n July 11, 1995, an open letter was faxed to the king of Saudi Arabia denouncing him as an infidel. The public accusation was shocking enough, but what made this event particularly stunning was the author’s status as the scion of a major Saudi family and, until recently, a member of the Saudi inner circle.
“Your alleged kingdom in reality is nothing else but an American protectorate governed by the American Constitution,” Osama bin Laden wrote to King Fahd. Your infidelity and apostasy, he continued, “is as clear as sunlight at high noon.”
