Barry Cooper was not thrilled to learn terrorist Osama Bin Laden owned one of his books, and the political science professor says, if he had had the chance he would have liked to have killed him.
Thirty-nine English-language books were found by U.S. forces when they stormed the home of the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and killed him, according to newly-released documents. One of the books was “New Political Religions, or an Analysis of Modern Terrorism” written by Cooper, who teaches at the University of Calgary.
Cooper was astounded when a journalist called him and told him the news this week and, at first, thought it was a hoax.
Terrorists know they are morally and spiritually wrong, argues book
Cooper is sure Bin Laden did not enjoy reading his book, if he ever did. In it, he argues that terrorists purposefully distort religion to justify their acts, and that they know their acts are morally and spiritually wrong.
Cooper illustrates this using examples besides that of al-Qaeda, including the Japanese group Aum Shinrikyo, white supremacists, and Hezbollah in the 1980s.
‘What a jerk’
When asked by Canadian Press what he hopes Bin Laden retained if he did indeed read the book, Cooper answered, “A little self-recognition of what a jerk he is.”
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