	Daniel Pipes Mobile Edition Regular Site
Home \| Articles \| Blog \| Reviews \| Search

Muslim Support for Bin Laden

by Daniel Pipes
July 11, 2003
updated Oct 9, 2006

Send

RSS

"Every Muslim household not just in this country but around the world condemned the events of 9/11." So spoke Faiz Rehman of the American Muslim Council on Sept. 27, 2002, at the World Media Association Conference in Arlington, Virginia. Rehman and I were co-panelists at an event discussing the "Media's Role in Peace and Conflict: Covering the Consequences of 9/11" and I nearly fell off my seat in disbelief at his audacity. I responded by reading out some evidence I had collected in "A Middle East Party," and "Muslims ♥ Bin Laden," both of which documented bin Laden's general popularity among Muslim populations. Rehman's silence provided an eloquent reply.

Even I sensed a drop-off in support for bin Laden following the collapse of the Taliban in November 2001, which I documented in "Victory Shifts the Muslim World".

So, both Rehmen and I need to take into account an important Agence France-Presse report today about bin Laden's enduring popularity in Kano, Nigeria: "Osama bin Laden's now familiar smile beams out from posters and T-shirts dotted around the bus stops and markets of this sprawling, mainly-Muslim city, as of he were a football star or a singer. Many Muslims in Kano held parties to celebrate the September 11 attacks and now, almost two years later, the man who ordered the kamikaze hijackers into action is still a hero to many of the people here. … on the eve of Bush's historic visit [to Nigeria,] Bin Laden T-shirts and posters are far outselling Stars and Stripes flags on the streets of Kano." (July 11, 2003)

Sep. 11, 2006 update: I update this topic today at "Pro-bin Laden Arabs."

Related Topics: Radical Islam, Terrorism receive the latest by email: subscribe to daniel pipes' free mailing list This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.