Preparing the Bin laden Defense?

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American Professor: Bin Laden NOT Responsible for 9/11

Dr. Natana DeLong-Bas was interviewed by Al-Sharq Al-Awsat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she said that the western media has given Osama bin Laden more status than he deserves. She added: "I do not find any evidence that makes me agree that Osama bin Laden was behind the attack on the twin trade towers. All we have heard from him was simply a praise and commendation of those who had carried out the operation."

She said she was visiting Saudi Arabia for the second time, this time with her husband and two sons so that they will discover for themselves that not everything said about Saudi Arabia in the U.S. is accurate.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (12/26/06)

About Dr. Natana DeLong-Bas according to the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford (http://www.meco.org.uk/panel2.htm):

"Natana J. DeLong-Bas is a Lecturer in Theology at Boston College and is also a Visiting Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Brandeis University, Massachusetts where she teaches a range of courses and conducts research in her field of expertise. Following a decade of teaching and research at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, she moved to New England. Dr DeLong-Bas is the widely acclaimed author of The Clash Within Civilization: The Jihad for the Soul of Islam in Contemporary Saudi Arabia (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2007), Notable Muslims: Muslim Builders of World Civilization and Culture (OneWorld Publications, 2006), Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad (Oxford University Press, 2004), and Women in Muslim Family Law (with John L. Esposito, Syracuse University Press, 2001). Dr DeLong-Bas is the Deputy Editor for The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World and the Oxford On-Line Islamic Resource Center. Her original research, farsighted scholarship and informed conclusions have transformed her into a leading authority on contemporary Islam, particularly the modern manifestations of Jihad, militancy and violence. A frequent speaker on Islam, Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism, she is a consultant to international corporations and national governments."