He distorted the true moderate peaceful teachings of Islam and made Islam unjustly associated with terrorism. He invited wars, occupation and destruction against Islamic countries and caused fear, hatred and discrimination against Muslims in the world.

Because of him everyone all over the world became suspicious of Muslims and every one of them is looked at as a time bomb. Many Muslim schools, orphan homes, elderly people and persons with special needs were deprived of Muslim charitable funds on the pretext of drying the resources of terrorism. Muslim countries, after 9/11, fell under the domination of super powers and lost their real independence and became themselves targets of terrorism.

Bin Laden destabilised many Islamic countries and killed many innocent Muslims and non-Muslims in the name of Islam and Jihad. He caused Muslim countries to exhaust their resources on fighting against his terror instead of economical and social development. Muslims were victims of terrorism and the war on terror.

In fact, by his terrorist crimes he gave Muslim dictators an excuse to deny their people real freedom and democracy on the pretext of fighting terror. He was an enemy of the true Islam.

The recent Arab uprisings were a blow against bin Laden’s ideology. They show that Muslim people can achieve their desired political and social changes in peaceful ways and have no need for al-Qaeda extremism and terroristic methods.

Bin Laden made use of the justified anger and sufferings of Muslims who were, and still are, victims of unjust internal and external policies, to wage his own unjustified terror war. Unless the causes of terrorism are addressed and uprooted I am afraid that terror will continue to exist and grow, even after bin Laden.

Disrespect against Islam and its sacred symbols, discrimination and humiliation against Muslims, unjustified support to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands, the support of certain dictators, and killings of innocent Muslim civilians in different Islamic countries besides the social and political injustices of certain Muslim governments are among the causes of terrorism.

The absence of the right governance and the right education in the Islamic world generated a kind of extremist thoughts which fuels terrorism. It is the responsibility of religious Muslim leaders and educators to combat such dangerous thoughts by teaching the true moderate Islam.

I hope that after the death of bin Laden the rest of the terrorists get the message and abandon terrorism and join the peaceful strive for freedom and democracy in the Islamic world.

I also hope that the dictators would leave the Muslim people in peace and liberty to decide their future themselves. Finally, I hope that following the death of bin Laden, the democratic world will focus its attention and efforts to help the Muslim people combat dictatorship, corruption, poverty and backwardness and to help the Palestinian people to establish their own independent state.