The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought

al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda (al-Qā‘ida) is a militant Islamist network founded by Osama bin Laden (1957–2011) in Pakistan around 1988 or 1989. Its initial purpose was to provide moral and financial assistance to Afghani war veterans who fought against the communist Red Army and to pursue jihad after the retreat of the Soviets from Afghanistan. Its name comes from the Arabic word qā‘ida (“the foundation” or “the base”) and refers to a military base that would act as a vanguard to reach an ideal society where an Islamic state prevails. Al-Qaeda came to worldwide public attention after the deadly attacks of September 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

The Birth of al-Qaeda: The Afghan Volunteer Warriors

Al-Qaeda was born in the midst of the Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion in the late 1980s. Its ideological founder was ‘Abdallah ‘Azzam (1941–89), a Palestinian political activist and member of the Muslim Brotherhood. ‘Azzam grew up in the Palestinian territories and received a PhD in Islamic law from Azhar University in Cairo in 1973. He later taught at King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz University in Saudi Arabia and in Pakistan. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, ‘Azzam issued a fatwa (legal opinion) declaring that jihad against an occupying power was a farḍ ‘ayn (i.e., an individual obligation upon every Muslim) rather than a farḍ kifāya (an obligation falling upon the community as a whole). In Pakistan, he met with Bin Laden, a young and wealthy Saudi businessman who had relocated to the region to help organize the Arab Afghan volunteers for jihad. In 1984, both men founded the Maktab Khadamat al-Mujahidin al-‘Arab (MAK, translated as “Afghan Services Bureau”) to raise funds and recruit foreign volunteers for the war against the Soviets. The MAK, which was a forerunner of al-Qaeda, received considerable financial support not only from Bin Laden but also from other sources, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, and other Muslim states. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in particular provided the group with covert funds to help defeat the Soviet Union in the context of the cold war. After the volunteer army eventually forced the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops in 1989, the MAK’s agenda expanded globally, its name was changed to al-Qa‘ida al-‘Askariya (the military base), and its mission was redefined: to oppose the military and economic intervention of non-Muslim states in predominantly Muslim lands.

The Ideological Roots of al-Qaeda: Doctrine and Main Figures

Ideologically, al-Qaeda drew on a core of Islamic sources and scholars. The Egyptian scholar Sayyid Qutb (1906–66) had a significant impact on the founders of al-Qaeda. Bin Laden had read Qutb’s works at a young age and had attended lectures by his brother, Muhammad Qutb, who at the time was a popular professor of Islamic studies in Saudi Arabia. By declaring that a Muslim leader who did not rule according to God’s principles was an apostate, Sayyid Qutb framed an ideology of takfīr (excommunication) that became a cornerstone in al-Qaeda’s doctrinal system; he is often considered to have established the theoretical foundations for radical Islamist organizations. Others who helped shape the ideology of the group include the aforementioned ‘Abdallah ‘Azzam and Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon and leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. The organization’s ideology can be seen as a merger between Bin Laden’s interest in expelling foreigners from Muslim lands (the far enemy) and Zawahiri’s obsession with fighting off the Egyptian state (the near enemy). In 1988, Sayyid Imam al-Sharif (b. 1950), known as Dr. Fadl, provided the jihadist movement with a practical guide to prepare for jihad: Al-‘Umda fi I‘dad al-‘Udda [li-l-Jihad] (The Essentials of Making Ready [for Jihad]). The book became one of the most important texts in the training of prospective jihadists.

Al-Qaeda has drawn on selective sources in the Islamic tradition, such as the early hadith scholar Ahmad b. Hanbal (780–855) and the medieval jurist Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328). The group also endorsed certain doctrines of Salafism and Wahhabism. Because of its adoption of the concept of takfīr, al-Qaeda has often been compared to the early Kharijis.

Al-Qaeda also found theoretical and practical inspiration in several modern militant organizations that acted as its forerunners, such as the Ikhwan that rose against King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Sa‘ud (1876–1953) in Saudi Arabia in the 1920s and the Egyptian al-Takfir wa-l-Hijra (Excommunication and Withdrawal), created in 1969 by Shukri Mustafa (1942–87).

Al-Qaeda’s Organizational Development and Structure: A Cluster Network

Following the end of the Soviet-Afghan War (1978–89), Bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, he offered his services to the Saudi government to organize volunteers to fight the Iraqi troops in Kuwait. Saudi Arabia turned down his offer and instead allowed U.S. armed forces to deploy into its territory. This decision, backed by the Saudi clerical establishment, radicalized al-Qaeda and shifted its focus: the Saudi government was declared apostate and became the first enemy. Bin Laden went into exile in Sudan, where he expanded the movement with new training facilities and infrastructure. In 1996, he was expelled from Sudan and returned to Afghanistan, then under the control of the Taliban. A declaration of war against the United States and its allies was issued in 1998 through a fatwa calling for their deaths in order to free Muslim lands. That same year Bin Laden created the World Islamic Front for Global Jihad against Christian Crusaders and Zionist Jews, an umbrella organization to bring together scattered jihadist groups. As a result of the attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. led a bombing campaign in Afghanistan in October 2001, which dispersed the movement’s leadership and changed its tactics. Al-Qaeda continued to function as a decentralized cluster of various groups operating independently in different geographical locations.

Though the current structure of al-Qaeda remains a mystery, it is certainly a loose network, with a horizontal organizational structure composed of various cells that also operate vertically. Al-Qaeda has managed to make use of modern technologies for its recruitment and propaganda. It has created its own media outlet, As-Sahab Foundation for Islamic Media Publication, which distributes and promotes the group’s messages. It has also achieved a wide Internet presence, reaching a global audience for its views and controlling its public image.

Al-Qaeda Today

Al-Qaeda is believed to have carried out several major terrorist attacks worldwide: on tourist resorts in Aden, Yemen (1992); on the World Trade Center in New York (1993); on two U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya (1998); on the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen (2000); and on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. (2001). Al-Qaeda has achieved its goal of attracting world attention to its cause and spreading fear among its enemies. It has established bases in various parts of the world, such as North Africa and Asia. The Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003 even created a fertile ground for recruitment for the network, which has not been dismantled since the beginning of the U.S.-led war on terror in 2001.

The network, however, demonstrates significant weaknesses. It remains a relatively small movement with no mass appeal. Its tactics, particularly the killing of innocents, have been condemned by Muslims worldwide. Al-Qaeda also suffers from steady internal dissensions. Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, a former member of the group, severely condemned its violent tactics in Guiding Jihad Action in Egypt and in the World Today, published in 2007. On May 1, 2011, U.S. president Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Abbottabad, in Pakistan, in an operation led by U.S. Navy Seals and CIA operatives.