Verso publishing has released Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden, a collection of writings, public statements, interviews, faxes and video recordings attributed to bin Laden from 1994 to 2004.

James Howarth, an authority on modern Arabic poetry, has taken a fresh look at translating the material, rooting out many statements identified as forgeries and retranslating to correct “horrendous” errors. Religion professor Bruce Lawence provides historical and political context with annotations and a critical introduction:

The book traces how the terrorist’s message and strategy have evolved in the past year, connecting strands of bin Laden’s Koranic scholarship, CIA training, interventions in Persian Gulf politics and messianic anti-imperialism that have come to make up the foundation of al-Qaeda’s deadly program.

We find that bin Laden wants the U.S. to abolish the constitution, do away with banks, jail homosexuals, sign the Kyoto treaty, put an end to women’s photos in newspapers or advertising, prohibit alcohol and gambling, and put a stop to any job in which a woman serves “passengers, visitors and strangers” (which would affect stewardesses, waitresses and, no doubt, lap dancers).

How even-handed the material is handled remains to be seen. Verso is a New York-based publisher, some of whose past publications have included a leftish political slant:

Verso Books, which has issued best sellers by the likes of Noam Chomsky, Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Alexander Cockburn, said the 224-page bin Laden hardback will have an initial press run of 20,000 copies selling for $24 apiece.

[Note: the book is now selling for $11.53 at Amazon.]

Indeed, the Guardian fawns over this interpretation:

He is formidable, an image, a force. If you’re looking for a British parallel, though their policies have nothing in common, the politician he most reminds me of is Tony Benn, convincing as always about a golden past that has been betrayed, unveiling statistical amazements and historical myths with equal facility, always seeming safe within a cocoon of certitude. And American politicians? George Bush himself, the matching crusader, stands out from a born-again pack. …

We have only a fleeting, romantic horseman of the apocalypse high on some mountain skyline, a prophet in the mists. Such legends, alas, do live.

On the other hand, this makes me want to actually give the book a read:

A major goal of the book is to show, through his own words, how bin Laden’s views differ from mainstream Islam and even other radical Muslim thought, said Lawrence, the author of several books on Islam, including “Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age” (1989), “Shattering the Myth: Islam Beyond Violence” (1998) and “New Faiths, Old Fears: Muslims & Other Asian Immigrants in American Religious Life” (2002). By reviewing the decade-long record of his public declarations, readers can better grasp how bin Laden shifts his interpretations of the Quran and manipulates his audiences to his own ends.

“It is not enough to say he is a terrorist and the scum of the Earth,” Lawrence said. “I think we need a balance. We need to better understand how bin Laden has wrapped himself in the cloak of Islamic legitimacy to support his cause and to attract followers.

“The majority of the Muslim community supports peace, equity and living in a way that balances the good and condemns the bad,” he observed. “Radical Islam exists on the fringes, yet attempts to co-opt the center, with a significant number of extremists drawn to bin Laden and his message of anger and vengeance against the world.

“My hope -– and it is the best hope, I think — is to have more Americans, both Muslim and non-Muslim, understand the goal of bin Laden and then reject it in search of a common agenda for productive change.”

What the heck — Helter Skelter was a good read. If only I didn’t have so many other, more interesting books to read.