Al-Qaeda
• Islamic fundamentalism is a construction based
on the proclaimed primacy of religious identity
• Political Islamism is a political ideology, based
on Islamic fundamentalism, which aims to seize
power in the nation-state
• The movement symbolically represented by AlQaeda is a different kind of movement  It is
based on Islamic fundamentalism but is explicitly
global.
February 23rd 1998
• Osama bin Laden establishes the “World
Islamic Front for the Jihad Against Jews
and the Crusaders” a fundamentalist,
terrorist, global network
• Origins can be traced to the CIA-financed
training camps for anti-Soviet mujahedeen
in Pakistan today extends to at least 65
countries and numerous autonomous
groups
The values and goals:
• The building of the umma
• Muslim societies should be ruled by shari'a
law (The Taliban regime came closest to
the Islamic ideals espoused by bin Laden)
• Bin Laden and al-Qaeda are not
preoccupied by the kind of society they
want to build ("pragmatic militants")
The values and goals:
• The defense of Islam starts with the
defense of the holy sites in Saudi Arabia
and Jerusalem
• Martyrdom
• No negotiation, no surrender, no way out
Islamic global terror networks rely
on two main tactics of action:
1. Terror-->the expectation is that over time
the institutions of democratic states
crumble under the collective fear (alQaeda aims at the heart of Westerners)
2. Media politics-->transforming
consciousness is the ultimate goal (alQaeda aims at the mind oppressed
Muslims)
The dream
• They hope for: An unreasonable
response from the West-->inflame the
rotten world-->new society from the ashes
Who are the adversaries?
• The political regimes of Muslim countries
(pawns of the Crusaders)
• Zionists
• The U.S. (and other Western powers)
Six stages of development
1. Resistance to Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979)
2. Militants return home and engage in political-military battles against
their own national governments
3. First direct attacks by al-Qaeda (1993 in NYC)
4. Concentrated on supporting movements in countries where a power
base could be achieved (Sudan/ Afghanistan)
5. al-Qaeda moves toward open confrontation with the U.S. (embassy
bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, USS Cole bombing in
Aden, 9/11)
6. U.S. destroys the Taliban regime, obliterates the basis of al-Qaeda in
Afghanistan, bin-Laden killed, many associated networks emerge
around the world (inc in the U.S.)
Who are the members of alQaeda?
• They come from a number of ethnic and
national groups (very few Palestinians)
• The nucleus was formed in camps
• Young (20s and 30s), male
• The core group of al-Qaeda come from
wealthy families
Who are the members of alQaeda?
• Many are highly educated professionals
(the core group of 9/11 attackers were
engineering students)
• The military commanders mostly trained in
national military academies
The structure
• Networking is critical-->core leadership but
no control center
• Cells are largely autonomous
• al-Qaeda provides training and indoctrination
• Fighting principle: string as hard as you can,
anytime and anywhere you can, all Westerners
are potential targets, as are symbolic points of
connection between Muslim societies and nonbelievers (airports, multi-national corporate
facilities, tourism centers)
• Nation-specific organizations fight against the
states that oppress true-Muslims in their own
countries
Establishing new networks
• bin Laden helped establish most active
network in the world today: Jamaah
Islamiyah in South East Asia
Chechnya
• A secular, ethnic-nationalist struggle against
Russia becomes an Islamic struggle
• Rebels receive training and money from alQaeda
• For bin Laden, the Chechen struggle was simply
a continuation of the fight against Russians in
Afghanistan
• The dual character of local struggles and global
networking is the essence of al-Qaeda's strategy