unholy war terror in the name of islam may 2002

Islam: The Straight Path Women in Muslim Family Law Islam and Politics Makers of Contemporary Islam with John O.. Voll World Religions Today with Darrell J.. Fasching and Todd Lewis Isla

The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?

Islam: The Straight Path Women in Muslim Family Law Islam and Politics Makers of Contemporary Islam (with John O Voll) World Religions Today (with Darrell J Fasching and Todd Lewis)

Islam and Democracy (with John O Voll)

Editor

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World

The Oxford History of Islam The Oxford Dictionary of Islam Political Islam: Revolution, Radicalism, or Reform

Voices of Resurgent Islam Islam in Asia: Religion, Politics, and Society

The Iranian Revolution: Its Global Impact

Muslims on the Americanization Path?

(with Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad)

Islam, Gender, and Social Change (with Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad)

Religion and Global Order (with M ichael Watson)

Islam and Secularism in the Middle East (with Azzam Tamimi) Muslims and the West: Encounter and Dialogue

(with Zafar Ishaq Ansari)

Terror in the Name of Islam

John L Esposito

1

2002

Co p yrigh t © 2002 b y Jo h n L Esp o sit o

Pu b lish ed b y O xfo rd Un iversit y Press, In c.,

198 Mad iso n Aven u e, New Yo rk, New Yo rk 10016

O xfo rd is a regist ered t rad em ark o f O xfo rd Un iversit y Press All righ t s reserved No p art o f t h is p u b licat io n

m ay b e rep ro d u ced , st o red in a ret rieval syst em , o r t ran sm it t ed ,

in an y fo rm o r b y an y m ean s, elect ro n ic, m ech an ical,

p h o t o co p yin g, reco rd in g, o r o t h erwise, wit h o u t t h e p rio r

p erm issio n o f O xfo rd Un iversit y Press.

Lib rary o f Co n gress Cat alo gin g-in -Pu b licat io n Dat a

1 Terro rism —Religio u s asp ect s—Islam

2 Jih ad 3 Islam an d wo rld p o lit ics.

4 An t i-Am erican ism I Tit le HV6431 E76 2002 322.4’2’0882971—d c21 2001058009

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Prin t ed in t h e Un it ed St at es o f Am erica

in h o n o r o f th eir 8 7 th an d 9 0 th birth d ay s

Te r r o r i n t h e Na m e o f Isl a m

Th e t raged y o f Sep t em b er 11, 2001, b ro u gh t Am erican s t o get h er

as a n at io n , u n it ed in grief an d in reso lve At t h e sam e t im e, Am can s fro m every walk o f life b egan askin g so m e h ard q u est io n sabo u t Am erica, glo bal t erro rism , an d t h e Mu slim wo rld Mo re t h an

eri-a d eceri-ad e eri-ago, in th e weri-ake of th e feri-all of th e Soviet Un ion eri-an d Seri-ad d eri-am

Hu ssein ’s call fo r a jih ad again st t h e West in t h e 1991 Gu lf war, I

wro t e T he Islam ic T hreat: Myth or Reality?, resp o n d in g t o t h e gro

win g p ro p en sit y am o n g sen io r go vern m en t o fficials, p o lit ical co m

-m en t at o rs, an d t h e -m ed ia t o see a n ew “evil e-m p ire” rep lacin g t h e

co m m u n ist t h reat

Sad ly, m o re t h an a d ecad e lat er, t h e sam e q u est io n s ab o u t Islam

an d t h e Mu slim wo rld are st ill b ein g asked : W h y d o t h ey h at e u s?

W h y is Islam m o re m ilit an t t h an o t h er religio n s? W h at d o es t h e

Q u ran h ave t o say ab o u t jih ad o r h o ly war? Do es t h e Q u ran co n

-d o n e t h is kin -d o f vio len ce an -d t erro rism ? Is t h ere a clash o f zat io n s b et ween t h e West an d t h e Mu slim wo rld ? Yet it is n o w

civili-m o re icivili-m p o rt an t t h an ever t h at we ed u cat e o u rselves ab o u t Islacivili-m

an d t h e ro o t s o f t erro rism

Mast er t erro rist O sam a b in Lad en , like o t h er religio u s ext rem ist s, is t h e p ro d u ct o f h is u p b rin gin g an d exp erien ces in life, o f t h ereligio u s wo rld h e in h erit ed an d wh ich h e rein ven t s fo r h is o wn

-p u r-p oses As in th e h istory of every world religion , violen t stru ggles

h ave b een a p art o f Mu slim h ist o ry Bin Lad en an d o t h er t erro rist s

exp loit th e au th ority of th e p ast (Mu h am m ad , th e Qu ran , an d lam ic h istory) for th e religiou s ration ale, p reced en ts, an d rad ical

Iin terp reters to ju stify an d Iin sp ire th eir call for a jih ad agaIin st Mu lim govern m en ts an d th e West; th ey legitim ate warfare an d terror-ism , an d th ey eq u ate th eir su icid e bom bin gs with m artyrd om An

s-u n d erstan d in g of th e religios-u s an d h istorical sos-u rces for th eir liefs, valu es, tactics, an d action s becom es im p erative Have th ey

be-h ijacked Islam for tbe-h eir own u n be-h oly p u rp oses, or d o tbe-h ey, as tbe-h eyclaim , rep resen t a retu rn to th e au th en tic teach in gs of th e faith ?

In so m e sen se, b in Lad en an d al-Q aed a rep resen t a wat ersh ed

fo r co n t em p o rary Islam ic rad icalism Alt h o u gh in t h e p ast t h eAyat o llah Kh o m ein i an d o t h er m ajo r Islam ic act ivist lead ers h adcalled fo r a b ro ad er Islam ic revo lu t io n , b o t h vio len t an d n o n vio -len t , t h e fo cu s an d im p act o f m o st ext rem ist m o vem en t s fro m

No rt h Africa t o So u t h east Asia h ad b een at t h e lo cal o r regio n allevel O sam a b in Lad en an d al-Q aed a rep resen t t h e n ext m ajo r

st ep , jih ad in t ern at io n al, t h at n o t o n ly d eclares jih ad again st go ern m en t s in t h e Mu slim wo rld an d at t acks West ern rep resen t a-

v-t ives an d in sv-t iv-t u v-t io n s in v-t h e regio n b u v-t n o w m akes Am erica an d

t h e West a p rim ary t arget in an u n h o ly war o f t erro rism

Am erica’s wars o f t h e t wen t iet h cen t u ry were fo u gh t o n t h e so il

o f o t h er co u n t ries No w, t h e b at t le h as b een b ro u gh t t o o u r o wn

sh o res an d t o t h e sym b o ls o f o u r eco n o m ic an d p o lit ical p o wer

Th e st akes h ave risen fo r everyo n e Th e at t acks again st Am erica

o n Sep t em b er 11 h ave righ t ly b een seen as a clario n call t o reco

g-n ize o u r d ag-n ger ag-n d resp o g-n d t o ag-n eg-n em y t h at t h reat eg-n s all—all

t h e co u n t ries, cu lt u res, an d p eo p les o f t h e wo rld

Th e t wen t yfirst cen t u ry will b e d o m in at ed b y t h e glo b al en

-co u n t er o f t wo m ajo r an d rap id ly gro win g wo rld religio n s, Ch

ris-t ian iris-t y an d Islam , an d by ris-t h e fo rces o f glo balizaris-t io n ris-t h aris-t will sris-t rainrelat io n s b et ween t h e West an d t h e rest It is n o t a t im e fo r p ro -

vo kin g a clash o f civilizat io n s o r fo r t h e self-fu lfillin g p ro p h ecy

t h at su ch a clash is in evit ab le It is rat h er a t im e fo r glo b al en

gagem en t an d co alit io n b u ild in g, fo r t h e act ive p ro gagem o t io n o f co exist

-en ce an d co o p erat io n Am id st p ressu res t o win t h e glo b al war

again st t erro rism at an y co st , h o w we u n d erst an d Islam an d t h e

Mu slim wo rld will affect h o w we ad d ress t h e cau ses o f t erro rism

an d o f an t i-Am erican ism an d wh et h er we p reserve o u r Am ericanvalu es at h om e an d abroad We m u st be able to m ove beyon d p oliti-cal rh et o ric, b eyo n d t h e wo rld o f b lack an d wh it e, o f u n ad u lt er-

at ed go o d versu s evil in vo ked n o t o n ly b y b in Lad en an d t h o selike h im b u t b y h is o p p o n en t s as well

I h ave writ t en t h is b o o k fo r t h e vast m ajo rit y o f p eo p le in t h eWest , n o n -Mu slim s as well as Mu slim s, wh o se lives an d co m m u -

n it ies in t h e t wen t y-first cen t u ry are in ext ricab ly in t ert win ed Th e

Mu slim wo rld is n o lo n ger “o u t t h ere”; Mu slim s are o u r n eigh

-b o rs, co lleagu es, an d fello w cit izen s, an d t h eir religio n , like Ju d ism an d Ch rist ian it y, reject s t erro rism Never b efo re h ave so ft

a-p h rases like “b u ild in g b rid ges o f u n d erst an d in g” b een m o re crit cal in a war t h at u lt im at ely can n o t b e wo n sim p ly b y m ilit ary

i-p o wer Un d erst an d in g an d act io n go h an d in h an d fo r Mu slim s

an d n o n -Mu slim s alike All o f u s are ch allen ged t o m o ve b eyo n d

st ereo t yp es, h ist o ric grievan ces, an d religio u s d ifferen ces, t o

rec-o gn ize rec-o u r sh ared valu es as well as in t erest s, an d t rec-o m rec-o ve crec-o

llec-t ively llec-t o b u ild o u r co m m o n fu llec-t u re

O f all t h e b o o ks I h ave writ t en t h is h as b een t h e m o st d ifficu lt ,

b ecau se o f t h e h o rrific o ccasio n t h at p recip it at ed it an d t h e ran ge

an d select io n o f co verage As a resu lt , I am esp ecially in d eb t ed t o

t h o se wh o assist ed m e an d wo rked u n d er severe t im e co n st rain t s.Nat an a De Lo n g-Bas is in every sen se m y sen io r research assist an t Her wo rk o n t h is p ro ject as o n o t h ers reflect ed co n sist en t excel-len ce Her co m m it m en t is cap t u red in a p ict u re I h ave o f Nat an a

in lab o r in t h e h o sp it al d elivery ro o m , wo rkin g o n h er research fo r

t h is b o o k! Ju lian e Ham m er cam e lat e t o t h e p ro ject b u t at crit ical

p o in t s p ro vid ed m u ch -n eed ed q u ick an d t h o ro u gh research Mywork h as been m ad e in fin itely easier d u e t o two rem arkable p eop le,Clare Merrill, Assist an t Direct o r, an d Th o m as Jo rd an , Ad m in ist ra-

t ive Assist an t , o f t h e Cen t er fo r Mu slim -Ch rist ian Un d erst an d in g

at Geo rget o wn , wh o se in t elligen ce, en ergy, an d resu lt s-o rien t at io nare in valu ab le

I am in d ebt ed t o several sch o lars—Ah m ed Rash id , Tam ara So n n ,Jam es Piscat o ri, an d Jo h n O Vo ll—wh o read all o r p o rt io n s o f t h e

m an u scrip t , o ft en p ro vid in g key in sigh t s Cyn t h ia Read , m y lo n

g-t im e ed ig-t o r ag-t O xfo rd , p layed an esp ecially im p o rg-t an g-t ro le wig-t h

th is book, carefu lly reviewin g each ch ap ter an d p rovid in g in valu able feed back Th e m ost im p ortan t p erson in writin g th is book wasJean Esp osito, m y wife, p artn er, an d best frien d W h ile sh e always

-m an aged to balan ce h er own career an d in terests with su bstan tial

in volvem en t in all m y books, for th is book sh e was a p ivotal force

as we d eterm in ed its stru ctu re, con ten ts, an d text, an d wh en I was

read y to p u ll th e p lu g, sh e con vin ced m e to con tin u e Unholy W ar is

in every sen se of th e word s as m u ch h er book as m in e

The M aking of a M odern Terrorist

O sam a b in Lad en seem s like t h e last p erso n d est in ed t o b e a glo b al

t erro rist His jo u rn ey fro m a life o f wealt h an d p rivilege, as t h escio n o f a m u lt ib illio n aire Sau d i fam ily wit h clo se t ies t o t h e kin g

an d ro yal fam ily, t o t h e caves an d m ilit ary t rain in g cam p s o f

Af-gh an ist an so u n d s m o re like t h e st u ff o f fict io n t h an realit y W h at

h ap p en ed t o t ran sfo rm a q u iet , sh y, serio u s, an d wealt h y Sau d i

yo u n g m an in t o t h e wo rld co m m u n it y’s m o st wan t ed crim in al?

Ho w are we t o u n d erst an d a m an wh o h as b een d escrib ed as “anIslam ic zealo t , a m ilit ary gen iu s, a p o et , an d an im p assio n ed en -

em y o f t h e Un it ed St at es”?1

O sam a b in Lad en was b o rn in Riyad h , Sau d i Arab ia, in 1957,

t h e seven t een t h (t h e seven t h so n ) o f fift y-t wo ch ild ren His

fa-th er, Mu h am m ad bin Lad en , h ad com e to fa-th e Kin gd om from Sou fa-thYem en aro u n d 1930 as an illit erat e lab o rer He st art ed a sm all co n -

st ru ct io n b u sin ess an d wen t o n t o b eco m e o n e o f Sau d i Arab ia’swealt h iest co n st ru ct io n m agn at es He d evelo p ed t ies t o t h e ro yalfam ily an d was award ed exclu sive co n t ract s In t h e 1950s, O sam a’sfat h er d esign ed an d b u ilt t h e al-Had a ro ad , wh ich p erm it t ed Mu s-

lim s fro m Yem en t o m ake t h e p ilgrim age t o Mecca (hajj), o n e o f

t h e five basic religio u s req u irem en t s o f Islam , m o re easily His co m

-p an y also received a m u lt ib illio n d o llar co n t ract t o rest o re an dexp an d t h e Gran d Mo sq u es o f Mecca an d Med in a, raisin g h is

co m p an y’s p rest ige t h ro u gh o u t t h e Mu slim wo rld an d set t in g t h e

st age fo r t h e co m p an y’s exp an sio n b eyo n d Sau d i Arab ia Th e b inLad en fam ily est ab lish ed a large in d u st rial an d fin an cial em p ire,

t h e Bin Lad en Gro u p , wh ich b ecam e o n e o f t h e largest co n st ru

c-t io n co m p an ies in c-t h e Mid d le Easc-t 2

Iro n ically, given O sam a’s cen t o u t rage at t h e Sau d i-Am erican allian ce an d t h e p resen ce o f

re-Am erican fo rces in t h e Kin gd o m , t h e Bin Lad en Gro u p b u ilt m an y

m ilit ary su p p o rt facilit ies in t h e Kin gd o m , in clu d in g t h o se u sed

b y U.S fo rces d u rin g t h e Gu lf War

Th e relat io n sh ip b et ween t h e b in Lad en clan an d t h e ro yal fam ily go es b eyo n d b u sin ess t ies t o in clu d e frien d sh ip an d in t erm ar-riage Th e b in Lad en so n s h ave at t en d ed t h e sam e sch o o ls as

-n u m ero u s p ri-n ces o f t h e ro yal fam ily i-n Eu ro p e a-n d Am erica a-n d

h ave st u d ied at an d / o r given m o n ey t o so m e o f t h e b est u n

iversi-t ies, in clu d in g Harvard , O xfo rd , an d Tu fiversi-t s.3

O sam a’s fat h er was a st ro n g, h ard -wo rkin g, d o m in at in g, p io u s

m an wh o in sist ed o n keep in g all o f h is ch ild ren in o n e h o u seh o ld

an d raised t h em acco rd in g t o a st rict m o ral an d religio u s co d e

Th e fam ily h o m e was o p en t o m an y Mu slim s, esp ecially d u rin g

h ajj, an d O sam a was ab le at an early age t o m eet Mu slim sch o lars

an d lead ers o f Islam ic m o vem en t s fro m all o ver t h e Islam ic wo rld 4Like m an y in t h e Arab wo rld , b in Lad en ’s fat h er is said t o h ave felt

p assio n at ely ab o u t t h e Palest in ian -Israeli co n flict Th is ap p ears in

an an ecd o t e t h at h as t h e eld er b in Lad en seekin g t o co n t rib u t e t o

th e liberation of Palestin e O n e d ay, as th e sto ry go es, h e d em an d ed

t h at h is co m p an y’s en gin eers co n vert t wo h u n d red b u lld o zers in t o

t an ks fo r t h e p u rp o se o f at t ackin g Israel To ld t h at t h e t ask was

im p o ssib le, h e d ecid ed in st ead t o p ro d u ce as m an y so n s as p o

s-sib le an d co n vert them in t o figh t ers Bu t o u t o f all t h e b in Lad en

so n s, O sam a b ecam e t h e o n ly figh t er.5

In fo rm at io n o n O sam a bin Lad en ’s yo u t h is lim it ed an d at t im es

co n t rad ict o ry So m e m ain t ain t h at h e was a religio u sly co m m it

-t ed yo u n g m an p ro -t ec-t ed fro m co rru p -t io n b y h is early m arriage -t o

a Syrian girl.6 O t h er so u rces rep o rt t h at , like m an y wealt h y yo u t h s

o f h is t im e, h e visit ed Beiru t in t h e early 1970s, wh ere h e en jo yed

t h e n igh t life an d wo m en o f t h is co sm o p o lit an cit y, kn o wn at t h at

t im e as “t h e Paris o f t h e Mid d le East ”7

Like m o st yo u n g p eo p le,

h e wo u ld fin d o r b egin t o d efin e h im self at u n iversit y

Bin Lad en was ed u cated in Med in a an d Jed d ah , earn in g h is d gree in p u blic ad m in istration in 1981 at Jed d ah ’s Kin g Abd u laziz

e-Un iversity, wh ere h e stu d ied m an agem en t an d econ om ics Du rin g

h is stu d ies, h e becam e m ore an d m ore religiou sly orien ted , in flu

-en ced by h is u n iversity exp eri-en ce an d u n fold in g ev-en ts in Sau d iArabia an d th e wid er Mu slim world Osam a’s religiou s world viewwas sh ap ed both by Sau d i Arabia’s d eep ly con servative Wah h abi

in terp retation of Islam an d by th e revolu tion ary Islam th at began

to sp read in th e 1970s Each of th ese in flu en ces wou ld be form ative

in th e d evelop m en t of h is jih ad ist vision , m ission , an d strategy

Th e Isl a m i c Vi si o n

Islam em p h asizes action , p erform in g th e will of God It m ore closelyresem b les Ju d aism wit h it s fo cu s o n fo llo win g t h e law t h an Ch ris-

t ian it y wit h it s em p h asis o n b elief Mu slim s are en jo in ed t o act , t o

st ru ggle (jihad) t o im p lem en t t h eir b elief, t o lead a go o d life, t o

d efen d religio n , t o co n t rib u t e t o t h e d evelo p m en t o f a ju st Islam ic

so ciet y t h ro u gh o u t t h e wo rld Th e life an d exp erien ce o f t h e early

co m m u n it y p ro vid e t h e m o d el fo r t h e sp read an d d efen se o f Islam

t h ro u gh hijra an d jih ad W h en Mu h am m ad an d h is Co m p an io n s

su ffered u n rem it t in g p ersecu t io n in Mecca, t h ey em igrat ed (hijra)

t o Yat h rib , lat er ren am ed Med in a, “t h e cit y” o f t h e Pro p h et

Hav-in g regro u p ed , est ab lish ed , an d st ren gt h en ed t h e co m m u n it y atMed in a, Mu h am m ad t h en set ab o u t t h e st ru ggle (jih ad ) t o sp read

an d d efen d Go d ’s Wo rd an d ru le Th is p at t ern o f h ijra an d jih ad in

t h e face o f ad versit y, co u p led wit h t h e co n cep t o f t h e um m ah (t h e

world wid e Islam ic com m u n ity), wh ich stresses a p an -Islam ic u n ity,

h as gu id ed Mu slim s t h ro u gh o u t t h e ages, in clu d in g b in Lad en an d

m an y t erro rist s t o d ay

Ji h a d a n d t h e Cr e a t i o n o f Sa u d i Ar a b i a

O sam a b in Lad en ’s wo rld view was very m u ch in flu en ced b y t h ereligio u s h erit age an d p o lit ical clim at e in Sau d i Arab ia an d t h e

Arab wo rld in t h e 1960s an d 1970s Key in flu en ces in clu d ed t h e

en viro n m en t o f Sau d i Arabia, a self-st yled Islam ic st at e wit h a rigid ,

p u rit an ical, Wah h ab i b ran d o f Islam , t h e m ilit an t jih ad id eo lo gy

o f Egyp t ’s Sayyid Q u t b , wh o se d iscip les h ad fo u n d refu ge an d p o sit io n s in t h e kin gd o m , an d t h e d evast at in g Arab d efeat in t h e

-1967 Arab -Israeli war

Th e kin gd o m o f Sau d i Arab ia fro m it s earliest b egin n in gs h asrelied o n t h e b len d in g o f religio n an d p o lit ical p o wer It s o rigin s

st ret ch b ack t o t h e eigh t een t h cen t u ry wh en an Islam ic revivalist

an d t h eo lo gian , Mu h am m ad ib n Ab d al-Wah h ab , fo rm ed an

alli-an ce wit h a lo cal t rib al ch ief, Mu h am m ad ib n Sau d o f Dariyya (a

t o wn n ear m o d ern -d ay Riyad h ), t o creat e a religio p o lit ical m o

ve-m en t , Wah h ab isve-m Th e ve-m o veve-m en t swep t acro ss cen t ral Arab ia,cap t u rin g Mecca an d Med in a an d u n it in g it s t rib es in wh at it s fo l-

lo wers b elieved was a rcreat io n o f Islam ’s seven t h -cen t u ry b gin n in gs u n d er t h e Pro p h et Mu h am m ad At h o u gh t h e m o vem en twas cru sh ed b y t h e O t t o m an Em p ire, a d escen d an t o f t h e Ho u se

e-o f Sau d , Ab d u laziz ib n Sau d (1879–1953), reassert ed t h e fam ily’sclaim s t o Arab ia an d led a religio u s an d p o lit ical m o vem en t t h atresu lt ed in t h e est ab lish m en t o f m o d ern -d ay Sau d i Arab ia

Th e Wah h ab i religio u s visio n o r b ran d o f Islam , n am ed aft er

Mu h am m ad ib n Ab d al-Wah h ab , h as b een a st ap le o f t h e Sau d i

go vern m en t , a so u rce o f t h eir religio u s an d p o lit ical legit im at io n

It is a st rict , p u rit an ical fait h t h at em p h asizes lit eral in t erp ret at io n

o f t h e Q u ran an d Sunnah (exam p le) o f t h e Pro p h et Mu h am m ad

an d t h e ab so lu t e o n en ess o f Go d Th e Wah h ab is d en o u n ced o t h er

t rib es an d Mu slim co m m u n it ies as p o lyt h eist s o r id o lat ers An

y-t h in g y-t h e Wah h ab is p erceived as u n -Islam ic b eh avio r co n sy-t iy-t u y-t ed

u n b elief (kufr) in t h eir eyes, wh ich m u st b e co u n t ered b y jih ad

Th u s jih ad o r h o ly war was n o t sim p ly p erm issib le: t o figh t t h e

u n b elievers an d reest ab lish a t ru e Islam ic st at e was req u ired

Ab d u laziz fram ed t h e d evelo p m en t o f Sau d i Arab ia u sin g st o ries an d sym b o ls d rawn fro m t h e life an d st ru ggles o f Mu h am m ad

-He recru it ed Bed o u in t rib esm en t o jo in t h e b ro t h erh o o d o f b ers an d , like Mu h am m ad ’s co m m u n it y, en gage in a p ro cess o f h ijra

eliev-an d jih ad Like Mu h am m ad eliev-an d t h e early co m m u n it y, t h ey em grat ed t o n ew set t lem en t s wh ere t h ey co u ld live a t ru e Islam ic life

ian d b e t rain ed religio u sly ian d m ilit arily Th ey co m b in ed m issio n ary zeal, m ilit ary m igh t , an d a d esire fo r bo o t y t o o n ce again sp readIslam ic ru le in Arab ia, wagin g h o ly wars ap p ro ved b y t h eir reli-giou s lead ers Abd u laziz u sed th e ban n er of th e p u ritan ical Wah h abi

-to legitim ate figh tin g oth er Mu slim tribal lead ers an d seizin g Mecca

an d Med in a As in t h e Ch rist ian t rad it io n , d eat h in b at t le m erit ed

m art yrd o m an d et ern al b liss in p arad ise; likewise, as in t h e Ch

ris-t ian Cru sad es, vicris-t o ry m ean ris-t n o ris-t o n ly ris-t h e ris-t riu m p h o f virris-t u e b u ris-talso t h e reward s o f p lu n d er an d b o o t y Wah h ab i h ist o ry an d p ara-

d igm s were an essen t ial p art o f O sam a b in Lad en ’s religio u s fait h

an d sen se o f h ist o ry, a h erit age h e wo u ld t u rn t o in lat er life fo r

in sp irat io n an d gu id an ce

Du rin g t h e 1970s m an y Islam ic act ivist s, b o t h Sau d i-b o rn an d

fo reign ers, were t o b e fo u n d in t h e Kin gd o m Am o n g O sam a’s

t each ers at Kin g Ab d u laziz Un iversit y was Dr Ab d u llah Azzam ,

wh o wo u ld lat er b eco m e p ro m in en t in Afgh an ist an Azzam , a Jo

r-d an ian m em b er o f t h e Palest in ian Mu slim Bro t h erh o o r-d an r-d

re-p o rt ed ly a fo u n d er o f Ham as, h ad st ro n g acad em ic an d Islam icact ivist cred en t ials.8 Train ed at Dam ascu s Un iversit y in t h eo lo gy,

h e earn ed a d o ct o rat e in Islam ic ju risp ru d en ce at Egyp t ’s fam ed Azh ar Un iversit y Azzam was an ad vo cat e o f a m ilit an t glo b al jih ad

al-id eo lo gy an d cu lt u re, seein g it as a d u t y in cu m b en t o n all Mu lim s So m et im es d escrib ed as t h e Em ir o f Jih ad o r Go d fat h er o fglo bal jih ad , Azzam was a cap t ivat in g sp eaker wh o p reach ed a clear

s-m essage o f s-m ilit an t co n fro n t at io n an d co n flict : “Jih ad an d t h erifle alo n e: n o n ego t iat io n s, n o co n feren ces, an d n o d ialo gu es.”9Azzam ’s jih ad was glo b al in sco p e, aim ed at reco u p in g t h e glo ries

an d lan d s o f Islam “Th is d u t y will n o t en d wit h vict o ry in

Af-gh an istan ; jih ad will rem ain an in d ivid u al obligation u n til all oth erlan d s t h at were Mu slim are ret u rn ed t o u s so t h at Islam will reignagain : b efo re u s lie Palest in e, Bo kh ara, Leb an o n , Ch ad , Erit rea,

So m alia, t h e Ph ilip p in es, Bu rm a, So u t h ern Yem en , Tash ken t an d

An d alu sia [so u t h ern Sp ain ].”10

Dr Mu h am m ad Qu tb, a fam ou s sch olar an d activist, was an oth er

of Osam a’s teach ers He was a broth er of Sayyid Qu tb, a lead er of

th e m ilitan t win g of th e Mu slim Broth erh ood wh o was execu ted in

1966 wh en Gam al Abd el Nasser’s govern m en t cru sh ed an d ou tlawed

th e Broth erh ood Sayyid Qu tb is wid ely ackn owled ged as th e fath er

of m ilitan t jih ad , a m ajor in flu en ce on th e world view of rad ical

m ovem en ts across th e Mu slim world , an d ven erated as a m artyr ofcon tem p orary Islam ic revivalism Qu tb’s writin gs an d id eas p rovid ed

th e religiou s world view an d d iscou rse for gen eration s of activists,

m od erate an d extrem ist For th ose Mu slim s wh o, like bin Lad en ,were ed u cated in sch ools an d u n iversities with Islam ist teach ers,Sayyid Qu tb was a stap le of th eir Islam ic ed u cation

Bin Lad en was ed u cat ed at a t im e wh en Islam ic m o vem en t s

an d religio u s ext rem ist o r jih ad m o vem en t s were o n t h e rise in

t h e b ro ad er Mu slim wo rld an d wit h in Sau d i Arab ia Th e d isast ro u s

an d h u m iliat in g d efeat o f t h e Arab s in t h e 1967 SixDay Arab Israeli war, in wh ich t h e co m b in ed fo rces o f Egyp t , Syria, an d Jo r-

-d an were b eat en wit h in h o u rs b y “t in y lit t le Israel,” was a m ajo r

t u rn in g p o in t in t h e h ist o ry o f co n t em p o rary Islam It gen erat ed

d eep so u l-search in g ab o u t wh at h ad go n e wro n g wit h Islam , t h e

m o d ern failu re an d im p o t en ce o f a Mu slim wo rld t h at fo r cen t u ries aft er it s creat io n h ad exp erien ced u n p aralleled su ccess an d

-p o wer W h at cam e t o b e called Th e Disast er was co u n t ered in 1973

b y a jih ad again st Israel fo u gh t b y An war Sad at It s co d e n am e wasBad r, sym b o lizin g t h e first great an d m iracu lo u s vict o ry o f t h ePro p h et Mu h am m ad o ver a su p erio r Meccan arm y Th is was fo l-

lo wed b y an o t h er sign ifican t even t in t h e wo rld o f O sam a b inLad en Th e Arab o il em b argo , wit h it s crip p lin g im p act o n t h eWest , gave Mu slim s a n ew sen se o f p rid e Th e Arab wo rld an d t h e

h eart lan d o f Islam seem ed t o reem erge as a m ajo r eco n o m ic p o weraft er cen t u ries o f su b servien ce t o Eu ro p ean im p erialism

Th e 1970s also wit n essed an in crease in t h e p o wer an d visib

il-it y o f in t ern al Islam ic o p p o sil-it io n an d refo rm m o vem en t s In Egyp t

t h e Mu slim Bro t h erh o o d alo n g wit h a series o f rad ical gro u p s

re-em erged as a m ajo r o p p o sit io n al fo rce Iran ’s Islam ic revo lu t io n

cam e as an in sp irat io n al rallyin g cry fo r Islam ic act ivist s acro ss

t h e Mu slim wo rld Sau d i Arab ia it self was ro cked b y t h e seizu re o f

t h e Gran d Mo sq u e in Mecca in 1979 b y m ilit an t s wh o called fo r

t h e o vert h ro w o f t h e Ho u se o f Sau d Man y o f t h ese m ilit an t s werewell-ed u cat ed , p io u s act ivist s wh o d en o u n ced t h e wealt h an d co r-

ru p t io n o f t h e “in fid el” regim e an d t h e co rro sive im p act o f t h eWest o n religio u s an d so cial valu es Th ey wan t ed t o p u rify an dret u rn t o t rad it io n al Islam , re-creat in g a t ru e Islam ic st at e an d so -ciet y W h ile b in Lad en d o es n o t seem t o h ave sid ed wit h Sau d iext rem ist s, h e co u ld n o t h elp b u t b e st ro n gly affect ed b y t h e act iv-ist m o o d o f t h e 1970s in Sau d i Arab ia an d b eyo n d

Ji h a d i n Af g h a n i st a n :

Th e Ma k i n g o f a H o l y W a r r i o r

A m ajo r t u rn in g p o in t in O sam a b in Lad en ’s life, t h e b egin n in g o f

h is jo u rn ey t o ward b eco m in g a m ujahid, o r warrio r fo r Go d , o

c-cu rred wit h t h e 1979 So viet in vasio n an d o cc-cu p at io n o f Afgh an

i-st an As b in Lad en wo u ld lat er say, “W h at I lived in t wo years

t h ere, I co u ld n o t h ave lived in a h u n d red years elsewh ere.”11

By

t h e 1970s Afgh an ist an h ad b eco m e o verwh elm in gly d ep en d en t

on th e Soviet Un ion ’s p atron age for its su rvival Marxist an d Maoist

p art ies t h rived wh ile Islam ist p art ies an d m o vem en t s were

re-p ressed In Ju ly 1973 Prin ce Mu h am m ad Dau d , a fo rm er re-p rim e

m in ist er an d co u sin o f t h e Afgh an Kin g Zah ir Sh ah , o vert h rew t h e

go vern m en t , ab o lish ed t h e m o n arch y, an d p ro claim ed h im self

p resid en t o f Afgh an ist an Five years lat er t h e Peo p le’s Dem o crat icPart y o f Afgh an ist an st aged a co u p an d est ab lish ed a n ew co m m u -

n ist go vern m en t Th is was fo llo wed b y t h e d irect in t erven t io n an d

o ccu p at io n o f Afgh an ist an b y t h e So viet Un io n in 1979 Th e o

ccu p at io n galvan ized Afgh an ist an ’s d iverse t ribal an d religio u s lead ers an d m o vem en t s in a p o p u lar jih ad Afgh an ist an ’s t rib al so ciet y

-h ad a fragile u n it y o ffset b y t -h e realit ies o f it s m u lt iet -h n ic t rib al

so ciet y co m p risin g Pash t u n s, Uzb eks, Tajiks, an d Hazaras d ivid edreligio u sly b et ween a Su n n i Mu slim m ajo rit y an d a m in o rit y o f

Sh ii Mu slim s So viet o ccu p at io n , h o wever, p ro vid ed a co m m o n

en em y an d m issio n Th e call fo r a jih ad o ffered a co m m o n , t h o u gh

t ran sien t as h ist o ry wo u ld p ro ve, Islam ic religio u s id en t it y an d

so u rce o f in sp irat io n Th e m ujahidin h o ly war t o lib erat e Islam an d

Afgh an ist an fro m So viet (at h eist ic) co m m u n ist o ccu p at io n wo u ldeven t u ally d rive o u t t h e So viet m ilit ary, d efeat t h e Afgh an co m -

m u n ists, an d lead to th e establish m en t of an Islam ic state in 1992.12

W h en t h e an t i-So viet jih ad b egan , b in Lad en was am o n g t h efirst t o ru sh t o t h e Afgh an refu gee cam p s in Pesh awar, Pakist an , t o

m eet wit h m u jah id in lead ers, so m e o f wh o m h e h ad alread y co m e

t o kn o w d u rin g h ajj gat h erin gs at h is h o m e in Sau d i Arab ia Fro m

1979 t o 1982 h e co llect ed fu n d s an d m at eriel fo r t h e jih ad an d

m ad e in t erm it t en t visit s fro m Sau d i Arab ia t o Pakist an In 1982 h efin ally en t ered Afgh an ist an , b rin gin g large q u an t it ies o f co n st ru c-

t io n m ach in ery as well as fu n d in g, an d b eco m in g a fu ll p art

ici-p an t in t h e Afgh an jih ad By 1984 in creasin g n u m b ers o f Arab

m u jah id in were arrivin g in Pakist an to join th e h o ly war Bin Lad enresp o n d ed b y est ab lish in g a gu est h o u se in Pesh awar fo r Arab s o n

t h eir way t o t h e fro n t in Afgh an ist an In 1986 O sam a becam e m o re

d irect ly in vo lved in t h e war, set t in g u p h is o wn cam p s an d co m

-m an d in g Arab -m u jah id in fo rces wh o b eca-m e kn o wn as Arab

Af-gh an s in b at t le He su b seq u en t ly creat ed al-Q aed a (t h e b ase), t o

o rgan ize an d t rack t h e ch an n elin g o f figh t ers an d fu n d s fo r t h eAfgh an resist an ce Six-feet five-in ch es t all, wit h a lo n g b eard an d

p iercin g eyes, t h e wealt h y an d p o werfu lly co n n ect ed b in Lad enwas well o n h is way t o b eco m in g a p o st er-b o y fo r t h e jih ad , at first

as a h ero an d lat er as a glo b al t erro rist

Bin Lad en ’s act ivit ies were ap p lau d ed b y t h e Sau d i go vern m en t ,

wh ich , alo n g wit h t h e Un it ed St at es, h ad m ad e a h eavy co m m it

-m en t to su p p ortin g th e jih ad again st th e Soviet Un ion For A-m erica,

t h is was a “go o d jih ad ” Iro n ically, alt h o u gh t h e Un it ed St at es h ad

b een t h reat en ed b y Iran ’s revo lu t io n ary Islam an d t h e vio len ce

an d t erro rism co m m it t ed b y jih ad gro u p s in Egyp t , Leb an o n , an delsewh ere, o u r go vern m en t was ab le t o ch eer an d su p p o rt Afgh an -ist an ’s h o ly warrio rs, p ro vid in g co n sid erab le fu n d in g as well as

Cen t ral In t elligen ce Agen cy (CIA) ad visers Everyo n e was in

agree-m en t Fo r O saagree-m a b in Lad en , as fo r Sau d i Arab ia an d in d eed Mu lim s wo rld wid e, t h e Afgh an jih ad t o rep el fo reign ers fro m Islam ic

s-t erris-t o ry was em in en s-t ly in acco rd wis-t h Islam ic d o cs-t rin e

Bin Lad en p roved h im self t o be a selfless an d d ed icated m u jah id ,

o r h o ly warrio r St ill yo u n g, h e was m o re co m fo rt ab le as an act ist t h an as an id eo lo gu e, fo cu sed p rim arily o n t h e jih ad in Afgh an -ist an rat h er t h an o n Mu slim in t ern at io n al p o lit ics an d act ivism

iv-Ah m ed Rash id , exp ert o n t h e Talib an an d al-Q aed a, writ es o f b inLad en :

Arab Afgh an s wh o kn ew h im d u rin g th e jih ad say h e was n eit h er

in tellectu al n or art icu late abou t wh at n eed ed t o be d on e in t h e

Mu slim wo rld In th at sen se h e was n eit h er t h e Len in of t h e lam ic revo lu t ion , n o r was h e th e in tern at ion alist id eologu e of

Is-th e Islam ic revolu t io n su ch as Ch e Gu evera was t o Is-th e revolu tion

in th e th ird world Bin Lad en ’s form er associates d escribe h im as

d eep ly im p ression able, always in n eed of m en tors, m en wh o kn ew

m o re abo u t Islam an d th e m od ern world t h an h e d id 13

Th e Ra d i c a l i z a t i o n o f a Sa u d i El i t e

Ho w d id O sam a b in Lad en , m em b er o f t h e Sau d i elit e, m u jah id ,

an d h ero o f t h e war in Afgh an ist an , b eco m e rad icalized ? Aft er So viet troop s with d rew from Afgh an istan in 1989, bin Lad en retu rn ed

-t o Sau d i Arab ia an d a jo b in -t h e fam ily b u sin ess Th o u gh in i-t iallyreceived as a h ero , sp eakin g at m o sq u es an d t o p rivat e gat h erin gs,

h e was so o n at lo ggerh ead s wit h t h e ro yal fam ily, vo cifero u s in h iswarn in g o f an im p en d in g Iraq i in vasio n o f Ku wait Sau d i Arab ia,alo n g wit h Ku wait an d t h e Un it ed St at es, h ad fo r m an y years, in

p art icu lar d u rin g t h e Iraq -Iran War, b een st ro n g su p p o rt ers o fSad d am Hu ssein ’s Iraq , seein g it as a ch eck o n t h e Ayat o llah Kh o -

m ein i’s Iran W h en Iraq d id in vad e Ku wait in Au gu st 1990, b inLad en q u ickly wro t e t o Kin g Fah d , o fferin g t o b rin g t h e Arab Af-

gh an m u jah id in t o Sau d i Arab ia t o d efen d t h e kin gd o m In st ead ,

t h e d eafen in g silen ce fro m t h e p alace was sh at t ered b y n ews t h at

Am erican fo rces were t o d efen d t h e Ho u se o f Sau d Th e ad m issio n

an d st at io n in g o f fo reign n o n -Mu slim t ro o p s in Islam ’s h o ly lan d

an d t h eir p erm an en t d ep lo ym en t aft er t h e Gu lf war, b in Lad en

wo u ld lat er say, t ran sfo rm ed h is life co m p let ely, p lacin g h im o n acollision cou rse wit h t h e Sau d i govern m en t an d t h e West He sp oke

o u t fo rcefu lly again st t h e Sau d i allian ce wit h t h e Un it ed St at es,

o b t ain ed a fatwa (legal o p in io n ) fro m a sen io r religio u s sch o lar

t h at t rain in g was a religio u s d u t y, an d sen t several t h o u san d vo

l-u n t eers t o t rain in Afgh an ist an

Like o t h er Arab Afgh an s wh o ret u rn ed t o t h eir h o m e co u n t ries,

in Afgh an ist an b in Lad en h ad en jo yed t h e freed o m t o t h in k an dact an d t o en gage in a religio u s m issio n t o o verco m e in ju st ice an dcreat e an Islam ic st at e an d so ciet y In Sau d i Arab ia h e fo u n d h im -self b o u n d wit h in t h e co n fin es o f a regim e wh o se p o licies an dallian ces h e m o re an d m o re cam e t o d esp ise as co rru p t an d u n -Islam ic W h ile m an y o f t h e Arab Afgh an s wh o ret u rn ed t o Egyp t ,Algeria, an d elsewh ere q u ickly b ecam e in vo lved in rad ical o p p o si-

t io n m o vem en t s, b in Lad en co n t in u ed t o st ru ggle wit h in t h e

sys-t em Th e go vern m en sys-t ressys-t ricsys-t ed h is m o vem en sys-t in an asys-t sys-t em p sys-t sys-t osilen ce h im Fin ally, in Ap ril 1991 h e escap ed t o Afgh an ist an viaPakist an W h en h e arrived , h o wever, h e fo u n d h im self n o t in t h eIslam ic st at e fo r wh ich t h e jih ad h ad b een fo u gh t b u t in o n e m ired

in t h e religio u s an d et h n ic warfare o f it s aft erm at h

Wit h in a b rief p erio d aft er t h e So viet wit h d rawal, t h e great lam ic vict o ry h ad co llap sed in t o in t eret h n ic an d sect arian war-fare, fu eled b y fo reign p at ro n s Th e n et resu lt was ch ao s an d t h e

Is-d evast at io n o f Afgh an ist an as vario u s warlo rIs-d s vieIs-d t o set u p t h eir

o wn fiefd o m s

Desp it e t h e Afgh an vict o ry, t h e jih ad h ad failed t o d evelo p a

co h eren t id eo lo gy o r b asis fo r p o lit ical u n it y Th e Un it ed St at eswalked away fro m an Afgh an ist an wh o se co u n t rysid e was d evas-

t at ed b y a t en -year So viet o ccu p at io n t h at h ad co st m o re t h an o n e

m illio n lives Mu jah id in gro u p s, m an y o f wh ich t o d ay m ake u p

t h e No rt h ern Allian ce t h at wit h U.S b ackin g fo u gh t an d d efeat ed

t h e Talib an , rep resen t ed co m p et in g et h n ic, t rib al, an d religio u sgro u p s Th e co u n t ry was grip p ed b y a civil war t h at p it t ed t h e

m ajo rit y Pash t u n p o p u lat io n in t h e so u t h an d east again st t h eeth n ic m in orities of th e n orth —Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, an d Tu rkm en

Th e co n flict was fu rt h er co m p o u n d ed b y t h e in t erven t io n an d

co m p et in g agen d as o f o u t sid e p o wers Pakist an an d Sau d i Arab ia

su p p o rt ed Su n n i m u jah id in gro u p s wh ile Iran b acked an allian ce

o f Sh ii m in o rit y o rgan izat io n s Th e m ajo rit y o f Afgh an s fo u n d

t h em selves cau gh t in t h e m id d le o f a p ro lo n ged civil war m arked

b y h eavy figh t in g, lawlessn ess, p illagin g, rap e, an d p lu n d er BinLad en was fru st rat ed b y h is in ab ilit y t o co n t rib u t e t o t h e reso lu -

t io n o f t h e p ro b lem s o f ch ao s an d lawlessn ess In 1992, aft er eral m o n t h s am id st t h e in t er-m u jah id in sq u ab b lin g an d figh t in g

sev-o ver su ccessisev-o n aft er t h e csev-o llap se sev-o f t h e p rsev-o -Ssev-o viet regim e, b inLad en m o ved t o Su d an

Su d a n a n d t h e En t r e p r e n e u r -Mu ja h i d

In Jan u ary 1989, in a co u p led b y Co lo n el O m ar al-Bash ir, t h eNat io n al Islam ic Fro n t (NIF) h ad co m e t o p o wer in Su d an an dest ab lish ed an Islam ic rep u b lic Bash ir h ad en list ed t h e h elp o fHasan al-Tu rabi, t h e So rbo n n e-ed u cat ed lead er o f t h e NIF, regard ed

b y m an y as o n e o f t h e m o st b rillian t an d art icu lat e o f t h e Islam icact ivist lead ers o f p o lit ical Islam in t ern at io n ally Al-Tu rab i b ecam e

t h e id eo lo gu e o f t h e regim e, h o ld in g a n u m b er o f p o lit ical p o

si-t io n s, in clu d in g sp eaker o f si-t h e p arliam en si-t NIF m em b ers p ro vid ed

t h e b ackb o n e an d in frast ru ct u re fo r t h e n ew go vern m en t Th e

go vern m en t , in a relat io n sh ip t h at p ro ved m u t u ally b en eficial,welco m ed b in Lad en Bin Lad en fo u n d a refu ge an d in vest ed h iswealt h in m u ch -n eed ed co n st ru ct io n p ro ject s as well as farm s an d

o t h er b u sin esses in t h e fled glin g Islam ic st at e Du rin g t h ese years

Su d an , wit h it s o p en b o rd ers, was in creasin gly co n d em n ed b y

Am erica an d Eu ro p e fo r it s lin ks wit h revo lu t io n ary Iran an d fo r

h arborin g in tern ation al terrorists an d th eir train in g cam p s In 1993

Su d an was p laced o n t h e St at e Dep art m en t ’s list o f co u n t ries t h at

sp o n so r t erro rism b in Lad en was am o n g t h o se in d ivid u als wh o mU.S in t elligen ce id en t ified as sp o n so rin g t erro rist t rain in g cam p s.Alt h o u gh h e d en ied d irect in vo lvem en t an d was n ever fo rm ally

in d ict ed , b in Lad en vo iced h is ap p ro val fo r t h e Wo rld Trad e Cen

-t er b o m b in g in 1993 an d -t h e killin g o f U.S -t ro o p s in Mo gad ish u ,

So m alia Am erican o fficials were d ivid ed as t o wh et h er h e p ro vid ed t rain in g an d arm s t o t h o se resp o n sib le

-Bin Lad en ’s fin al b reak wit h Sau d i Arab ia cam e in 1994 wh en

t h e Kin gd o m revo ked h is cit izen sh ip an d m o ved t o freeze h is set s in Sau d i Arab ia b ecau se o f h is su p p o rt fo r fu n d am en t alist

asm o veasm en t s Fro asm t h at p o in t o n , b in Lad en b ecaasm e asm o re o u t sp o ken in h is d en u n ciat io n o f t h e Ho u se o f Sau d No w p u sh ed t o t h efrin ge, h e jo in ed wit h o t h er d issid en t act ivist s an d religio u s sch o l-ars t o creat e t h e Ad vice an d Refo rm Co m m it t ee, fo u n d ed in Sau d iArab ia b u t fo rced su b seq u en t ly t o m o ve t o Lo n d o n Th is p o lit ical

-o p p -o sit i-o n gr-o u p st r-o n gly crit icized t h e Sau d i regim e b u t d id n -o t

o vert ly ad vo cat e vio len ce

By 1995, a series o f even t s an d accu sat io n s h ad cat ap u lt ed t h e

p revio u sly o b scu re b in Lad en t o cen t er st age U.S in t elligen ce

so u rces claim ed t h at h e h ad est ab lish ed ext en sive t rain in g o p

era-t io n s in n o rera-t h ern Yem en n ear era-t h e Sau d i b o rd er.14

an d t wo In d ian s were killed in a t ru ck b o m b in g in Riyad h in No vem b er 1995, b in Lad en d en ied in vo lvem en t b u t p raised t h o se

-wh o co m m it t ed t h e at t ack.15

Resp o n d in g t o m o u n t in g in t ern

a-t io n al p ressu re, esp ecially fro m a-t h e Un ia-t ed Sa-t aa-t es an d Sau d i Arabia,

in May 1996 Su d an exp elled b in Lad en Iro n ically, Su d an o ffered

t o ext rad it e h im t o Sau d i Arab ia o r Am erica; b o t h refu sed t o t ake

h im Th o u gh so m e h ad u rged t h e Un it ed St at es t o t ake ad van t age

o f t h e t en t at ive o vert u res t h at t h e NIF go vern m en t was m akin g,

t h e Clin t o n ad m in ist rat io n ch o se o t h erwise

Bin Lad en fled b ack t o Afgh an ist an 16

Sh o rt ly aft er, in Ju n e, alarge t ru ck b o m b t o re ap art t h e Kh o b ar To wers, a U.S m ilit aryresid en ce in Dh ah ran , Sau d i Arab ia, killin g n in et een servicem en

In vestigators were in itially d ivid ed between p lacin g th e blam e with

b in Lad en o r wit h a m ilit an t Sau d i Sh ii o rgan izat io n 17

Bin Lad en

p raised t h o se b eh in d t h e Riyad h an d Dh ah ran b o m b in gs b u t d

e-n ied d irect ie-n vo lvem ee-n t : “I h ave great resp ect fo r t h e p eo p le wh o

d id t h is W h at t h ey d id is a b ig h o n o r t h at I m issed p art icip at in g

t h e Islam ic Rep u b lic o f Afgh an ist an Aft er alm o st eigh t een years

o f So viet o ccu p at io n fo llo wed b y civil war, a seem in gly en d lesscycle o f carn age an d ch ao s was ab ru p t ly reversed b y t h e ast o n ish -

in g su ccess o f a n ew Islam ic m o vem en t

Lat e in 1994, as if o u t o f n o wh ere, t h e p red o m in an t ly Pash t u n

Talib an , a b an d o f m adrasa (sem in ary) st u d en t s (taliban) wh o h ad

b een livin g as refu gees in Pakist an su d d en ly ap p eared In it ially

t h e Talib an were p o rt rayed as h avin g n o m ilit ary b ackgro u n d In

fact m an y o f t h eir m ullahs (religio u s lead ers) an d st u d en t s were

v et era n s o f t h e Afgh a n -So v iet w a r w h o h a d ret u rn ed t o t h e

m ad rasas aft er t h e d ep art u re o f t h e So viet s Wit h in t wo years t h eyswep t acro ss t h e co u n t ry, o verwh elm in g t h e No rt h ern Allian ce o f

n o n -Pash t u n m in o rit ies Den o u n cin g t h e co n t en d in g m u jah id in

m ilit ias, t h e Talib an claim ed t h e m an t le o f m o ral lead ersh ip asrep resen t at ives o f t h e m ajo rit y o f Afgh an s wh o were vict im s o f

t h e in t ern ecin e warfare

At first t h e Talib an were h ailed as lib erat o rs wh o p ro m ised t orest o re law an d o rd er, st ab ilit y an d secu rit y, an d m ake t h e st reet ssafe fo r o rd in ary cit izen s Th ey d isarm ed t h e p o p u lat io n , clean ed

u p co rru p t io n an d graft , an d im p o sed Shariah (Islam ic law) In

i-t ially, i-t h ey en jo yed su ccess an d p o p u larii-t y as a refo rm m o vem en i-t

It was n o t u n t il t h eir cap t u re o f Kab u l in 1996 t h at t h ey revealed

t h eir in t en t io n t o ru le t h e co u n t ry an d t o im p o se a st rict p u rit an cal fo rm o f Islam W it h su b st an t ial su p p o rt fro m Sau d i Arab ia an dPakist an , b y 1998 t h ey h ad su b d u ed 90 p ercen t o f t h e co u n t ry

i-an d d riven t h e No rt h ern Allii-an ce in t o a sm all area o f n o rt h eastAfgh an ist an

Th e Talib an b ran d o f Islam ic rad icalism h as b een sign ifican t ly

in flu en ced b y a m ilit an t n eo -Deo b an d i m o vem en t in Pakist an Iro n ically, t h e Su n n i Deo b an d i b egan in t h e In d ian su b co n t in en t

as a refo rm ist m o vem en t Ho wever, it s p o lit ical exp ressio n an d

id eo lo gy were t ran sfo rm ed wit h in Pakist an ’s Jam iyyat -i-Ulam Islam (JUI), a religio u s p art y wit h a rigid , m ilit an t , an t i-Am erican ,

a-i-an d a-i-an t i-n o n -Mu slim cu lt u re Ma-i-an y o f t h e Talib a-i-an were t rain ed

in th e h u n d red s of JUI m ad rasas Often ru n by sem iliterate m u llah s,

t h ese sch o o ls were first set u p fo r Afgh an refu gees in t h e Pash t u n

-d o m in at e-d areas o f Pakist an , alo n g t h e b o r-d er wit h Afgh an ist an Man y were su p p o rt ed b y Sau d i fu n d in g t h at b ro u gh t wit h it t h e

in flu en ce of an u ltracon servative Wah h abi Islam Stu d en ts receivedfree ed u cat io n , religio u s, id eo lo gical, an d m ilit ary t rain in g Th eTalib an t each ers sh o wed lit t le kn o wled ge o r ap p reciat io n fo r t h eirclassical Islam ic t rad it io n o r fo r cu rren t s o f Islam ic t h o u gh t in t h e

b ro ad er Mu slim wo rld t o d ay Th ey esp o u sed a m yo p ic, selfco n

-t ain ed , m ili-t an -t wo rld view in wh ich Islam is u sed -t o legi-t im a-t e

t h eir t rib al cu st o m s an d p referen ces Th e classical Islam ic b elief injih ad as a d efen se o f Islam an d t h e Mu slim co m m u n it y again staggressio n w as t ran sfo rm ed in t o a m ilit an t jih ad cu lt u re an d

wo rld view t h at t arget s u n b elievers, in clu d in g Mu slim s an d n o n

-Mu slim s alike

W h en t h ey cam e t o p o wer, t h e Talib an t u rn ed o ver m an y o f

t h eir t rain in g cam p s t o JUI fact io n s, wh o in t u rn t rain ed t h o u

-san d s o f Pakist an i an d Arab m ilit an t s as well as figh t ers fro m So u t h

an d Cen t ral Asia an d t h e Arab wo rld in t h eir rad ical jih ad id eo

l-o gy an d t act ics Assist ed b y m ilit ary su p p l-o rt frl-o m Pakist an an dfin an cial su p p o rt fro m t h e Wah h ab i in Sau d i Arab ia, wit h JUI

m en t o rin g an d in flu en ced b y O sam a b in Lad en ’s evo lvin g rad icaljih ad ist p o lit ical visio n , t h e Talib an p ro m o t ed t h eir o wn b ran d o frevo lu t io n ary Islam Th ey im p o sed t h eir st rict Wah h abi-like b ran d

o f Islam o n Afgh an so ciet y Th ey b an n ed wo m en fro m sch o o l an d

t h e wo rkp lace, req u ired t h at m en wear b eard s an d wo m en chadors,

b an n ed m u sic, p h o t o grap h y, an d t elevisio n , an d im p o sed st rict

p h ysical p u n ish m en t s o n d eviat o rs Th eir in t o leran ce fo r an y d viat io n fro m t h eir b ran d o f Islam exp ressed it self in t h e slau gh t er

e-o f m an y e-o f Afgh an ist an ’s Sh ii m in e-o rit y (10 p ercen t e-o f t h e p e-o p u

la-t io n ), wh o m la-t h ey d isd ain ed as h erela-t ics, wh en la-t h e Talib an o verran

Sh ii areas su ch as Mazar-e Sh arif in n o rt h west Afgh an ist an Man y Mu slim religio u s lead ers aro u n d t h e wo rld d en o u n cedTalib an “Islam ic” p o licies as ab erran t Mu slim go vern m en t s as d i-verse as Iran an d Egyp t , alo n g wit h West ern go vern m en t s an d in -

t ern a t io n a l h u m a n righ t s o rga n iza t io n s, co n d em n ed Ta lib a nvio lat io n s o f h u m an righ t s Desp it e t h eir co n t ro l o f m o st o f Af-

gh an ist an , by t h e fall o f 1998, n eit h er t h e Un it ed Nat io n s n o r m o st

o f t h e glo b al co m m u n it y ackn o w led ged t h eir legit im acy Th eTalib an go vern m en t was reco gn ized b y o n ly t h ree n at io n s, Sau d iArab ia, Pakist an , an d t h e Un it ed Arab Em irat es

Nevert h eless, bin Lad en fo u n d t h e Talib an ’s Afgh an ist an a co m

-fo rt ab le h aven an d u sefu l b ase o f o p erat io n s Th e Talib an lead er,

Mu llah O m ar, h ad b een q u ick t o o ffer san ct u ary an d exp ress h is

ad m irat io n fo r b in Lad en ’s sacrifices an d d ed icat io n t o jih ad BinLad en skillfu lly cu lt ivat ed an d d evelo p ed h is relat io n sh ip wit h

Mu llah O m ar an d t h e Talib an , p ro vid in g fin an cial su p p o rt , b u ild

-in g ro ad s an d o t h er co n st ru ct io n p ro ject s, an d sen d -in g h is Afgh anArab s t o figh t alo n gsid e t h e Talib an in crit ical b at t les

Bin Lad en ’s en t o u rage an d fo llo wers grew st ead ily He at t ract edArab an d o t h er Mu slim d issid en t s, m an y o f wh o m h ad h ad t o flee

t h eir n at ive co u n t ries Am o n g t h em were several p ro m in en t Egyp

-t ian rad icals: Dr Aym an al-Zawah iri, a p h ysician an d a lead er o f

th e ban n ed Islam ic Jih ad in Egyp t; Rifai Tah a Mu sa, lead er of Egyp t’s

b an n ed Gam aa Islam iyya; an d t wo so n s o f Sh aykh O m ar Ab d elRah m an , t h e b lin d Egyp t ian p reach er in d ict ed fo r in vo lvem en t in

t h e assassin at io n o f An war Sad at , su sp ect ed o f in vo lvem en t in t h e

Wo rld Trad e Cen t er b o m b in g o f 1993, an d lat er fo u n d gu ilt y o f

co n sp irin g t o b lo w u p m ajo r sit es in New Yo rk Cit y O m ar Ab d elRah m an h ad visit ed Afgh an ist an several t im es d u rin g t h e waragain st t h e So viet s, wh en h e an d b in Lad en h ad first m et O f t h ese

m en , h o wever, t h e o n e t o wield t h e m o st in flu en ce o ver b in Lad en

wo u ld b e Dr Aym an al-Zawah iri

Ay m a n a l -Za w a h i r i :

Fr o m Me d i c a l Sc h o o l t o Ji h a d Un i v e r si t y

Th e st o ry o f Aym an al-Zawah iri is t h at o f a gift ed su rgeo n wh o

b ecam e a lead er o f an Egyp t ian t erro rist gro u p o n t h e ro ad t o b

e-co m in g O sam a b in Lad en ’s e-co n fid an t , rep u t ed m en t o r, an d su cesso r Aym an al-Zawah iri was b o rn in 1953 in t o a p ro m in en t an d

c-co n servat ive religio u s fam ily He grew u p in Maad i, an u p scale

su b u rb o f Cairo in h ab it ed b y wealt h y Egyp t ian s an d fo reign d ip

-lo m at s His gran d fat h ers were t h e rect o r o f al-Azh ar Un iversit y,

t h e Islam ic wo rld ’s o ld est an d m o st p rest igio u s religio u s sch o o l,

an d p resid en t o f Cairo Un iversit y, Egyp t ’s lead in g m o d ern secu lar

u n iversit y

Fam ily an d frien d s rem em ber Aym an as a n o rm al, well-ad ju st ed

yo u n g m an —an in t elligen t , well-read , p o lit e st u d en t wh o wen t

o n t o b eco m e a p h ysician Ho wever, 1967 h ad b een a d efin in g

m o m en t fo r h im as it was fo r m an y in t h e Arab wo rld Aft er t h e

d isast ro u s Arab d efeat in t h e 1967 Arab -Israeli (Six Day) war an d

t h e d isillu sio n m en t o ver Arab (secu lar) n at io n alism an d so cialism

t h at fo llo wed , al-Zawah iri t u rn ed t o p o lit ical Islam He jo in ed t h e

Mu slim Broth erh ood wh en h e was on ly fou rteen years old By 1979,

h e h ad em braced a rad ical op tion an d join ed Islam ic Jih ad , a len t extrem ist grou p com p osed of sm all clan d estin e cells He q u ickly

vio-b ecam e o n e o f it s lead ers an d vio-b y 1983 was recru it in g m em vio-b ers,

o rgan izin g secret cells an d u n d ergro u n d o p erat io n s Aft er t h e sassin at io n o f An war Sad at , Zawah iri was arrest ed alo n g wit h h u n -

as-d reas-d s o f o t h ers Th o u gh n o as-d irect lin k t o Saas-d at ’s as-d eat h co u las-d b eest ab lish ed , h e was t ried an d sen t en ced t o t h ree years in p riso n o n

ch arges o f p o ssessin g weap o n s Aft er h is 1984 release fro m p riso n ,

wh ere like m an y o t h ers h e h ad been beat en an d t o rt u red , h e brieflyret u rn ed t o m ed ical p ract ice in a clin ic Th e p o lit ical clim at e inEgyp t an d h is rad ical p ast an d p riso n reco rd , h o wever, p ro m p t edal-Zawah iri t o em igrat e an d t ake a p o sit io n in Sau d i Arabia Wit h in

t h e year h e wen t t o Afgh an ist an , wh ere h e wo rked as a su rgeo n ,

t reat in g wo u n d ed Afgh an an d Arab figh t ers in field h o sp it als.19

Itwas d u rin g t h is t im e t h at h e m et Dr Ab d u llah Azzam , t h e Pales-tin ian Islam ist activist wh o h ad tau gh t bin Lad en at Kin g Abd u laziz

Un iversit y in Jed d ah , Sau d i Arab ia Azzam h ad go n e t o Pakist an t o

m ake h is co n t rib u t io n t o t h e war in Afgh an ist an Aft er a sh o rtstin t teach in g at th e Islam ic Un iversity in Islam abad , Pakistan , h efou n d ed th e Jih ad Service Bu reau , wh ose m ission was th e recru it-

m en t of Sau d is an d oth er Arabs th rou gh p u blication s an d oth er

m ed ia Azzam join ed with bin Lad en an d Zawah iri in recru itin g

an d train in g Mu slim s for th e jih ad again st th e Soviets Th ey form ed

a lastin g frien d sh ip an d allian ce in th eir growin g com m itm en t to aglobal jih ad After th e Soviet d efeat in 1989, Zawah iri retu rn ed toEgyp t an d to h is lead ersh ip role in Islam ic Jih ad

Zawah iri p layed an im p o rt an t ro le d u rin g t h e 1990s, o rgan

iz-in g u n d ergrou n d op eration s an d iz-in tegratiz-in g form er m u jah id iz-in iz-in to

t h e ran ks o f Islam ic Jih ad Th e vio len ce an d t erro rism o f Islam icJih ad were m et wit h eq u al fo rce b y Egyp t ian m ilit ary an d p o lice.Blo o d y co n fro n t at io n s were acco m p an ied b y t h e arrest , in t erro ga-

t io n , t o rt u re, an d im p riso n m en t o f t h o u san d s

In 1992 Zawah iri m o ved t o Su d an wit h b in Lad en , an d in 1996

b o t h ret u rn ed t o Afgh an ist an Fro m t h ere, al-Zawah iri co n t in u ed

t o b e in vo lved in t h e jih ad again st t h e Egyp t ian st at e He is b lieved t o h ave b een t h e m ast erm in d b eh in d t erro rist at t acks, in -clu d in g t h e m assacre o f fift y-eigh t t o u rist s in Lu xo r in 1997, fo r

e-wh ich h e was sen t en ced t o d eat h in ab sen t ia b y an Egyp t ian co u rt

in 1999 He also m erged Islam ic Jih ad wit h al-Q aed a an d wo rkedwit h O sam a b in Lad en t o p lo t an d execu t e t h eir glo b al jih ad Man y b elieved t h at Zawah iri p o ssessed a d eep er t h eo lo gical u n -

d erst an d in g an d m o re in t ern at io n al p ersp ect ive t h an b in Lad en ,

an d t h at h e was resp o n sib le fo r b ro ad en in g b in Lad en ’s vist a fo rjih ad b eyo n d t h e Arab wo rld t o t h e wid er Mu slim wo rld an d t o ajih ad again st Am erica an d / o r t h e West Ham id Mir, a Pakist an i

jo u rn alist wh o in t erviewed b in Lad en , b elieves t h at al-Zawah irialso m ast erm in d ed t h e Sep t em ber 11, 2001, at t acks Alt h o u gh o n lyreligio u s lead ers can legit im at ely issu e fat was, b in Lad en h ad n ev-ert h eless issu ed a fat wa allo win g t h e killin g o f in n o cen t p eo p le:

“t o kill Am erican s an d t h eir allies—civilian s an d m ilit ary—is an

in d ivid u al d u t y fo r every Mu slim wh o can d o it in an y co u n t ry in

wh ich it is p o ssib le t o d o it ” W h en Mir p ressed h im o n h o w t h iswas p erm issib le in ligh t o f t h e fact t h at t h e Pro p h et Mu h am m ad

fo rbad e Mu slim s t o kill in n o cen t civilian s, h e n o t ed t h at bin Lad enresp o n d ed o n ly aft er co n su lt in g wit h Zawah iri an d ch eckin g so m eIslam ic so u rces.20 O t h ers, h o wever, co n t en d t h at b in Lad en h as

lo n g h ad a glo b al an im o sit y t o ward Am erica an d Israel as well as

t h e in t ellect u al an d fin an cial m ean s t o p u rsu e it , an d t h at it is h e

wh o b ro ad en ed t h e p ersp ect ive o f Zawah iri, wh o h ad sp en t t h e

b u lk o f h is fo rm at ive years as a t erro rist fo cu sed o n t o p p lin g t h eregim e an d est ab lish in g an Islam ic st at e in Egyp t Regard less o f

wh o in flu en ced wh o m , t h e b in Lad en an d Zawah iri jo in t ven t u re

p ro d u ced a p o werfu l glo b al id eo lo gy an d agen d a

Af g h a n i st a n a n d b i n La d e n ’s

D e c l a r a t i o n o f H o l y W a r

Safely en t ren ch ed in Afgh an ist an , O sam a b in Lad en assu m ed a

m o re visib le an d vo cal lead ersh ip ro le in in t ern at io n al t erro rism ,callin g o p en ly fo r a jih ad again st Am erica an d it s allies In Au gu st

1996 h e issu ed a Declarat io n o f Jih ad wh o se go als were t o d riveU.S fo rces o u t o f t h e Arab ian p en in su la, o vert h ro w t h e Sau d i go v-

ern m en t , an d lib erat e Islam ’s h o ly sit es o f Mecca an d Med in a, aswell as su p p o rt revo lu t io n ary gro u p s aro u n d t h e wo rld In No -vem b er, h e again rep eat ed h is t h reat t o wage h o ly war again st t h e

Un it ed St at es an d it s allies if Wash in gt o n d id n o t rem o ve it s t ro o p sfro m t h e Gu lf.21 By 1998, h e seem ed in creasin gly co m fo rt ab le an dast u t e in u sin g t h e m ed ia t o p ro p agat e h is m essage an d garn er

su p p o rt in t h e Mu slim wo rld Fro m t h at t im e o n ward , h is m ed ia

ap p earan ces an d st at em en t s were carefu lly craft ed , em p h asizin g

b o t h h is im age an d m essage

In 2000 b in Lad en an n o u n ced t h e fo rm at io n o f t h e Wo rld lam ic Fro n t fo r t h e Jih ad Again st Jews an d Cru sad ers, an u m b rellagro u p o f rad ical m o vem en t s acro ss t h e Mu slim wo rld , an d issu ed

Is-a fIs-at wIs-a st Is-at in g t h Is-at it is t h e d u t y o f Is-all Mu slim s t o kill U.S cit izen s

an d t h eir allies Th e t it le o f t h e o rgan izat io n su m m ed u p t h e m an

an d h is view o f t h e wo rld Mu slim s were u n d er siege, t h eir lan d s

o ccu p ied in a wo rld d o m in at ed b y t h eir h ist o ric en em ies, m ilit an t

Ch rist ian it y an d Ju d aism All t ru e Mu slim s h ad an o b ligat io n t o

h eed t h e call t o a glo b al jih ad , a d efen se o f t h e wo rld wid e Islam ic

co m m u n it y Glo b al p o lit ics were in d eed fo r b in Lad en a co m p et

i-t io n an d jih ad , a clash o f civilizai-t io n s b ei-t ween i-t h e Mu slim wo rld

an d t h e West , b et ween Islam an d a m ilit an t Ju d eo Ch rist ian co n

-sp iracy Fo reign in flu en ce an d in t erven t io n in t h e Islam ic wo rld

h ad o n ce again u n d ersco red t h e t rad it io n al d ivisio n o f t h e wo rld

in t o t h e lan d o f Islam (dar Islam ) an d t h e lan d o f warfare (dar harb) Becau se o f West ern ab u ses, t h e en t ire wo rld h as b een d i-

al-vid ed , h e claim ed , “in t o t wo regio n s—o n e o f fait h wh ere t h ere is

n o h yp o crisy an d an o t h er o f in fid elit y, fro m wh ich we h o p e Go dwill p ro t ect u s.”22

If b in Lad en an d al-Q aed a’s at t em p t t o m o b ilize

t h e wo rld o f Islam fo r t h eir jih ad fu rt h er co n vin ced m o st Mu slim

an d West ern go vern m en t s o f t h e m agn it u d e o f t h e Islam ic t h reat ,

it also seem ed t o co n t rib u t e t o b in Lad en ’s at t ract io n fo r a gro

w-in g n u m b er o f Mu slim s, p art icu larly w-in t h e yo u n ger gen erat io n Like Ayat o llah Kh o m ein i an d Sad d am Hu ssein b efo re h im , b inLad en seeks legitim acy an d th e m obilizatio n of th e “Mu slim street”

o r gen eral p o p u lat io n t h ro u gh id en t ificat io n wit h m an y o f t h e

p ercep t io n s an d grievan ces o f m ain st ream as well as ext rem ist

Mu slim s He h ijacks Islam , u sin g Islam ic d o ct rin e an d law t o git im at e t erro rism

le-Th e m ajo r issu es an d t h em es o f bin Lad en ’s m essage reflect bo t h

h is Arab ro o t s an d a gro win g awaren ess o f t h e b ro ad er Islam ic

co m m u n it y His p rim ary fo cu s was at first t h e p resen ce o f fo reign

t ro o p s in t h e Arab p en in su la, t h e o vert h ro w o f t h e Sau d i regim e,

an d t h e Palest in ian -Israeli co n flict Bin Lad en lab eled Am erica an dIsrael as cru sad ers an d Jews an d Zio n ist s an d co n d em n ed t h e Sau d iregim e as co m p lian t an d co rru p t He t h en ext en d ed h is accu sa-

t io n s t o em b race t h e d eat h o f o n e m illio n in n o cen t Iraq is d u e t oWest ern san ct io n s as well as st ru ggles in Bo sn ia, Ch ech n ya, an dKash m ir

Bin Lad en p layed t o t h e Mu slim sen se o f h ist o ric o p p ressio n ,

o ccu p at io n , an d in ju st ice at t h e h an d s o f t h e West Aft er Sep t em

-b er 11, h e ch arged , “W h at t h e Un it ed St at es t ast es t o d ay is a very

sm all t h in g co m p ared t o wh at we h ave t ast ed fo r t en s o f years

O u r n at io n h as b een t ast in g h u m iliat io n an d co n t em p t fo r m o re

t h an 80 years.”23 He p ain t s a wo rld in wh ich Mu slim s an d Islamare u n d er siege:

Am erica an d it s allies are m assacrin g u s in Palest in e, Ch ech n ya,Kash m ir, an d Iraq Th e Mu slim s h ave t h e righ t t o at t ack Am erica

in rep risal Th e Sep t em b er 11 at t acks were n o t t arget ed at

wo m en an d ch ild ren Th e real t arget s were Am erica’s ico n s o f

m ilit ary an d eco n o m ic p o wer.24

Th e h eart o f b in Lad en ’s jih ad again st Am erica st art s wit h h is

o u t rage at t h e in ju st ice in h is h o m elan d —t h e in fid el’s o ccu p at io n

o f sacred t errit o ry an d it s su p p o rt fo r a co rru p t u n Islam ic go vern

-m en t : “Th e call t o wage war again st A-m erica was -m ad e b ecau se

Am erica sp earh ead ed t h e cru sad e again st t h e Islam ic n at io n , sen d

-in g ten s of th ou san d s of troop s to th e lan d of th e two Holy Mosq u es

o ver an d ab o ve it s m ed d lin g in Sau d i affairs an d it s p o lit ics, an d

it s su p p o rt o f t h e o p p ressive, co rru p t , an d t yran n ical regim e t h at

is in co n t ro l.”25 Refu sin g t o an y lo n ger reco gn ize Sau d i Arab ia b y

n am e, b in Lad en referred t o t h e sacred t errit o ry it “o ccu p ies.” In

-t eres-t in gly, Kin g Fah d an d -t h e Ho u se o f Sau d so m e years earlier

h ad t aken t o u sin g t h e t it le “Cu st o d ian o f t h e Two Ho ly Sit es” o fMecca an d Med in a b ecau se t h ey reco gn ized t h eir vu ln erab ilit y t oIslam ic crit ics wh o in sist ed t h at m o n arch y is an t it h et ical t o Islam Bin Lad en also co n n ect ed West ern p resen ce in t h e Gu lf wit h a

m o re in t ern at io n al co n cern : Am erica’s co m p licit y in Israeli exp an sio n ism , it s su p p o rt fo r “Jewish an d Zio n ist p lan s fo r exp an sio n o f

-wh at is called Great er Israel.”26

Co n t rary t o wh at m an y said in t h eaft erm at h o f Sep t em b er 11, Palest in e is a p rim ary issu e fo r b inLad en His m essages h ave co n sist en t ly sp o ken o f Zio n ist an d Jew-ish o ffen ses again st Mu slim s His p assio n at e st at em en t s o n t h e

p ligh t o f t h e Palest in ian s, wh o h ave b een livin g u n d er Israeli m

ili-t ary o ccu p aili-t io n in vio laili-t io n o f UN Secu riili-t y Co u n cil reso lu ili-t io n s

fo r o ver fo rt y years, grap h ically d escrib e, cap t u re, an d ap p eal t o

t h e o u t rage o f m an y in t h e Arab an d Mu slim wo rld t o ward Israeli

p o licy an d t h e co m p licit y o f t h e in t ern at io n al co m m u n it y:

Fo r over h alf a cen t u ry, Mu slim s in Palestin e h ave been slau gh tered an d assau lt ed an d robbed of th eir h on or an d o f th eir p rop -erty Th eir h o u ses h ave been blasted , th eir crop s d estroyed An d

th e stran ge t h in g is th at an y act on th eir p art t o aven ge th em selves or lift t h e in ju stice befallin g t h em cau ses great agit at ion in

-th e Un ited Nat ion s wh ich h asten s to call an em ergen cy m eet in g

on ly to con vict t h e victim an d to cen su re t h e wron ged an d t

yr-an n ized wh o se ch ild ren h ave been killed yr-an d wh ose crop s h avebeen d estro yed an d wh ose farm s h ave been p u lverized 27

Bin Lad en h o ld s t h e Am erican p eo p le, wh o elect t h eir p

resid en t an resid Co n gress, resp o n sib le fo r Israeli o p p ressio n o f Palest in ian s: “th eir govern m en t m an u factu res arm s an d gives th em to Israel

-an d Israel u ses t h em t o m assacre Palest in i-an s.”28 He ch arges t h at

t h e Jewish lo b b y h as t aken Am erica an d t h e West h o st age He calls

u p o n t h e Am erican p eo p le t o rise u p again st t h eir go vern m en t as

t h ey d id d u rin g t h e Viet n am war an d fo rce it t o give u p Am erica’s

an t i-Mu slim p o licies an d m assacre o f Mu slim s Mu slim s h ave t h erigh t, in d eed t h e obligation , to d efen d t h em selves He ap p eals th en

t o t h e Islam ic t each in g t h at jih ad in t h e d efen se o f Islam an d t o

co rrect an u n ju st p o lit ical o rd er is legit im at e an d req u ired :

We are carryin g o u t t h e m issio n o f t h e p ro p h et , Mu h am m ad(p eace b e u p o n h im ) Th e m issio n is t o sp read t h e wo rd o f Go d ,

n o t t o in d u lge in m assacrin g p eo p le We o u rselves are t h e t arget

o f killin gs, d est ru ct io n , an d at ro cit ies We are o n ly d efen d in g

o u rselves Th is is d efen sive jih ad We wan t t o d efen d o u r p eo p le

an d o u r lan d Th at is wh y we say, if we d o n ’t get secu rit y, t h e

Am erican s, t o o , wo u ld n o t get secu rit y Th is is t h e sim p le fo

r-m u la t h at even an Ar-m erican ch ild can u n d erst an d Live an d letlive.29

In b in Lad en ’s view, ch arges o f “t erro rism ” are sp ecio u s in a

wo rld o f im m o ralit y an d o p p ressio n wit h in wh ich o st en sib le act s

o f t erro rism are so m et im es n ecessary an d ju st ified He p ain t s t h e

m o d ern wo rld in p o larit ies, a wo rld o f b elief an d u n b elief, wit h in

wh ich t h e fo rces o f evil, o p p ressio n , an d in ju st ice assau lt t h e fo rces

o f go o d Th e Mu slim wo rld an d Islam are u n d er siege:

Th ey ro b u s o f o u r wealth an d of ou r resou rces an d of ou r oil O u rreligion is u n d er att ack Th ey kill an d m u rd er ou r brot h ers Th eycom p rom ise o u r h o n or an d ou r d ign ity an d d are we u tt er a sin gleword of p rot est again st t h e in ju stice, we are called t errorists.30

Like a Mu slim ju rist , h e legalist ically d ist in gu ish es b et ween

“co m m en d ab le” an d “rep reh en sib le” t erro rism To t errify t h e in

-n o ce-n t is u -n ju st ; h o wever, t erro rizi-n g o p p resso rs is -n ecessary:

Th ere is n o d o u b t t h at every st at e an d every civilizat io n an d

cu lt u re h as t o reso rt t o t erro rism u n d er cert ain circu m st an ces

fo r t h e p u rp o se o f ab o lish in g t yran n y an d co rru p t io n Th e

t erro rism we p ract ice is o f t h e co m m en d ab le kin d fo r it is d rect ed at t h e t yran t s, t h e t rait o rs wh o co m m it act s o f t reaso nagain st t h eir o wn co u n t ries an d t h eir o wn fait h an d t h eir o wn

i-p ro i-p h et an d t h eir o wn n at io n Terro rizin g t h o se an d i-p u n ish in g

th em are n ecessary m easu res to straigh ten t h in gs an d m ake t h emrigh t 31

O sam a b in Lad en p lays t o a cen t u ries-lo n g t rad it io n o f refo rm

in Islam , m o st o f it aim ed in t h e last o n e h u n d red years t o ward

t h e st ru ggle o ver Mu slim o p p ressio n b y t h e West W h y d o h is calls

fo r a d efen sive jih ad reso n at e as t ru t h fo r m ain st ream Mu slim s aswell as fo r ext rem ist s wh o live t o d ay in t h e Mu slim wo rld ? Th is is

t h e q u est io n we will exam in e in t h e n ext ch ap t er

Jihad and the Struggle for Islam

If you were watch in g a television sp ecial on jihad, with fou r Mu slim

sp eakers, you m igh t well h ear fou r d ifferen t resp on ses to th e q u tion : “W h at is jih ad ?” On e m igh t say th at jih ad is strivin g to lead agood Mu slim life, p rayin g an d fastin g regu larly, bein g an atten tive

es-sp ou se an d p aren t An oth er m igh t id en tify jih ad as workin g h ard

to sp read th e m essage of Islam For a th ird , it m igh t be su p p ortin g

t h e st ru ggle o f o p p ressed Mu slim p eo p les in Palest in e, Kash m ir,

Ch ech n ya, or Kosovo An d for th e fin al sp eaker, as for Osam a binLad en , jih ad cou ld m ean workin g to overth row govern m en ts in th e

Mu slim world an d attackin g Am erica However d ifferen t th ese in terp retation s are, all testify to th e cen trality of jih ad for Mu slim stod ay Jih ad is a d efin in g con cep t or belief in Islam , a key elem en t

-in wh at it m ean s to be a believer an d follower of God ’s Will

In th e late twen tieth an d twen ty-first cen tu ries th e word jih ad

h as gain ed rem arkable cu rren cy It is u sed by resistan ce, liberation ,

an d terrorist m ovem en ts alike to legitim ate th eir cau se an d m vate th eir followers Th e Afgh an m u jah id in , th e Taliban an d th eNorth ern Allian ce, h ave waged a jih ad in Afgh an istan again st for-eign p owers an d am on g th em selves; Mu slim s in Kash m ir, Ch ech n ya,Dagestan , th e sou th ern Ph ilip p in es, Bosn ia, an d Kosovo h ave fash -ion ed th eir stru ggles as jih ad s; Hizbollah , Ham as, an d Islam ic Jih adPalest in e h ave ch aract erized war wit h Israel as a jih ad ; Algeria’sArm ed Islam ic Grou p h as en gaged in a jih ad of terror again st th egovern m en t th ere, an d Osam a bin Lad en h as waged a global jih adagain st Mu slim govern m en ts an d th e West

oti-Th e im p ortan ce of jih ad is rooted in th e Qu ran ’s com m an d tostru ggle (th e literal m ean in g of th e word jih ad ) in th e p ath of God

an d in th e exam p le of th e Prop h et Mu h am m ad an d h is early Com

-p an ion s Th ese are fu n dam en tals of Mu slim belief an d -p ractice Jih ad

is a con cep t with m u ltip le m ean in gs, u sed an d abu sed th rou gh ou tIslam ic h istory Alth ou gh jih ad h as always been an im p ortan t p art

of th e Islam ic trad ition , in recen t years som e Mu slim s h ave m ain tain ed th at it is a u n iversal religiou s obligation for all tru e Mu slim s

-to join th e jih ad -to p rom ote a global Islam ic revolu tion

Man y Mu slim s t o d ay b elieve t h at t h e co n d it io n s o f t h eir wo rldreq u ire a jih ad Th ey look arou n d th em an d see a world d om in ated

b y co rru p t au t h o rit arian go vern m en t s an d a wealt h y elit e, a m

i-n o rit y co i-n ceri-n ed so lely wit h it s o wi-n eco i-n o m ic p ro sp erit y, rat h er

t h an n at io n al d evelo p m en t , a wo rld awash in West ern cu lt u re an dvalu es in d ress, m u sic, t elevisio n , an d m o vies West ern go vern -

m en t s are p erceived as p ro p p in g u p o p p ressive regim es an d

ex-p loitin g th e region ’s h u m an an d n atu ral resou rces, robbin g Mu slim s

o f t h eir cu lt u re an d t h eir o p t io n s t o b e go vern ed acco rd in g t o t h eir

o wn ch o ice an d t o live in a m o re ju st so ciet y Man y b elieve t h at

t h e rest o rat io n o f Mu slim p o wer an d p ro sp erit y req u ires a ret u rn

t o Islam , t h e creat io n o f m o re Islam ically o rien t ed st at es an d so

ci-et ies So m e Mu slim s, a rad icalized m in o rit y, co m b in e m ilit an cywit h m essian ic visio n s t o in sp ire an d m o b ilize an arm y o f Go d

wh ose jih ad th ey believe will liberate Mu slim s at h o m e an d abroad

If jih ad h as so m an y m ean in gs, h o w are t h ey t o b e u n d erst o o d ?

W h ich in t erp ret at io n s are co rrect ? W h ich o f t h e m ean in gs p ro

-m o t e p o sit ive i-m p ro ve-m en t s an d refo r-m s, an d wh ich h ave b eenexp lo it ed t o ju st ify ext rem ism an d t erro rism ? Th ese q u est io n s are

n ot n ew—th ey h ave been d ebated by Mu slim s th rou gh ou t th e ages

Th e h ist o ry o f t h e Mu slim co m m u n it y fro m Mu h am m ad t o t h e

p resen t can b e read wit h in t h e fram ewo rk o f wh at t h e Q u ran

t each es ab o u t jih ad Th e Q u ran ic t each in gs h ave b een o f essen t ialsign ifican ce t o Mu slim self-u n d erst an d in g, p iet y, m o b ilizat io n ,exp an sio n , an d d efen se Jih ad as st ru ggle p ert ain s t o t h e d ifficu lt y