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"Jihad against Jews and Crusaders"

Published in Al-Quds al-Arabi, February 23, 1998

"The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies—civilians and military—is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque in Mecca from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim."

On February 23, 1998, an Arabic-language newspaper in London, England, Al-Quds al-Arabi, published a fatwa that declared war on Americans. The newspaper claimed the fatwa had been written by Osama bin Laden (c. 1957–) and other leaders of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization.

A fatwa is an instruction or interpretation of Islamic law issued by a Muslim leader to his followers. In some...