Bin Laden, further combining religion with his…
February 1998 CE
Bin Laden, further combining religion with his nationalistic cause, broadens his fatwah to include civilian targets.
On February 23, 1998, under the banner of the "World Islamic Front," he issues a joint declaration co-signed by officers of the Islamic Group of Egypt, Al Jihad, the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh, and the "Jamaat ul Ulema e Pakistan" that Muslims should kill Americans anywhere in the world.
In this call to arms, bin Laden states, "We&emdash;with God's help&emdash;call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it.
We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's US troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.
The 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, in order to liberate the al-Asqua Mosque (in Jerusalem) and the holy mosque (in Mecca, Saudi Arabia) from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim."