Terrorism committed by the United States is far worse than anything al-Qaida emir, Osama bin Laden, ever carried out, says former Fiqh Council of North America member and close Yusuf al-Qaradawi associate, Salah Soltan.

The reason for this, he says, is because "Bin Laden's terrorism was in the defense of Islam and the resistance against the occupiers, [even if it was waged] in a way that deviated to some extent from the middle path of moderation." In contrast, the U.S. acted only "in defense of hegemony, oppression, and tyranny" and "combined a base end with base means."

The remarks first appeared on the Arabic-language site of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, IkwanOnline, last Tuesday, and were cross-posted that same day on Soltan's personal website. The Arabic text was translated into English by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), and posted on that group's website Monday. The original post was credited to a Dr. Salah Al-Din Sultan—a slight variation on the full name that Soltan identifies himself by in his 2007 CV.

In addition to wild claims about the terroristic tendencies of the United States, Soltan goes on to call into question the narrative that bin Laden was killed by a team of American Special Forces last week.

"Perhaps [America's] claim that it cast [bin Laden's] body into the sea renders likely the rumor that he died several years ago, which would tarnish the face of the U.S. [and reveal it] as totally helpless."

"[The U.S.] fabricated the drama [of bin Laden's assassination] in order to present imaginary achievements, just as [it falsely claimed that there were] nuclear arms in Iraq," writes Soltan, according to the MEMRI translation.

This most recent statement by Soltan is the latest in a long list of conspiracy theories promulgated by the former resident of Hilliard, Ohio. In May 2006, Soltan—then identified as "president of the American Center for Islamic Research (ACIR), a non-profit organization registered in Ohio and located in Columbus—told Al-Risala TV that 9/11 was planned by Americans "in order to enable the U.S. to control and terrorize the entire world, and to get American society to agree to the war declared on terrorism."

Over the years, Soltan has made vile, incendiary, and often times, outlandish, comments about Jews and Christians as well. In one example from last year, Soltan told Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV that each year, Zionists kidnap "several non-Muslims [sic] –Christians and others" in order to slaughter them and then knead their blood into Passover matzah.

Soltan left the United States in 2007 and lives in Bahrain, where he is a resident and advisor to that country's Islamic Affairs ministry and a professor at Khaleej University and Makkah Open University. During his time both here and in Bahrain, he has been intimately connected to a host of international Muslim Brotherhood-tied organizations, including Qaradawi's International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), the Muslim American Society's Islamic American University, and the Fiqh Council of North America.