The self-confessed mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks now says violence is not the answer when it comes to spreading Islam.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — formerly one of Osama Bin Laden's top lieutenants — since he was imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay eight years ago. (Via CBS)
Channel 4 News, along with The Huffington Post, got a look at his new 36-page manifesto. In it Muhammad writes: "The Holy Koran forbids us to use force as a means of converting. Truth and reality never comes by muscles and force but by using the mind and wisdom."
Contrast that with this statement he made in 2009: “Our religion is a religion of fear and terror to the enemies of God: the Jews, Christians, and pagans.” (Via U.S. Department of Defense)
Of course, the writings don’t reveal a total change of heart by any means. In them, he still condemns western society and justifies the attacks on 9/11. The Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly weighs in on what to make of this.
"He doesn't really have a coherent narrative for his beliefs, and it's clear he's sort of working through these issues after being exposed to interactions with his legal team on a regular basis, and coming into contact with Christians." (Via CNN)
The Los Angeles Times is skeptical of taking KSM at his word. “The writings suggest that he either believes he can convert his U.S. audience or, as he often has done, is playing a mind game to attract publicity, feign mental illness or spare himself the death penalty.”
The documents were declassified last month by a military judge, though Megyn Kelly at Fox News questions why that was allowed in the first place.
KELLY: "How can it be that KSM is allowed to communicate with the world and continue spreading his propaganda?"
Mohammed says his next two installments will detail the 9/11 attacks and reveal the truth, he says, about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
