Osama bin Laden was 'inspired by Mahatma Gandhi'

MASSACHUSETTS (web Desk) - Osama bin Laden in a 1993 speech praised Mahatma Gandhi for his struggle against colonial British, reported Indian Express.

Osama asked his supporters to boycott American goods and seek inspiration from the Indian leader’s struggle against the British, according to audio tapes of the slain al-Qaeda chief.

After the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Osama Bin Laden was forced to flee the city of Kandahar and several compounds were hastily vacated, including one opposite the Taliban foreign ministry inside which 1,500 cassettes were discovered.

The findings are translated by Flagg Miller — an expert in Arabic literature and culture from the University of California, Davis — and written in a book, titled 'The Audacious Ascetic', which explores this unique collection.

"Consider the case of Great Britain, an empire so vast  that some say the sun never set on it," says Bin Laden in the tape. "Britain was forced to withdraw from one of its largest colonies when Gandhi the Hindu declared a boycott against their goods. We must do the same thing today with America," he says.

Osama makes no mention of violence till 1996, according to the tapes.