jihad Group in Egypt", probably meaning Islamic Jihad
Ahmed Refai Taha, alias Abu Yasser, of al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya. This endorsement was retracted because of the enormous unpopularity of terrorism in Egypt following the Luxor massacre of tourists and Egyptians by al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya. Taha explained his signature to fellow members of the Islamic Group saying he had only been asked over the telephone to join in a statement of support for the Iraqi people.
Mir Hamzah
Fazul Rahman, "emir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh", probably Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh or HUJI-B; HUJI itself is in Pakistan.
The signatories as a group were identified as the "World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders". This fatwā complains of American military presence in the Arabian Peninsula, the blockade of Iraq, and American support for Israel. It purports to provide religious authorization for indiscriminate killing of Americans and Jews everywhere. It appeared in February 1998 and the embassy bombings followed in August.
The World Islamic Front is the organization that issued the World Islamic Front Statement of 23 February 1998, "Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders", listing the actions of Americans that they claim conflict with "God's order", and stating that the Front's "ruling to kill the Americans and their allies—civilians and military—is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it." Terrorism experts consider the "World Islamic Front" synonymous with al-Qaeda. The 9/11 Commission uses the text of the 23 February 1998 fatwa as evidence that linked Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and al-Qaeda to the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Effects of the World Islamic Front Statement
The 23 February 1998 fatwa is the first known official order of the World Islamic Front. The fatwa calls upon each individual member of the existing Ummah to, "in accordance with the words of Almighty God, 'fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God.'" The fatwa is widely regarded by terrorism experts as the founding document of the World Islamic Front.
