Letter to the American People

Letter to the American People (Arabic: رسالة إلى الشعب الأمريكي, romanized: Risāla ʾIlā al-Shʿab al-ʾAmrīkī; also known as Letter to America) is a manifesto of Osama bin Laden, published by al-Qaeda in November 2002. Initially appearing on a Saudi website linked to al-Qaeda, its English translation was widely shared online and was published by The Observer, a British Sunday newspaper affiliated with The Guardian. The letter criticizes American foreign policy in the Middle East—particularly as it applies to its support of Israel—to justify attacks on American targets; it also employs antisemitic tropes. While the letter presents rationalization for the September 11 attacks perpetrated by al-Qaeda a year prior, it does not explicitly claim responsibility for them (bin Laden would first publicly do so in a 2004 video tape).

The content blends religious, moral, and political critiques against the United States, portraying it as an imperial power hostile to the Muslim world and justifies war against the U.S. The letter criticizes the U.S. for not adopting sharia (Islamic law), condemns its economic practices like usury, and accuses it of moral decay due to the social acceptance of practices contrary to purported Islamic values. It also accuses the U.S. of supporting oppressive regimes in Muslim countries and exploiting their resources. The letter justifies targeting American civilians in retaliation against the indiscriminate attacks of U.S. military forces, arguing that U.S. nationals indirectly support U.S. policies through democracy and taxes. It urges Americans to embrace Islam and demands the U.S. to withdraw its military from Muslim lands and end support for corrupt leaders. It also propagates conspiracy theories, including the claim that AIDS was a "Satanic American Invention".

The letter gained renewed attention in 2023 amid the Gaza war, after a compilation of TikTok videos referencing the letter went viral on Twitter. The Guardian removed the letter from its website, citing context issues. TikTok, responding to the videos' virality, removed hashtags and videos related to or featuring the letter's contents. This resurgence sparked discussions on online radicalization, state-sponsored Internet propaganda, and Internet censorship, and the implications of suppressing or allowing access to such content.