Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden » (ANN)

Osama bin Laden is a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and the founding leader of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda.

Bruce Lawrence is the Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Humanities Professor of Religion at Duke University. He is the author of New Faiths, Old Fears: Muslims and Other Asian Immigrants in American Religious Life, Shattering the Myth, and Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age.

For the first time, this volume brings together Osama bin Laden's statements in a comprehensive edition, annotated with an introduction by Bruce Lawrence, Professor of Religion, Duke University.

THe New York Times - Noah Feldman

Putting bin Laden's words on paper helps show him for what he is a Muslim out of the mainstream, distorting the faith to justify murder. In the end, the most constructive thing one can do with a book like this one is to use it against itself, as a tool in the fight against terrorism.