Bin Laden's fatwa

Osama bin Laden's fatwa, issued in 1998, was a formal religious edict calling for Muslims to kill Americans and their allies. He justified this by arguing that the United States was oppressing Muslims worldwide, especially in the Middle East, and that violence was a legitimate response to defend Islam. The fatwa aimed to rally support for jihad (holy war) against perceived enemies of Islam and was a key factor motivating attacks like the 9/11 terrorist strikes. It was widely condemned by Muslim scholars, but bin Laden used it to justify specific acts of violence against civilians.