The following is the slightly edited text of an interview conducted by a “special correspondent” for the Pakistani newspaper, Ummat, which was published on Sept. 28. The place and the date of interview were not given.

In light of the U.S. media’s self-imposed censorship of bin Laden’s statements, AFP believes it is important to hear—true or not—what he has said recently.

Ummat’s questions are in bold text. Osama’s responses are in regular text. The full interview can be found at www.khilafah.com.

You have been accused of involvement in the attacks in New York and Washington. What do you want to say about this? If you are not involved, who might be?

I am thankful to The Ummat Group of Publications, which gave me the opportunity to convey my viewpoint to the people, particularly the valiant and true Muslim people of Pakistan who refused to believe the lie of the demon. I have already said that I am not involved in the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

As a Muslim, I try my best to avoid telling a lie. I had no knowledge of these attacks, nor do I consider the killing of innocent women, children, and other humans as an appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women, children, and other people. Such a practice is forbidden ever in the course of a battle.

It is the United States, which is perpetrating every maltreatment on women, children, and common people of other faiths, particularly the followers of Islam. All that is going on in Palestine for the last 11 months is sufficient to call the wrath of God upon the United States and Israel.

There is also a warning for those Muslim countries, which witnessed all these as silent spectators. What had earlier been done to the innocent people of Iraq, Chechnya, and Bosnia? Only one conclusion could be derived from the indifference of the United States and the West to these acts of terror and the patronage of the tyrants by these powers that America is an anti-Islamic power and it is patronizing the anti-Islamic forces.

Its friendship with the Muslim countries is just a show, rather deceit. By enticing or intimidating these countries, the United States is forcing them to play a role of its choice. Put a glance all around and you will see that the slaves of the United States are either rulers or enemies [of Muslims].

The U.S. has no friends, nor does it want to keep any because the prerequisite of friendship is to come to the level of the friend or consider him on par with you. America does not want to see anyone equal to it. It expects slavery from others. Therefore, other countries are either its slaves or subordinates.

There are countries, which do not agree to become its slaves, such as China, Iran, Libya, Cuba, Syria, and the former Russia.

Whoever committed the act of Sept. 11 are not the friends of the American people. I have already said that we are against the American system, not against its people, whereas in these attacks, the common American people have been killed.

According to my information, the death toll is much higher than what the U.S. government has stated. But the Bush administration does not want panic to spread. The United States should look within itself for the perpetrators of these attacks: those people who are part of the U.S. system, but are dissenting against it. Or those who are working for some other system; persons who want to make the present century as a century of conflict between Islam and Christianity so that their own civilization, nation, country, or ideology can survive.

It could be anyone, from Russia to Israel and from India to Serbia. In the U.S. itself, there are dozens of well-organized and well-equipped groups, which are capable of causing a large-scale destruction.

Then you cannot forget the American Jews, who are annoyed with President Bush ever since the elections in Florida and want to avenge him.

Then there are intelligence agencies in the U.S., which require billions of dollars from Congress and the government every year. This [funding issue] was not a big problem while Soviet Union was in existence but, after that, the budget of these agencies has been in danger. They needed an enemy. So, they first started propaganda against Osama and the Taliban and then this incident happened.

You see: the Bush administration approved a budget of $40 billion. Where will this huge amount go? It will be provided to the same agencies, which need huge funds and want to exert their importance. Now they will spend the money for their expansion and for increasing their importance.

I will give you an example. Drug smugglers from all over the world are in contact with the U.S. secret agencies. These agencies do not want to eradicate narcotics cultivation and trafficking because their importance will be diminished. The people in the U.S. drug enforcement department are encouraging drug trade so that they could show performance and get millions of dollars worth of budget.

General [Manuel] Noriega was made a drug baron by the CIA and, eventually, he was made a scapegoat. In the same way, whether it is President Bush or any other U.S. president, they cannot bring Israel to justice for its human rights abuses or to hold it accountable for such crimes. What is this? Is it not that there exists a government within the government in the United Sates? That secret government must be asked who made the attacks.

The losses caused by the attacks in New York and Washington have proven that giving an economic blow to the U.S. is not too difficult. U.S. experts admit that a few more such attacks can bring down the American economy. Why is Al-Qaeda not targeting their economic pillars?

I have already said that we are not hostile to the United States. We are against the system, which makes other nations slaves of the United States, or forces them to mortgage their political and economic freedom. This system is totally in control of the American Jews, whose first priority is Israel, not the United States. It is simply that the American people are themselves the slaves of the Jews and are forced to live according to the principles and laws laid by them. So, the punishment should reach Israel. In fact, it is Israel, which is giving a blood bath to innocent Muslims and the U.S. is not uttering a single word.

Why is harm not caused to the enemies of Islam through other means, apart from the armed struggle? For instance, inciting the Muslims to boycott Western products, banks, shipping lines and TV channels.

The first thing is that Western products could only be boycotted when the Muslim fraternity is fully awakened and organized. Secondly, the Muslim companies should become self-sufficient in producing goods equal to the products of Western companies.

You see that wealth is scattered all across the Muslim world but not a single TV channel has been acquired which can preach Islamic injunctions according to modern requirements and attain an international influence. Muslim traders and philanthropists should make it a point that if the weapon of public opinion is to be used, it is to be kept in the hand. Today’s world is of public opinion and the fates of nations are determined through its pressure. Once the tools for building public opinion are obtained, everything that you asked for can be done.

The entire propaganda about your struggle has so far been made by the Western media. But there is no information from your sources about the network of Al-Qaeda and its jihadi successes. Would you comment?

Our silence is our real propaganda. Rejections, explanations, or misprints only waste your time. Through them, the enemy wants you to engage in things which are not of a use to you. These things are pulling you away from your cause. The Western media is unleashing such baseless propaganda, which surprises us, but it reflects what is in their hearts. Gradually they themselves become captive of this propaganda. They become afraid of it and begin to cause harm to themselves.

Terror is the most dreaded weapon in the modern age and the Western media is mercilessly using it against its own people. It can add fear and helplessness in the psyche of the people of Europe and the United States. It means that what the enemies of the United States cannot do, its media is doing. You can understand what the performance of a nation will be in a war, which suffers from fear and helplessness.

Are there safe areas other than Afghanistan where you can continue jihad?

There are areas in all parts of the world where strong jihadi forces are present, from Indonesia to Algeria, from Kabul to Chechnya, from Bosnia to Sudan, and from Burma to Kashmir.

That it is not my problem. I am a helpless fellowman of God, constantly in the fear of my accountability before God. It is not the question of Osama but of Islam and, in Islam too, of jihad. Thanks to God, those waging a jihad can walk today with their heads raised. Jihad will still be here when there is no Osama.