In his “Letter to the Americans,” bin Laden issued a call for morality:
“We call you to be a people of manners, principles, honour, and purity; to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gamblings, and trading with interest.”
Americans’ failure to cleanse themselves of these sins is one of the justifications bin Laden offered for the attack of September 11, 2001.
Among other striking tidbits is his description of Islam as:
“The Nation of Martyrdom; the Nation that desires death more than you desire life.”
Here is the full text of “Letter to the Americans.” Philosophy professor Irfan Khawaja has an interesting discussion in Reason Papers of how he uses bin Laden’s letter in his philosophy courses.