When was al qaeda established

Bin Laden and Azzam had different visions for what to do with the network they had established. Bin Laden decided to found Al Qaeda, based on personal affiliations created during the fighting in Afghanistan as well as on his own international network, reputation and access to large sums of money. The following year Azzam was assassinated. After the war ended, the Afghan-Arabs, as the mostly non-Afghan volunteers who fought the Soviets came to be known, either returned to their countries of origin or joined conflicts in Somalia, the Balkans and Chechnya.

Al Qaeda vociferously opposed the stationing of U. The ultimate goal of this campaign was to depose the Saudi royal family and install an Islamic regime on the Arabian peninsula. The Saudi regime subsequently deported bin Laden and revoked his citizenship in In bin Laden moved to Sudan, where he operated until During this period, Al Qaeda established connections with other terror organizations with the help of its Sudanese hosts and Iran.

While in Sudan, Al Qaeda was involved in several terror attacks and guerilla actions carried out by other organizations. In May , following U.

Between and , Al Qaeda took part in several major terror attacks. Al Qaeda was involved in the bombing of two hotels in Aden, Yemen, which targeted American troops en route to Somalia on a humanitarian and peacekeeping mission. It also gave massive assistance to Somali militias, whose efforts brought the eventual withdrawal of U.

Bin Laden was also involved in an assassination attempt against Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia in June Two major terrorist actions against the U.

There is little evidence to suggest a significant connection between bin Laden and the first World Trade Center bombing in After moving to Afghanistan, bin Laden escalated his anti-American rhetoric.

Subsequently, Al Qaeda escalated its war against the U. In August , Al Qaeda bombed two U. In retaliation, the U. In October , Al Qaeda bombed the U. Cole, an American guided-missile destroyer at Aden, Yemen, killing 17 American servicemen. It committed its most devastating attack on September 11, , when 19 Al Qaeda operatives hijacked four passenger planes and drove two into the Twin Towers in New York City and one into the Pentagon; a fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania. Nearly 3, people were killed in the attack.

According to this theology, the ideal man is the Muslim holy warrior who is prepared to be martyred for the sake of God and the Jews represent his opposite. The battles currently being fought by Islamic terrorist groups may directly target the U. In the years since, Al Qaeda has also attempted to establish a foothold within Israel and the Palestinian territories; though so far with little success.

Indeed, several of the terrorists involved in the September 11th attacks were to a great extent motivated by their hatred toward Jews. Mohamed Atta and Ramzi Binalshibh, a key member of the Hamburg cell responsible for the attacks, considered New York City as the center for a global Jewish conspiracy, and Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who masterminded the attack, had previously developed several plans to attack Israeli and Jewish targets.

In their view, New York, as a center of world finance, was the quintessential Jewish target. Al Qaeda has been involved in a number of attacks on Jewish targets, including: an attack on a Jewish synagogue in Tunisia on April ; the coordinated bombing of an Israeli-owned resort and an attempt to down an Israeli airliner in Mombassa, Kenya on November ; an attack on several Jewish-associated targets in Casablanca, Morocco on April ; the bombing of two Jewish Synagogues in Istanbul on November ; and an attack on several tourist resorts in Sinai, Egypt that are popular with Israelis on October Several additional plots around the world have failed.

Al Qaeda was, like many in the Middle East, committed in principal to the liberation of all Muslim lands and holy places, among these the Palestinian areas and the Al Aksa mosque in Jerusalem, but it was busier attacking its primary target- America and did not direct any recourses toward attacking Israel or Jews. There are several explanations to what brought Al Qaeda and its affiliates to change their strategy to include Israel and the Jewish people among their strategic targets.

First, the terror campaign against Jews seems to have been initiated and timed by the leadership, as evident from declarations made by Al Qaeda leaders and spokesmen.

At first, post-September 11th declarations in support of the Palestinians may have been motivated by need for popularity. But in it became apparent that Al Qaeda had made an ideological and strategic shift, making its enmity toward Jews more central. Any country that steps into the same trench as the Jews has only herself to blame. Following the American invasion of Afghanistan, Al Qaeda has relied more on locally-based organizations.

Attacking Jews also has an added propaganda value to Al Qaeda, which relies on the fact that anti-Semitic feelings are widespread in Muslim countries. In effect, this has allowed Al Qaeda to increase its influence by helping to fund, train and direct smaller, more regionally-focused terrorist groups. Following the toppling of the Taliban in by the U. Reinares, Fernando. Ray, Michael. Worth, and Eric Lipton. Department of State. United Nations, n. Currently, a significant portion of Al Qaeda members are tribal leaders and former madrasa students, largely of Pakistani descent.

Al Qaeda has a positive relationship with some parts of the Pashtun community; bin Laden himself was Pashtun and frequently referenced this identity in his statements. Support for AQ among Muslims has declined since the early s. Between and , support for bin Laden among Muslim publics dropped by 38 points. Large-scale attacks, especially indiscriminate attacks that kill Muslims, have drawn backlash from the Muslim community.

In the case of the Jordanian bombings, it chose its relationship with its affiliate, rebuking AQI leader Zarqawi privately, but not issuing a public apology or repudiation. In , attempting to boost its support in the Muslim world, AQ increased outreach over the internet and made its instructions on when and how to carry out terrorist attacks public to separate itself from some of the more indiscriminate attacks of its affiliates.

Relationship-building with communities appears to have had success for AQ in Yemen. Operating against a backdrop of war and instability, AQ attempts to secure the support of populations in areas where governments are unable to provide basic services. In Yemen, order has broken down amid civil war, and AQAP has recruited hundreds, possibly thousands, of fighters from local communities.

Rural areas, where people are generally conservative, have proved fertile grounds for finding new combatants and supporters. Pew Research Center, 10 Sept. AQ may seek affiliate relationships to increase its operational reach, gain local expertise, and boost its legitimacy across Muslim movements around the world. However, the documents seized from Abbottabad when U. Beginning in , as the Islamic State IS challenged AQ for dominance in the global jihadi movement, some groups have begun to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State, in some cases replacing their pledges to AQ.

AQAP's tactics are modern and innovative, as seen by their English-language magazine Inspire and their techniques used to penetrate security systems, which they utilized in the Christmas Day bombing attack and the parcel bombing attack in However, those ties do not prevent disagreements. Its objectives include territory, weapons, and money. Despite losing ground, AQAP retains a large force estimated 4,, fighters, in addition to support among conservative rural Yemenis. The group continues to operate in at least seven provinces across the country.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who had worked with AQ leaders before establishing his own group, approached AQ to begin a formal relationship. The affiliation process took about ten months, and by the end of bin Laden publicly affirmed the relationship. AQ gained a leading role in the highly visible Iraq War, while AQI gained legitimacy and recognition as an AQ affiliate, which had positive implications for funding and recruiting. It operates along the Iranian border with Iraq.

Al Shabaab is an Islamist militant group that primarily focuses on creating a Shariah-run state in Somalia. In , IS called on Al Shabaab to join its network, but the group chose instead to reaffirm its longstanding support of AQ. This decision triggered the formation of a splinter group of former Al Shabaab militants now allied with IS, Jahba East Africa, in Announced by Zawahiri in September , the organization is a composite of several smaller militant groups that had previously supported AQ.

Nevertheless, the split was controversial, and nearly half of Al Nusra leaders preferred to remain publicly affiliated with AQ. In early , after subsuming several other opposition groups, including an influx of defectors from a rival militant organization, JFS formed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham HTS. HTS continues to adhere to Salafism but rejects the AQ model of transnational jihadism, preferring to concentrate on ensuring the sustainability of the jihadi movement within Syria.

With the goal of preserving the AQ presence in Syria, several smaller short-lived groups merged to form Tandhim Hurras al-Deen. Analysts believe that negotiations on this point are ongoing and that Tandhim Hurras al-Deen will eventually obtain this status. Abu Sayyaf Group ASG is a militant criminal and terrorist organization that operates in the Philippines and seeks to establish an independent Islamic state for Muslim Filipinos. Although a Philippine military report alleged that AQ had provided support in , the exact state of the AQ-ASG relationship has been unclear since the mids.

Some AI members participated in the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan and have reportedly received financial and ideological support from Al Qaeda leaders. In , the U. The Egyptian Islamic Jihad EIJ is a militant organization that emerged in the lates with the intention of overthrowing the secular Egyptian government and installing an Islamic administration.

The group opposes Western influence in the Muslim world. It has always prioritized the local goal of driving foreign influences from Afghanistan. However, in response to U. There, it has hosted members of different groups, leading to new connections between organizations. Zawahiri ruled in favor of Al Nusra and decreed that the two organizations would continue to operate independently of one another.

He also appointed AQ leader Abu Khalid al-Suri to mediate the conflict in Syria and ensure that his orders were followed.

Many Islamists blamed IS for the attack. As IS has gained global notoriety and grown in strength, jihadist groups around the world have begun to pledge allegiance to the group, some renouncing their allegiance to Al Qaeda to do so.

Many experts believe that AQ and IS are locked in a competition for leadership of global jihad. Al Qaeda and IS differ fundamentally in organization and strategy. While AQ is a transnational network focused on sensational attacks, IS simultaneously operates as a transnational network, insurgency, and a purported state. AQ promises a utopia far in the future, while IS seeks to make a global caliphate an immediate reality. Jemmah Islamiyah JI is an extremist group based in Indonesia that seeks to overthrow the government to create a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.

AQ reportedly provided training, resources, and advising to JI leaders from its creation, beginning in the late s. Analysts also agree that AQ has influenced JI ideologically and encouraged attacks on the West, such as the Bali bombing.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi LeJ is a prominent militant organization in Pakistan known best for its anti-Shiite attacks. It has ties to Al Qaeda, including overlapping membership. For example, one jihadist commander, Qari Rehman also known as Abdul Samad served as both a chief operational commander for LeJ and a planning director for AQ. Although some analysts alleged close ties between AQ and JeM, the extent and type of assistance that AQ has provided is largely unknown.

The TTP was closely allied with Al Qaeda, and relied on it for financial, logistical and ideological support. The Taliban has a complex relationship with Al Qaeda.

The groups have reportedly been suspicious of each other throughout their histories. There will be one ruler in Afghanistan, either I or Osama bin Laden. However, the two groups continued to collaborate. A Taliban offensive against the Northern Alliance was coordinated in conjunction with the assassination, suggesting that AQ carried out the attack for the Taliban. It was formed in and is headed by Zakir Musa.

Composed of AQ fighters returning from Iraq and Syria, Ansar al-Shariah Pakistan is an aggregate of a number of smaller local jihadi groups. Letters from Abbottabad: Bin Ladin Sidelined? Harmony Program. Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point. Karmon, Ely. Council on Foreign Relations, 27 Mar. Blanchard, Christopher M. Blanchard, Jeremy M. Sharp, and Kenneth Katzman. Congressional Research Service, 10 Oct. Cruickshank, Paul. Todd, Brian.

Azzam, conversely, wanted to focus efforts on turning Afghanistan into an Islamist government. Exiled by the Saudi regime, and later stripped of his citizenship in , bin Laden left Afghanistan and set up operations in Sudan, with the United States in his sights as enemy No. In the group claimed responsibility for attacks on U. Cole in Yemen, in which 17 American sailors were killed, and 39 injured.

Expelled from Sudan in , bin Laden returned to Afghanistan under protection of the Taliban, where he provided military training to thousands of Muslim insurgents. For these and other reasons, Bin Laden declared a jihad, or holy war, against the United States, which he has carried out through al Qaeda and its affiliated organizations.

After September 11, , when four passenger airplanes were hijacked by al Qaeda terrorists, resulting in the mass murder of 2, victims in New York, Washington, D. The attacks led to the U. War in Afghanistan , a. Bin Laden evaded authorities until May 2, , when a covert operation by U. Overall, Al Qaeda leaders have displayed a pragmatic willingness to adapt the strategic and tactical content of their statements to changing circumstances while retaining a messianic commitment to their broader ideological agenda.

Although Bin Laden's self-professed goal is to "move, incite, and mobilize the [Islamic] nation" 58 until it reaches a revolutionary "ignition point," 59 Al Qaeda leaders' statements and Al Qaeda's attacks largely have failed to effectively mobilize widespread Muslim support for their agenda thus far.

Since late , however, public opinion polling and media monitoring in the Middle East and broader Islamic world indicate that dissatisfaction with the United States and its foreign policy has grown significantly within many Muslim societies. In light of this trend, Al Qaeda leaders' shift toward more explicitly political and ideological rhetoric seems to signal a direct attempt to broaden the movement's appeal, solicit greater financial and material support, and possibly inspire new and more systematically devastating attacks.

Some experts have argued however, that the uncompromising, anti-democratic tone of some public statements by Bin Laden and Al Zawahiri may alienate Muslims who oppose theocracy or who support secular or representative government. The anti-Shiite sectarian rhetoric of some Al Qaeda affiliates and the persistence of terrorist attacks that kill and maim Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq also undermine Al Qaeda's appeal among some groups.

Experience suggests that Al Qaeda's leaders believe that regular attempts to characterize Al Qaeda's actions as defensive and religiously sanctioned will increase tolerance of and support for their broader ideological program. The identification of limited political objectives and the implication that their fulfilment will resolve broader grievances may generate broader appeal than the group's underlying ideological agenda. Osama Bin Laden's truce proposals addressed to citizens of the United States and its European allies illustrate this trend, but the proposals' validity has been questioned due to ongoing attacks and continuing threats.

Overall, Al Qaeda leaders' statements from the mids through the present indicate that they continue to see themselves and their followers as the vanguard of an international Islamic movement primarily committed to ending U.

Public statements addressed to regional and international populations will likely continue to play a prominent role in Al Qaeda's efforts to achieve its goals. Recent Al Qaeda messages have been produced by a dedicated studio, known as the Al Sahab. Institute for Media Productions.

For example, in Bin Laden's October pre-U. At the time, Bin Laden expressed no solidarity or sympathy for Saddam Hussein or his regime, explaining—"We, as Muslims, do not like the Iraqi regime but we think that the Iraqi people and their children are our brothers and we care about their future. See Samuel P.

The fatwa argued that defensive jihad was necessary "in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque [Jerusalem] and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip [the U. By electing these leaders, the American people have given their consent to the incarceration of the Palestinian people, the demolition of Palestinian homes and the slaughter of the children of Iraq. This is why the American people are not innocent. The American people are active members in all these crimes.

Although portions of the text may reflect revised perspectives and the benefit of hindsight, its key statements of intent correspond to elements of prior statements by Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda figures.

It was crowned by the announcement of Bush Jr. Has Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin not informed you that you will not dream of security until we live it in reality in Palestine and before all infidel armies leave the land of Muhammad, may peace be upon him? You however shed rivers of blood in our land so we exploded volcanoes of anger in your land Our message to you is crystal clear: Your salvation will only come in your withdrawal from our land, in stopping the robbing of our oil and resources, and in stopping your support for the corrupt and corrupting leaders.

Bin Laden described the stakes of the confrontation between coalition and jihadist forces in Iraq in the following terms: "The whole world is watching this war and the two adversaries; the Islamic nation, on the one hand, and the United States and its allies on the other. It is either victory and glory or misery and humiliation. The nation today has a very rare opportunity to come out of the subservience and enslavement to the West and to smash the chains with which the Crusaders have fettered it.

Bin Laden: "The one who stays behind and fails to join the Mujahidin when Jihad becomes an individual duty commits a cardinal sin The most pressing duty after faith is repelling the aggressor enemy. This means that the nation should devote its resources, sons, and money to fight the infidels and drive them out of its lands. See also the Quran-Al Tawbah, The brothers in the group there should heed his orders and obey him in all that which is good.

Bin Laden urged followers to " These are the most important operations. Bin Laden sanctioned cooperation with Baathists "despite our belief in the infidelity of socialists. The Iraqi who joins this renegade government to fight against the Mujahidin, who resists occupation, is considered a renegade and one of the infidels, even if he were an Arab from Rabi'ah or Mudar tribes. Judging by statements made in the letter, Al Zawahiri largely shared Al Zarqawi's disdain for Shiite Muslims generally and Iraq's Shiite political groups in particular.

He questions the timing of Al Zarqawi's anti-Shiite operations because in his opinion, a majority of the Sunni community Al Qaeda is trying to mobilize on a region-wide basis do not feel as strongly or as negatively about Shi'ism or the Shiite community in Iraq.

And similarly, the brothers in the Islamic State of Iraq must open their hearts to their brothers and listen to them and take what they throw them seriously, and at the same time, they must sincerely advise their brothers about the mistakes or shortcomings they see in them. For example, Bin Laden has linked his opposition to insufficiently Islamic governance in Saudi Arabia to his view that under the Saudi monarchy, "absolute obedience and supremacy are given to the king and his laws, and not to God's religion.

According to Bin Laden, Muslims have a right to participate in the selection of their rulers only under certain "conditions," namely the absence of occupying foreign powers and the presence of candidates willing to rule solely according to Islamic law. Palestine is under occupation and its constitution is man-made and pagan, and Islam has nothing to do with it.

Rights cannot be restored from a regime when the ruler becomes renegade or refuses to follow religion except by force. Al Zawahiri admits that he is "unable Be active and prevent them from reaching the oil, and mount your operations accordingly, particularly in Iraq and the Gulf for this is their fate.

According to Bin Laden, "Islam is one unit that can not be divided Topic Areas About Donate. Al Qaeda: Statements and Evolving Ideology February 4, — July 9, RL Al Qaeda leaders and affiliates have conducted sophisticated public relations and media campaigns since the mids. Download PDF.