[mujahedeen], By The Way, Don't Represent Islam

...it Is Sensible To Begin By Asking The Beginning Questions, Why Imagine Power In The First Place, And What Is The Relationship Between One's Motive For Imagining Power And The Image One Ends Up With.

In The Islamic World, The U.s. Is Seen In Two Quite Different Ways. One View Recognizes What An Extraordinary Country The U.s. Is. Every Arab Or Muslim That I Know Is Tremendously Interested In The United States. Many Of Them Send Their Children Here For Education. Many Of Them Come Here For Vacations. They Do Business Here Or Get Their Training Here. The Other View Is Of The Official United States, The United States Of Armies And Interventions.

But I Do Not Know Whether The Photograph Can, Or Does, Say Things As They Really Are. Something Has Been Lost. But The Representation Is All We Have.

Osama Bin Laden, Who Is A Saudi, Feels Himself To Be A Patriot Because The U.s. Has Forces In Saudi Arabia, Which Is Sacred Because It Is The Land Of The Prophet Mohammed.

I Have Been Unable To Live An Uncommitted Or Suspended Life. I Have Not Hesitated To Declare My Affiliation With An Extremely Unpopular Cause.