IF week 4 notes
Motivation/Formation | Originally meant to support afghanistan in war against soviets, became overall Jihad |
History | Forerunner Maktab al-Khidamat founded in 1984.Founded 1998 in a series of meetings held in Peshawar w/ BL, Abdullah Azzam, Zawahiri and other Soviet-Afghan war vets; soviets withdrew from Afghanistan 1989, went to sudan in 90s, back to Afghanistan 1996 |
Size/Membership | According to Lawrence Wright |
“Major” Attacks | 1998: Nairobi Kenya and Dar es Salaam embassy bombings; USS cole Oct 12, 2000; 2001 WTC & Pentagon attack; 2003 Istanbul bombings Also see: (1992 Aden hotel bombings), (1993 WTC bombing) 2004 Madrid train bombings; 2005 london bombings |
People/Leadership | Bin Laden; Zawahiri, Khalid sheik mohammed AQ operational planner, current leader? Saif al-Adel?? |
Ideology | See connection to Muslim brotherhood Salafi-jihadism - strict interpretation of salafism advocating a return to earliest practices of Islam Global jihad - primary goal is to establish a global islamic caliphate governed by Sharia (islamic law) Anti-western sentiment- AQ view US and allies ad enemies of Islam due to their military presence in Muslim lands, support for Israel, and perceived corruption of Islamic societies Takfir doctrine- anyone not following their strict interpretation of Islam are apostates, justifying attacks against them |
Associated groups/Offshoots | Split from ISIS 2013 (verify) According to chat gpt(verify): AQAP in yemen and Saudi arabia, AQIM in north africa, al shabaab; Jabhat al Nusra (now Hayat Tahir al-Sham; AQI (al queda in Iraq; precurser to ISIS originally led by Abu Musab al Zarqawi |