[Osama bin Laden's Letter to America was digged out of The Guardian archives in the midst of the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza. Mocking all international laws, the Israeli Occupation Forces also waged a war against hospitals.]
London: Leading British publication The Guardian deleted the 21-year-old “Letter to America” written by Osama bin Laden after it went viral with a vast majority of Americans and netizens in other parts of the world related it with the ongoing massacre and genocide of Palestinians committed by the Zionist regime in Israel in Gaza and West Bank.
Osama Bin Laden’s letter criticising Israel and the United States resurfaced at the same time as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refuted claims that his nation is waging war crimes in Gaza despite the deaths of over 11,320 Palestinians, more than 70 per cent of them women and children.
Besides other things Osama bin Laden in his two-page purported letter, slammed the United States for funding actions that lead to the suffering of Muslims in Afghanistan and Palestine.
“Your former president warned you previously about the devastating Jewish control of capital [wealth] and about a day that would come when it would enslave you,” the letter said.
“You continue to support the oppressive Israelis in their occupation of our Palestine in response to pressures on your administration by a Jewish lobby backed by enormous financial capabilities," bin Laden wrote.
“Palestine has been under occupation for decades, and none of your presidents talked about it until after September 11 when Bush realized that your oppression and the tyranny against us were part of the reason for the attack. You have to implement a roadmap that returns the Palestine land [sic] to us, all of it, from the sea to the river, it is an Islamic land not subject to being traded or granted to any party", Osama wrote.
“Palestine shall not be seen captive for we will try to break its shackles. The United States shall pay for its arrogance with the blood of Christians and their funds", he wrote.
“The Jews have taken control of your economy, through which they have then taken control of your media, and now control all aspects of your life making you their servants and achieving their aims at your expense,” reads the letter in its condemnation of usury.
“Your law is the law of the rich and wealthy people, who hold sway in their political parties, and fund their election campaigns with their gifts. Behind them stand the Jews, who control your policies, media and economy", bin Laden wrote.
The letter especially received a huge response on TikTok, where video after video appeared showing people reacting to Osama bin Laden’s post-9/11 “Letter to America”, claiming that it all makes sense, that they now know he was right and that perhaps the worst attack on American soil is just holding the state accountable for its actions abroad – and, of course, for Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.
A number of netizens in their videos endorsed Osama’s letter declaring, “Everyone should read it”, and saying the letter was “eye-opening”, “explains so much” and has led them to have an “existential crisis.”
As a result, phrases including "Osama letter to America summary," "a letter to America full text" and "a letter to America explained" were among the trending searches on TikTok.
According to TheWrap, the "eye-opening" TikTok trend seems to have started with a video posted by Lynnette Adkins, in which she told her nearly 12 million followers: "I need everyone to stop doing what they’re doing right now and go read 'Letter to America', I feel like I’m going through an existential crisis right now."
Adkins' video received responses from other TikTokers, saying, "My eyes have been opened."
In one of her many follow-up videos, Adkins says, "TikTok is going to save this generation", because older people are “programmed to think a certain way."
The Guardian had published the full text of the letter on its website when it was initially published by the newspaper’s sister publication The Observer in November 2002. The Guardian in an unprecedented move removed the letter from its website Wednesday November 15, 2023.
The Guardian webpage now displays a message that says: "This page previously displayed a document containing, in translation, the full text of Osama bin Laden's 'Letter to the American people,' as reported in The Observer on Sunday 24 November 2002.
"The document, which was published here on the same day, was removed on 15 November 2023."
Though The Guardian has deleted the letter from its website, the full text is available on other websites, and the debate on the letter too is ongoing.
Sharing a screenshot of the removed letter, a social media user wrote, “It's incredibly odd for me that ‘A Letter to America’ penned by bin Laden was removed from The Guardian today. This letter was printed on their site in 2002 and removed after TikTokers started to examine it due to his mention of Israel and Palestine.”
Sharing the same letter online, another user wrote, "We’ve been lied to our entire lives, I remember watching people cheer when Osama was found and killed."
Another user asked why the letter was removed from the site and wrote, “Letter to America is trending, so I went to pull it up. The guardian just removed the document. Osama bin Laden’s letter to America starts trending on Twitter, and The Guardian immediately removes it from their archive?”
For all the latest News, Opinions and Views, download ummid.com App.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.
