Draft:Osama bin Laden and climate change
 | Review waiting, please be patient.
This may take 3 months or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 3,115 pending submissions waiting for review.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Reviewer tools
|
.jpg)
Prior to his death, militant leader Osama bin Laden spoke publicly and wrote in letters several times about climate change.[1][2]
In letters and public speaking
[edit]2002 was the first known time that bin Laden spoke publicly about climate change, urging the United States to sign the Kyoto Protocol.[3] In 2009, bin Laden wrote a letter to Americans that addressed climate change issues. The letter, which was uncovered in May 2011 following the raid of his compound,[4] asked Americans to fight back against climate change, saying that letting then-president Barack Obama address climate change issues was "a rational decision to save humanity from the harmful gases that threaten its destiny".[5] In the same letter, bin Laden wrote that fighting climate change was a higher priority than fighting Islam.[6] He also urged Muslims to find solutions to water pollution and famine in the Arab world.[7]
October 2010 recording
[edit]In 2010 bin Laden publicly spoke about climate change, stating that "discussing climate change is not an intellectual luxury, but a reality". He also criticized the United States and other developed countries for being responsible for the rapid acceleration of climate change.[8][9] A recording of the speech was given to Al Jazeera, where it was shared with the public.[10][11][12] The audio recording went viral on right-wing media outlets like the Drudge Report and RedState, with the latter comparing Osama bin Laden to environmentalist Al Gore.[13]
Millions of children are out in the open air, lacking basic elements of living, including drinking water, resulting in their bodies shedding liquids and subsequently their death," he said. "The huge climate change is affecting our [Islamic] nation and is causing great catastrophes throughout the Islamic world.
— Osama bin Laden
Responses
[edit]In a March 2019 publication of The New Arab, Nelly Lahoud, a member of the New America think tank, stated that "the fact that bin Laden's public concern about protecting the environment is also reflected in his private communications with other Qaeda and jihadi leaders suggests that he took this issue seriously".[14] The Guardian Journalist Nazry Bahrawi wrote in 2010 that bin Laden's enviornmentalism "is rooted in an apocalyptic vision of the future".[15]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Osama bin Laden calls for action on climate change". The Times. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ "Osama bin Laden 'trying to change image with climate change message'". The Telegraph. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ "Osama bin Laden, the Environmentalist". National Review. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ "Osama bin Laden, Climate Change Activist?". Capital Research. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ Landay, Jonathon (2 March 2016). "Bin Laden called for Americans to rise up over climate change". Reuters. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Pashley, Alex (2 March 2016). "Bin Laden urged Obama to tackle 'climate catastrophe'". Climate Home News. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Faraj, Caroline (1 October 2010). "Purported bin Laden message focuses on relief, development - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Bin Laden joins climate change crusade, points finger at West". France 24. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Davis, Rowenna (2 May 2011). "Bin Laden: the war in his words". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ McLaughlin, Jenna. "Here's what Osama bin Laden wrote about climate change". Mother Jones. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Bin Laden worries about climate change". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Osama Hops on Global Warming Bandwagon - CBS News". CBS News. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Goldenberg, Suzanne (29 January 2010). "Osama bin Laden lends unwelcome support in fight against climate change". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "'Greening the desert': What drives militants' environmentalism?". The New Arab. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Bahrawi, Nazry (5 February 2010). "Osama's greenspeak". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 April 2025.