Media Release
In the Name of Allah, The Gracious, The Merciful The Real Terrorists Claim a False Victory in Continuing to Veil the Real Issues

Australian politicians, past and present, have lined up to express their approval of the killing of Osama bin Ladin. Julia Gillard, Stephen Smith, Julie Bishop, Alexander Downer and John Howard have all ‘welcomed' his death, claiming that Bin Ladin had been responsible for some of the worst terrorist attacks in history, that his killing brings justice and closure for victims around the world, and that his death is a significant success for the United States and the ‘War on Terror'.

In relation to these statements, Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia states the following:

1. The worst terrorist attacks in our times have, in actuality, been the likes of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, wherein the United States and her allies have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people. This terror continues unabated as unmanned drones kill innocent people in Pakistan, and as bombs rain down on mothers, fathers and children in Afghanistan. The real terrorists therefore are Western Governments, led by the American administration, the victims of whom, in their millions, cry out for justice and closure.

2. Western officials and media persist in veiling the real issues by making the issue of Osama bin Ladin revolve around his person. The reality is that Osama bin Ladin was fighting in resistance to Western aggression against, and subjugation of, the Muslim World. He was resisting the Western military bases in the Muslim World, the support for dictators who rule with an iron fist, the exploitation of the resources of the Muslim World, the support for ‘Israel' and her many crimes against the long-oppressed people of Palestine, and countless like aggressions.

3. All Muslims are against these manifestations of Western imperialism; Osama bin Ladin was just one expression of the Muslim resistance to these. The real issue is not the person of Osama bin Ladin, but the reality of this aggression, which, so long as it continues, will be met with resistance by Muslims globally.

4. Islam does not condone the targeting of innocent people, whether in New York and Bali, or Baghdad and Kabul. At the same time it affords everyone the right, indeed the obligation, to resist unjust aggression, regardless of perpetrator. Western Governments, on the other hand, employ clear double standards in the pursuit of economic and political interests.

5. Australian politicians should be honest with the people of Australia in discussing the real issues, instead claiming superficial victories. The reality is that the ‘War on Terror' has been a resounding failure, with trillions of dollars spent, thousands of soldiers dead, hundreds and thousands of innocent people killed, and the world being no safer as a result.

Ends.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Australia