THE al-Qaeda is an Islamic fundamentalist organization that emerged in the 1980s and was active in defending Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion of the country. Its founders were Abdullah Azzam and osama bin laden, two Sunnis who adhered to fundamentalist ideals. This organization was responsible for the September 11 attacks.
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Al-Qaeda Summary
It emerged during the 1979 Afghan War.
Its forerunner was Maktab al Khidmat lil Mujahidin al-Arab, an organization that recruited young Muslims to fight the Soviets.
It was founded by Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden.
It is currently led by Ayman al-Zawahiri.
It organized the September 11 attacks, causing nearly three thousand deaths.
Video lesson on what is al-Qaeda
Understanding Al Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a fundamentalist organization Sunni that emerged in the 1980s and that defends radical interpretations of the Sharia, Islamic Law. In addition, this organization stands as armed force fighting governments seen as hostile to Islam and to Muslims.
Another hallmark of al-Qaeda is its position as resistance àto western influences in the lifestyle of Muslims. Thus, al-Qaeda can turn against Muslim nations that it considers too liberal. The group uses advertising to influence young people to join its ranks.
The organization does not have regional or nationalist and it doesn't only work in Arab nations. She has actingglobalist, that is, it is spread over different parts of the planet and is present in several Muslim nations, including those that do not have an Arab population, such as Indonesia, for example.
Origins of Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is recognized as one of the most successful fundamentalist organizations in history and, as we know, was the architect of one of the biggest attacks terrorists of recent history. The origins of this organization are complex and go back decades. Let's look at the history of its emergence.
Al-Qaeda had its origins traced back to the 1979 Afghan War. This conflict began in December 1979, when Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan to defend a socialist government that had been in power in that Asian country since 1978. the government of Afghan People's Democratic Party (PDPA) suffered from the resistance of part of the Afghan population.
This resistance was led by the Afghan National Resistance Movement, a group that sought to impede socialist-led reforms and topple the PDPA from power in Afghanistan. This revolt had a strong conservative and religious fundamentalist tenor. Seeking to weaken the Soviets, the United States financed the actions of the Afghan resistance.
This resistance formed armed militias, which became known as mujahideen, something like “holy warriors”. Those mujahideen fought the Soviets under the belief that they were part of a jihad, that is, a war in defense of Islam against the Soviets, seen as atheists and infidels.
inside the mujahideen, there were two names highlighted: AbdullahAzzam and Osama bin Laden. The first was a Palestinian university professor and theologian who joined jihad in the struggle against the Soviets. He was a professor of Osama bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire who studied management and administration at Saudi Arabia.
Both Azzam and Bin Laden moved to Peshawar, a Pakistani city on the border with Afghanistan. From there, they and thousands of other Afghans acted in the resistance of the mujahideen against the Soviets. In this city, they formed the Maktab al Khidmat lil Mujahidin al-Arab (known by the acronym MAK).
The MAK acted as a sort of base that recruited young people who wanted to join the fight against the Soviets. These young people were sheltered by the MAK and sent to training camps, where they were prepared for combat. MAK's financing was largely due to financial and military support from the Saudis, the North Americans and from Bin Laden himself, who used his private fortune in the jihad.
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Al-Qaeda Foundation
MAK is understood by historians as the precursor to al-Qaeda. As the Soviet Union As he left Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden and Azzam decided to continue the MAK, but with the name Al-Qaeda, which in Arabic means “the base”. The idea was that al-Qaeda would position itself as a base for the perpetuation of jihad.
Another very important name at the time of Al-Qaeda's emergence was that of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The emergence of the group took place between 1988 and 1989 (there is some divergence in this dating). It is believed that, at that time, the “base” was intended to establish itself as a militia that could give permanent support to Muslim nations.
This moment also served as a break between Azzam and bin Laden, as the Saudi believed it was necessary use the force of al-Qaeda, including against Muslim governments that were considered liberal or apostate by Is it over there. Azzam was eventually killed in a terrorist attack in 1989, and although bin Laden is one of the suspects, the author of the attack is unknown.
Accessalso: Syrian Civil War – extends since 2011, involving several armed groups
Attacks on the United States
THE Al-Qaeda resolved to make the United States its greatest enemy after the Gulf War. In this conflict, Kuwait was invaded by Iraqi troops, and this put Saudi Arabia, a nation that has large oil reserves, on alert. The Saudis did not have enough troops to protect themselves from an Iraqi attack.
Realizing this, Osama bin Laden offered the troops he led in al-Qaeda to protect Saudi territory. However, the country preferred to accept the protection of US troops, who established themselves in it. Osama bin Laden considered this an outrage because it placed infidels in sacred territories (Islam emerged in Saudi Arabia).
After criticizing the Saudi monarchy's decision to seek US support, Osama bin Laden went expelled from saudi arabia and went into exile in Sudan. From then on, the United States became the great adversary of al-Qaeda, which went on to announce that they were to blame for the oppression of Muslims in the world. In short, al-Qaeda was starting its jihad against the US.
With that, it was realized that the jihad promoted by al-Qaeda was not regional but global, as it aimed to serve as support for Muslims across the planet and to counter American influence there. The fight was then against the United States throughout the Muslim world, and because of that the country became a target of the fundamentalist organization.
Until 1996, al-Qaeda went through a period of strengthening, and from 1998 onwards, it began to take effective action against the United States. Terrorist attacks on US embassies were carried out in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and a US vessel was attacked off the coast of Yemen in 2000.
September 11 attacks
This more direct action by al-Qaeda against the United States was the result of the influence of Ayman al-Zawahiri. He is considered the architect and creator of the biggest attack carried out by this terrorist group.
On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial planes in the United States and used them as weapons against key sites in the country. Two aircraft were launched against the worldtradecenter, in New York; one was launched against the Pentagon, in Washington; and the fourth ship probably had the Capitol as a target, but fell before reaching its objective.
The attacks resulted in the death of nearly three thousand people and represented the biggest attack the United States had suffered on its territory since the Second World War. Recordings at the time showed that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the terrorist action, and this sparked a major US reaction. If you are more curious about the topic of this topic, read: attacks of September 11th.
Al-Qaeda in recent years
Al-Qaeda was the target of a major US military operation in Afghanistan, a country that had hosted Osama bin Laden and other members of the organization since 1996. The US operation forced al-Qaeda to abandon their bases in Afghanistan and take shelter in the country's mountainous regions.
In 2004, a large part of al-Qaeda's leaders had already been imprisoned, and the US performance in the long term period caused Osama bin Laden to be found and killed in Abbottabad, a city near Pakistan's capital, Islamabad THE Osama bin Laden's death it happened on May 2, 2011.
The US action contributed to the weakening of al-Qaeda, but it definitely did not put an end to this fundamentalist organization, which is still present in dozens of countries. In 2021, al-Qaeda members celebrated the Taliban return to power in Afghanistan.
Image credits
[1] Asianet-Pakistan and Shutterstock
[2] Joseph Sohm and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher
