Grievances Against Saudi Arabia
As bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia and had a close relationship with the Saudi royal family it might seem strange for him to have such an acrimonious relationship with the government. However, his opposition to the Saudi government stems from his radical ideology. The Saudi decision to allow US troops into the country in 1990 to defend against a possible attack by Saddam Hussein upset bin Laden, although he was not necessarily opposed to the royal family at this time or going to war with Iraq and even offered to send his mujahedeen from Afghanistan to defend Saudi Arabia should Iraq attack, an offer which was rebuked by King Fahd. From his point of view, "for the Muslim Saudi monarchy to invite non-Muslim American troops to fight against Muslim Iraqi soldiers was a serious violation of Islamic law"
Bin Laden, in his 1996 fatwa (declaration) entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places", identified several grievances that he had about Saudi Arabia, the birthplace and holy land of Islam. Bin Laden said these grievances about Saudi Arabia:
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Bin Laden wanted to overthrow the Saudi monarchy (and now other Middle East governments) and establish an "Islamic Republic" according to Shari'a law (Islamic Holy Law), to "unite all Muslims and to establish a government which follows the rule of the Caliphs."
Read more about this topic: Beliefs And Ideology Of Osama Bin Laden
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