In his dispatch to that day's killers, terror leader Osama bin Laden wrote:
“Remind your brothers that this act is for Almighty God.”Yes, he said that. While Osama bin Laden himself cravenly hid out in what he foolishly thought were secure locations, he told the young men who boarded the planes and murdered thousands of civilians that they were striking, not for themselves, but for God himself.
A universal truth is that the wickedest among us ascribe their iniquity to God. Osama bin Laden did not merely justify his vicious plan: he made viciousness into a moral imperative. Only the best, the bravest, and the most sacred people would, in his twisted, but so familiar, judgement, engage in evil at the level that his scheme required. Osama bin Laden persuaded the terrorists to submerge their own moral attitudes under his twisted version of God’s laws. Unlike psychopathic serial killers or narcissistic politicians, the murderous terrorists were not born to be evil. Instead, they had been trained to become evil. They had been persuaded to substitute God’s laws for their own, without, to any degree, understanding anything about God’s laws.
As the Hebrew prophet said, there is nothing new under the sun.
As the Hebrew prophet said, there is nothing new under the sun.
We should draw two lessons from bin Laden’s dispatch. The first is that bin Laden twisted the religion of peace and benevolence to support the massacre of civilians. The second lesson, which we must never forget, is that vile murderers, criminals, self-righteous cowards, and evildoers have no right to speak for God. That is a lesson we – and when I say we, I mean all of humanity – must learn and remember.
"Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful."
The world’s greatest evils are done by people who think they are doing good. In his message to the hijackers, Osama bin Laden submerged moral compunctions by pretending to speak for God. Who would argue with God?
“Do not seek revenge for yourself. Strike for God's sake,” said Osama bin Laden in this dispatch. No. A thousand times no. A thousand times wrong.
"Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful."
The world’s greatest evils are done by people who think they are doing good. In his message to the hijackers, Osama bin Laden submerged moral compunctions by pretending to speak for God. Who would argue with God?
“Do not seek revenge for yourself. Strike for God's sake,” said Osama bin Laden in this dispatch. No. A thousand times no. A thousand times wrong.
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Theoretical Note:
We feel self-righteous, but explain nothing, if we simply announce that evildoers are evil. Yes, of course, evildoers are evil. When we say that, however, we miss the point. What turns ordinary people into monsters? What psychological and sociological tricks cause otherwise decent people to disconnect their own precious, guiding conscience? That is the deep, and unpleasant, question that we must always ask. I refer all my readers to psychologist Albert Bandura’s essential book, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm and Live with Themselves.
Theoretical Note:
We feel self-righteous, but explain nothing, if we simply announce that evildoers are evil. Yes, of course, evildoers are evil. When we say that, however, we miss the point. What turns ordinary people into monsters? What psychological and sociological tricks cause otherwise decent people to disconnect their own precious, guiding conscience? That is the deep, and unpleasant, question that we must always ask. I refer all my readers to psychologist Albert Bandura’s essential book, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm and Live with Themselves.
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