Osama bin Laden, Bard of Terror
Arab culture places a high value on poetic expression, so it is no coincidence that it appears repeatedly in Al Qaeda’s propaganda. Although much of this poetry is not very good, it nonetheless underscores the image that Osama bin Laden wishes to project, namely that Al Qaeda’s message, in contrast to that of Arab kings and presidents, is authentic and reflects “real Islam.”
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PRINCETON – In Riyadh last March, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia decorated American Vice President Dick Cheney with the Kingdom’s Order of Merit. This gesture elicited hundreds of Internet postings from Arabs condemning the award as treachery and lamenting the pitiful state of leadership in the Arab world. To cite only one comment, addressed to the King: “Shame on you for claiming to be Custodian of the Two Holy Sanctuaries” in Mecca and Medina.