Elements of the al Qai’da Ideology

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Understanding 9/11: Why 9/11 Happened & How Terrorism Affects Our World Today

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Duke University

Understanding 9/11: Why 9/11 Happened & How Terrorism Affects Our World Today

24 notes

This course will explore the forces that led to the 9/11 attacks and the policies the United States adopted in response. We will examine the phenomenon of modern terrorism, the development of the al Qai'da ideology, and the process by which individuals radicalize towards violence.

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Week 4: The al Qai'da Ideology

Our topic for this week is the al Qaeda ideology. An ideology is essentially the set of beliefs that an individual, a group, or an organization has to either motivate them or to give that organization purpose. For al Qaeda, of course this is incredibly important because they're trying to motivate individuals to sacrifice their lives for what they view as a great cause.

An Ideology of Grievance17:02

Biography of Sayyid Qutb10:07

Qutb’s Milestones and a Muslim Revival8:17

Qutb and Jihad8:10

Roots of al Qaeda14:41

Osama Bin Laden’s Ideology12:56

Terminology: What Is Islamism?7:26

Elements of the al Qai’da Ideology4:19

Flaws in the al Qai’da Ideology4:16

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David Schanzer
Associate Professor of the Practice
Sanford School of Public Policy

So regardless of how we refer to it,

what are the elements of this al Qai'da ideology?

First, and the key one is that the West is at war with Islam and the Muslim people.

Second, that it is a religious duty to use violence against the West to protect

Islam and Muslims.

The goal being to create Islamic governance under Shariah Law.

Third, that those who are not fighting are supporting the oppressors and

are indeed not true Muslims.

And finally, that those who fight will be rewarded in the afterlife.

So why are these ideas attractive to a certain number of people?

And I think the first reason is, and especially this idea that the West

is at war with Muslims and Islam, is that because of people's experiences.

This resonates very heavily with them.

Whether its the history of colonialism, US military intervention in the region.

That the region in the Middle East is racked with too much violence.

There's the video and television coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian

conflict which again resonates very deeply with them.

This idea that they are being victimized by outsiders is strong.

And it parallels with their experiences,

whether they're personal experiences or

how they see this on television.

Second of all,

Bin Laden is able to explain things by pointing to one single enemy.

That being, of course, the United States.

And it's an enemy that is in some ways easy for people to hate.

Our dominating military, our interventionism,

our leadership of globalism and global economy, our great wealth.

It's easy for people to be both jealous and to be resentful of the United States.

I'm not saying that they should be but I think it's easy to do that.

And Bin Laden's ideology is able to see, you see all the problems that we

experience here, whether it be political violence, whether it be a bad economy,

a lack of scientific achievement, poor educational facilities, bad healthcare.

We can look at all these problems and we can blame an outsider and

we can blame a big outsider that is convenient to point to.

And I think people can find that to be attractive as a simplistic

way of explaining the world and all that plagues this region

in the Middle East and among Muslim people elsewhere.

It's also attractive because it uses the intoxicating power of religion

to embrace all these ideas together to give it power and legitimacy.

Of course, religion is the most powerful

force in this area of the world.

Latching onto the popularity and the reverence to which

people give to the Islamic faith also gives the ideas

behind the ideology legitimacy and attraction, as well.

And finally, it's hard to hold this ideology accountable for

producing results.

Because it says that you'll be rewarded in the afterlife, so

you can't look over the course of years or decades and

say well, everything you've said, nothing's come true.

Because they say well don't worry, you'll get your rewards later on.

So there's no accountability for this ideology and

if you want to believe in it, there's nothing in the world today that would

undermine your faith that indeed you would be rewarded in the afterlife.

So people can find those ideas attractive in that regard.

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