Prof publishes
bin Laden's words

Bruce Lawrence (courtesy: The Chronicle)

In an attempt to explain the motivations of Osama bin Laden, a Duke University professor has published the first English language collection of the al-Qaida leader's writings.

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Bruce Lawrence, a professor of religion, concludes, however, bin Laden does not have an ultimate goal that he wants to achieve in his jihad, though he does have a specific target.

"He has no special bad language for Republican or Democratic presidents?they are all bad," Lawrence told The Chronicle, the university's independent daily newspaper.

Other analysts, however, insist bin Laden has made his ultimate aim clear – the establishment of the Caliphate, or "Allah's rule on earth" through jihad, which he sees as the responsibility of every Muslim. America and its allies must be destroyed because they stand in the way of that aim, according to bin Laden.

The al-Qaida leader told an interviewer in 1997: "We believe that God used our holy war in Afghanistan to destroy the Russian army and the Soviet Union … and now we ask God to use us one more time to do the same to America, to make it a shadow of itself."

Lawrence's "Messages to the World – The Statements of Osama bin Laden" will arrive in bookstores this fall.

Published in Britain by Verso Books, the volume features 22 speeches and interviews given by the terrorist leader between 1994 and 2004.

"No one has ever looked at all of his writings," Lawrence said, adding most resources on bin Laden are only in audio or video form.

Lawrence emphasizes understanding what makes bin Laden tick, the Chronicle reported.

"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," the professor said.

Lawrence sees bin Laden as a persuasive speaker.

"A major purpose of this book is to show how he manipulates the Arabic language with an extraordinary awareness of past speakers: the prophet Muhammad and his companions, passages from the Quran, anecdotes from early Islamic history ... and Islamic poetry," Lawrence explained.

The Duke professor said bin Laden also has an ability to "appeal to the sensibilities of people who are devout and dissatisfied" as he takes full advantage 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," Lawrence said. "And he makes use of all three."