Why TikTok suddenly celebrates Osama Bin Laden The EU focuses on Russian diamond exports – the night update without photos

For many of us, there is that one date when we will forever know what we were doing: September 11, 2001. The world froze as everyone watched live as a plane crashed into a tower of the World Trade Center in New York – while the tower next to it collapsed. A global shock that has burned itself into the collective memory of Western society.

2,753 people died in the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers or while working as aid workers. The mastermind behind the disaster turned out to be Osama Bin Laden, founder and leader of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda. In 2011, the terrorist was shot dead by an American soldier in his hideout in Pakistan.

Others seem to have forgotten this date or never even experienced it. Because they are now celebrating the Prince of Terror on the social media platform TikTok.

The “Letter to America”

In 2002, The Guardian published a pamphlet from Bin Laden, the ‘Letter to America’. An ‘anti-Semitic, anti-American and Islamic letter’, as the ‘Tagesspiegel’ summarizes the content of the text. Although the text was removed by The Guardian last Wednesday, it is still accessible on the Internet Archive.

The Guardian removed the letter because snippets of the text suddenly appeared all over TikTok without any context. The reason for this is that American influencer Lynette Adkins, who advocates for the Palestinians, published fragments of the text on TikTok on Tuesday. The text plunged her into an existential crisis, Adkins says on the video platform. Since then, the ‘Letter of America’ has spread exponentially on the Chinese video platform.

It is no coincidence that bin Laden’s writings are now being rescued from obscurity. In his hate letter, Bin Laden raves about attacks on civilians and that, from his perspective, the Jewish people historically have no right to Palestine. According to Bin Laden, Israel should not even exist. Moreover, “the Jews” controlled politics, the media and the economy, and states like the US had capitulated to “the Jews,” Bin Laden said. These types of statements are highly anti-Semitic and cannot be proven historically or with current figures or statistics.

Bin Laden explains his ongoing “struggle” against Israel and Western governments as follows: “The deposition of these governments is an obligation upon us and a necessary step to liberate the Ummah, make Sharia the supreme law and restore Palestine.” to win.’

The new look at 9/11

However, the removal of the letter by the “Guardians” has not brought less attention to the letter, but even more attention. In addition, many TikTok users also see confirmation that the media would try to suppress their opinions.

American journalist Yashar Ali looked at these reports and came to a frightening conclusion: terrorism is accepted as a legitimate form of resistance against a hostile power.

The TikToks referencing the letter have well over a million views. In the comments, users write that the letter has opened their eyes and that they now look at world events differently. These users don’t seem to care that the sections in the TikToks are completely taken out of context.

They prefer to write: ‘Why have I never heard of this?’, ‘Everything I’ve learned about history is a lie’ or ‘It’s still relevant’. Some TikTok users even go so far as to say that Bin Laden’s letter changed their perspective on September 11th. (yam)