The History of Al-Qaeda

By Jared Sogness

History Range 1920-1981 Egypt

Starting off with the Egyptian roots of Al-Qaeda

Sayyid Qutb is an Egyptian that comes to America at the age of 42 in 1948 to 1950. He spends some time in Colorado then comes to the east coast. Once he returns to Egypt he starts writing books, religious books as he's a Sunni Muslim. He writes about the decadence of American society. stating how horrible our western society is and how we are obsessed with Sex, Violence, and Materialism. Keep in mind this was written in the 1950s.. it didn't even hit the hippy stage yet in the 60s and 70s.

This turns out to be the original critique that Al-Qaeda builds off of as the decadence of western society.

History Range 1920-1981 EgyptOnce Qutb goes back to Egypt, he hooks up with a group called "The Muslim Brotherhood." The Muslim Brotherhood was formed by a man named Hassan al-Banna in 1928. He had organized a group around the principles of a pan-islamic region, uniting the Sunni Muslim world. They were upset about things like Equality for women. They were Nationalistic. Anti-Corporate. by 1948 they had almost a half a million members. Qutb comes back and joins this group. Once Abdel Nasser comes into control of Egypt he throws Qutb in jail for bashing the government. He is then released 10 years later for 8 months, then thrown back in jail for an assassination plot. Qutb was then hung along with 6 other members of the Brotherhood, making Qutb a martyr.

History Range 1920-1981 Egypt

Qutb believed true believers need to preach Islam, his version of Islam. They must destroy the institutions of society; Corporations, Governments, Militaries, etc. Once peoples understanding of Islam grew and once the institutions faded, there would arise a utopian state. Based on Sharia Law. This is the basis of the beliefs of Al-Qaeda.

History Range 1920-1981 Egypt

in 1948 due to the assassination and Terrorism committed by the Muslim brotherhood, the government of Egypt banned them. 32 Leaders are arrested and Muslim brotherhood responds by assassinating the prime minister. In retaliation, the Egyptian government them Assassinates Hassan al-Banna, the founder.

History Range 1920-1981 Egypt

in 1970, the Muslim brotherhood then "Denounce" Terrorism. They begin working with the government and become a much more secular group. The roots of the Muslim brotherhood are much more different today then they were back then. When the Muslim Brotherhood renounces terrorism some of the members got upset and left the brotherhood and created their own groups. For example, Al Jihad.

History Range 1920-1981 EgyptOmar Abdel-Rahman, The Blind sheik issues a fatwa, (Sort of like an executive order), on the leader of Egypt at the time, Anwar Sadat. So then October 6, 1981 the former elements of the Muslim brotherhood assassinate Anwar Sadat, because he had signed a peace agreement with Israel. Egypt Al-Jihad members threw grenades into a crowd, and fire assault rifles at the stands during a parade, killing Sadat, and wounding 28 people including 4 Americans.

Following this, Egypt does a huge "cleansing" and throws anybody and everybody that they can find that's ever thought of even just committing terrorism. and then there’s a time where all these terrorists are in jail in Egypt all at the same time. Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya is formed around this time. Islamic Al-Jihad and this group are the two main terrorist groups in Egypt at the time.

History Range 1920-1981 Egypt

EIJ (Egyptian Islamic Jihad) members go to Afghanistan to help them form the utopia over there instead. They join in the Mujahedeen. (Muslims who struggle in the path of Allah.) Ayman al-Zawahiri shows up and takes control of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. He begins a alliance with a Saudi Arabian, Osama Bin Laden.

History - Roots in Saudi Arabia3 major events happen in 1979, The Iranian Revolution, the Shaw of Iran is ran out of town and replaced by Ayatollah Khomeini, The soviets invade Afghanistan, and then the major thing happened, the seizure of the great mosque. Juhayman ibn Muhammad ibn Sayf al Otaibi was the leader of the seize. He is a member of a powerful Saudi family. They declare the house of Saud is illigimate. He says his brother is the rightful leader of Saudi Arabia. They dream of creating a world based on Sharia Law. They took over the great mosque easily because they snuck in weapons, and no weapons of any kind are allowed inside the mosque so nobody could really fight back. They let go of most of the hostages right away.

History - Roots in Saudi Arabia

In order for the people to try and take the mosque back, they had to get a Fatwa, a religious order, and when they did the army was repelled because they were stationed snipers throughout the building of the mosque. They used the broadcast system in the mosque to broadcast their dream of a theocracy based on Sharia law. they reject the western world. They demand Saudi Arabia cuts off all oil to the U.S. and expel all foreigners.

through numerous attempts to take back the loss the army loses massive casualties. The rebel's hold it for a week. then the rebels escape through the catacombs and run into the city because they lost the will to fight and didn't have any food.

History - Roots in Saudi ArabiaDuring the 1979 Soviet invading Afghanistan, we actually help the Afghanistans and fund them in their war against the soviets. Abdullah Allah Aam is a university professor that becomes important to the cause of Al-Qaeda, because he starts to preach the same things Qutb said that they need a more non-western conservative Islamic religion based on sharia law. The Mujahedeen between the soviets and Afghanistan cost allot of money. The U.S. Sent over 20 Billion dollars worth of weapons to Afghanistan, over the course of the entire war. Many important people that I mentioned a couple slides back come to fight against the soviets, including Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri as well as the two main terrorist groups at the time: Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al gamaa al islamiya.

History - Roots in Saudi Arabia

Osama Bin Laden is the son of a great Saudi Builder, the father is close with the royal family because he built a road across the dessert, which was assumed to be impossible. Bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam create Maktab al-Khidamat. They take the responsibility to come up with the money to train, recruit, and fight in the Mujahedeen. They train around 100 people in a base. It is later wondered if this is "The Base" meant in the word "Al-Qaeda" since Al-Qaeda means "The Base." at this point in time, the Mujahedeen were our allies. We were Anti-Soviets at the time.

History - Roots in Saudi Arabia

All the Leaders of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad get together and form the group known as Al-Qaeda. It is basically an organization to fund terrorist groups. This is the reason why Osama Bin Laden is known as the "Leader." He's really the guy with the money. He isn't actually the operation leader though, that would be Ayman al-Zawahiri. The group quarrels at first what it should do. There are 2 different idea, 1 is to wage a global jihad against westernized Muslim governments, and the other idea is to stay in Afghanistan and build the sharia law state utopia.

They ended up going with the Global Jihad idea, since Abdullah Azzam is killed mysteriously by explosives, and he was the one who wanted the Utopia state.

History – Roots, The 90s

Anwar al-Awlaki had gotten angry at America because we didn't help our "Allies." Because we didn't help Afghanistan rebuild the Taliban came into effect. He preached the same idea as Qutb as well, that if we spread the idea of Islam, and people act righteously and follow sharia law, the need for governments will dissolve away. Anwar is the spiritual guide of Al-Qaeda. He keeps everyone in line.

History – Roots, The 90s

Ali Mohamed is another person with ties to America. He walks into a CIA agent in egypt and asks to be a "Double" Angent. He tried to say he was part of the group that killed Sadat. However, turns out he was double crossing both sides. We end up bringing him back to the U.S. and train him to be a staff sargent in the army. Later an associate of his El Sayyid Nosair was arrested for terrorist plots. Nosair was convicted in the first world trade center bombing, as was Ali Mohamed. However, he still hasnt been sentenced.

History – Roots, The 90sThere's one big huge reason though why Al-Qaeda turned its attention to the United States though. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, Saudi Arabia felt as though they needed more protection. So Bin Laden wanted to bring the Mujahedeen back to Saudi Arabia to defend it. However, the Saudi's don't want that, they want the U.S. instead to defend them. Bin Laden got extremely angry because of this. A Western Army is defending his homeland. Because of this he turns his anger and attention to the United States. This is the ultimate factor of what has caused 9/11. There were other factors as well but this was the main one. They are mad about our decadent culture. Bin Laden criticizes the Saudi government and is exiled.

History – Roots, The 90s

Bin Laden then goes to Sudan where Omar al-Bashir took control of Sudan. Omar also wants to set up the dream Islamic Utopia based on Sharia Law. Omar actually invites Al-Qaeda there. while there Bin Laden runs into a spiritual leader, named Hassan al-Turabi. Hassan actually turns out to be a conman and drains Bin Laden of all his money for his own personal desires and bankrupts Bin Laden. Al-Qaeda's funding actually dries up because of this man. Bin Laden’s family actually decides to cut him off because he is now against the Saudi Government.

History – Roots, The 90s

One day in Egypt a school girl was killed by the Egyptian terrorists who were trying to create the Islamic state. Because of this the Egyptian people begin to chant that terrorism is the enemy of god. Ayman al-Zawahiri goes beyond furious and commands his Egyptian Islamic Jihad attack the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan, in turn actually turning the Pakistanis against Al-Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

History – Roots, The 90s

Meanwhile in Afghanistan the Taliban have pretty much rose to power, they are the government while there is no government. they try to make sure everyone eats and make sure everyone's healthy. However, they eventually turn into a very oppressive and conservative and religious regime. Al-qaeda then settles into Afghanistan.

February 23, 1998 Ayman al-Zwahiri and Osama Bin Laden then issues a Fatwa on the United States of America. They swear to kill any American or Europeans anywhere they can find them.

History – Roots, The 90s

August 7th 1998 Al-Qaeda carries out the embassy bombings. Hundreds are killed. This makes ayman Al-Zawahiri and Osama bin laden famous around the world. this is the first time people all over even became vaguly aware of who these people even wore. On October 12, 2000 a ship full of suicide bombers attack the USS Cole, an American War Ship. this killed 17 and wounded 39. This is the last major attack by Al-Qaeda before 9/11.

History – Roots, The 90s

The Blind Sheik goes on tour in the United States on a visa, in July of 1990. He then issues a Fatwa of allowing bank robbing and killing American Jews. He calls for his followers to: "cut the transportation of their countries, tear it apart, destroy their economy, burn their companies, eliminate their interests, sink their ships, shoot down their planes, and kill them on the Sea, air or land." Followers of the blind sheik actually massacre europeans on 2 different occasions. the biggest one is the Luxar massacre.

November 17, 1997 62 tourists are killed when a popular tourist attraction is attacked by Egyptian Islamic Jihadists.

History – First World Trade CenterBombing

February 26, 1993 A truck bomb was detonated below the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York, NY. The original idea was to bring both towers down and kill thousands of people, but it failed and only killed six people, but still thousands were injured. Ramzi Yousef, Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammad Salameh, Nidal a. Ayyad, Abdul Rahman Yasin, and Ahmad Ajaj were a group of conspirators who planned it out. Eyad Ismoil drove the truck carrying the bomb. This was all funded by Khaled Sheikh Mohammed.

History – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

The last key to everything tying in before 9/11 was Khalid Sheik Mohammed. He was personally motivated by the mistreatment of israel. He comes to believe the united states is debotched and irredeamable. In the philipeans he comes up with "Bojinka." Its a plan to blow up 12 planes all at once. It never gets off the ground, but it becomes a foundation for 9/11.

IN CONCLUSION!

The elements have now all have come together.

The Violence of Ayman Al-Zawahiri, The idea to use planes as weapons by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, The money and connections of Osama bin laden, Religious philosophies of Sayyid Qutb, Finally Abdullah Azzam. This is the deadly mixture that became 9/11.

Sources The book – The Looming Tower written by Lawrence Wright http://www.thepolitic.com/archives/2005/07/27/jihadists-want-global-caliphate/ http://

www.spiegel.de/international/the-future-of-terrorism-what-al-qaida-really-wants-a-369448.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/mar/21/alqaida.terrorism http://www.globalpolitician.com/default.asp?23661-saudi/#_ftn15 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/alqaeda.html http://

topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaeda/index.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/al-qaeda/ http://www.foxnews.com/topics/iraq/al-qaeda.htm http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/ladin.htm http://www.aljazeera.com/category/organisation/al-qaeda

(Warning a few websites at the top gave me a virus)