Editing Mullah Omar (section)

=== September 11 attacks by al-Qaeda ===
{{Main|September 11 attacks|Al-Qaeda}}
Following the [[September 11 attacks]] on the United States carried out by al-Qaeda,<ref name="rjfEnglish">{{cite web |title=Wanted Information leading to the location of Mullah Omar Up to $10 Million Reward |url=http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/index.cfm?page=MullahOmar |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005050343/http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/index.cfm?page=MullahOmar |archive-date=5 October 2006 |publisher=[[Rewards for Justice Program]], [[United States Department of State|US Department of State]]}}</ref> the United States under the Bush administration issued an ultimatum to [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Afghanistan]] to hand over [[Osama bin Laden]] and other high ranking al-Qaeda officials and shut down all al-Qaeda training camps within the country. In an interview with [[Voice of America]], Omar was asked if he would give up [[Osama bin Laden]]. Omar replied, "No. We cannot do that. If we did, it means we are not Muslims, that Islam is finished. If we were afraid of attack, we could have surrendered him the last time we were threatened."<ref name="Peter Bergen">{{cite news|author=Peter Bergen|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/29/opinions/bergen-mullah-omar/|title=The man who wouldn't hand over bin Laden to the U.S.|date=21 August 2015|publisher=CNN|access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref> Omar explained his position to high-ranking Taliban officials:

{{blockquote|Islam says that when a Muslim asks for shelter, give the shelter and never hand him over to enemy. And our [[Pashtunwali|Afghan tradition]] says that, even if your enemy asks for shelter, forgive him and give him shelter. Osama has helped the jihad in Afghanistan, he was with us in bad days and I am not going to give him to anyone.<ref name="Peter Bergen" />}}

Omar was adamant that bin Laden was innocent of planning the 9/11 attacks despite the accusations directed against him. Nonetheless, high-ranking Taliban officials attempted to persuade Omar to hand bin Laden over and made offers to the United States through its contacts with Pakistan. The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan [[Abdul Salam Zaeef]] said at a news conference in [[Islamabad]] that "our position in this regard is that if the Americans have evidence, they should produce it." If they could prove their allegations, he said, "we are ready for a trial of Osama bin Laden."<ref name="John Burns & Christopher Wren">{{cite news|author=John Burns & Christopher Wren|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/21/international/21CND-PAK.html|title=Without Evidence, the Taliban Refuses to Turn Over bin Laden|date=21 September 2001|work=The New York Times|access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref> The Taliban foreign minister [[Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil]] also attempted to negotiate, offering the Americans the proposal of setting up a three-nation court under the supervision of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation|Organisation of the Islamic Conference]] as it was a "neutral organization" or having bin Laden tried by an Islamic council in Afghanistan.<ref name="Mujib Mashal 2011">{{cite news|author=Mujib Mashal|url=http://ww.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2011/09/20119115334167663.html|title=Taliban 'offered bin Laden trial before 9/11'|year=2011|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=12 September 2016}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Muttawakil said "the US showed no interest in it."<ref name="Mujib Mashal 2011" /> The Taliban Prime Minister [[Abdul Kabir]] stated that if evidence was provided, "we would be ready to hand him over to a third country".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/14/afghanistan.terrorism5|title=Bush rejects Taliban offer to hand Bin Laden over |year=2011|work=The Guardian|access-date=15 October 2001}}</ref> Part of the reluctance to hand bin Laden over stemmed from Omar's own miscalculations. Omar thought there was "less than a 10 percent" chance that the US would do anything beyond make threats.<ref name=":5" />{{Rp|65–66}}

The Supreme Council of the Islamic Clergy, a council of around 1,000 clerics, convened in [[Kabul]] in late September 2001 and issued a decree against the United States and its threats of militarily invading Afghanistan. They also recommended that Osama bin Laden be asked to leave Afghanistan of his own free will to "avoid the current tumult" and expressed sympathy and a conciliatory tone towards those who died in the 11 September attacks: "The ulema voice their sadness over American deaths and hope America does not attack Afghanistan."<ref name="John Burns & Christopher Wren" /> The Taliban Education Minister [[Amir Khan Muttaqi]] said that Omar had agreed to follow guidance offered by the clerics and would try to encourage bin Laden to leave Afghanistan without forcibly handing him over to the United States for prosecution, even if bin Laden refused to leave the country.<ref name="John Burns & Christopher Wren" />

However, according to an interview with Pakistani journalist [[Rahimullah Yusufzai]], Omar told him:

{{blockquote|I don't want to go down in history as someone who betrayed his guest. I am willing to give my life, my regime. Since we have given him refuge I cannot throw him out now.<ref name="Peter Bergen" />}}