In 1989, al Qaeda was born. Al Qaeda, meaning “the base” in Arabic, is a group that was formally called the mujahedeen, a group of holy warriors. Their formation took place after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which caused young Muslims to come together and rally against who they perceived as invaders. After the Soviet invasion failed, the participants decided the group should not disappear; it was still a cause worthy of fighting. In fact, the United States played an important role in enabling the mujahedeen during the Soviet invasion. In 1979, President Carter signed a directive for secret aid to the warriors and the CIA started funding the mujahedeen in 1980. At that time the United States funded the mujahedeen because they wanted to
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Members pledged an oath of allegiance, the bayat, not only to the group but also to bin Laden himself. He and his group opposed all aspects the United States. Not only was the United States of conflicting religion and in support of other “infidel” groups and countries, al Qaeda strongly opposed the United States’ involvement in the Gulf War and supsequents occupations. Bin Laden used passages from the Quran, the holy book of the Islam religion, to justify his attacks. For example, in his letter to the American people, bin Laden used a quote from the Quran saying, “permission to fight (against disbelievers) is given to those (believers) who are fought against, because they have been wronged and surely, Allah is Able to give them (believers) victory.” Bin Laden officially declared a jihad, a war against disbelievers, on the United States, supporting his attacks with religion and using terrorist actions to force a result. The United States, on the other hand, barely responded to early attacks and threats made by the group. Despite growing and increasingly obvious signs, the United States refused to see that a war on terror had begun. America enabled the creation of al Qaeda by ignoring the signs and not responding to their attacks, which energized the group and helped cultivate their confidence: all which caused September 11th, …show more content…
Bin Laden expressed his basis for hostility against America in a London newspaper in 1996 when he described “the people of Islam had suffered from aggression, iniquity, and injustice imposed on them by the Zionist-Crusaders alliance,” in reference to the United State’s relationship with Israel as well as Arab countries they felt the United States was oppressing. They felt the United States directly opposed their religion because of the disasters that had occurred with their military occupation Iraq and the events that occurred at Guantanamo Bay. Many Muslims died during United States military occupation due to poor health conditions and lack of food, which al Qaeda interpreted as America against Muslims. Al Qaeda chose three targets in American civilization to disable or degrade the United States. Their targets were the commercial center, the military center and the legislative center of the United States. These were symbols for parts of the U.S. al Qaeda perceived as a threat. The Twin Towers represented America’s economic power and their role as leaders in globalization, which al Qaeda believed to be the reason the United States could control and occupy Islamic countries. The group also targeted the United States military not only because of their occupation but also because al Qaeda could never directly fight the U.S. military. Al Qaeda also opposed the United States foreign policy and wanted to
Members pledged an oath of allegiance, the bayat, not only to the group but also to bin Laden himself. He and his group opposed all aspects the United States. Not only was the United States of conflicting religion and in support of other “infidel” groups and countries, al Qaeda strongly opposed the United States’ involvement in the Gulf War and supsequents occupations. Bin Laden used passages from the Quran, the holy book of the Islam religion, to justify his attacks. For example, in his letter to the American people, bin Laden used a quote from the Quran saying, “permission to fight (against disbelievers) is given to those (believers) who are fought against, because they have been wronged and surely, Allah is Able to give them (believers) victory.” Bin Laden officially declared a jihad, a war against disbelievers, on the United States, supporting his attacks with religion and using terrorist actions to force a result. The United States, on the other hand, barely responded to early attacks and threats made by the group. Despite growing and increasingly obvious signs, the United States refused to see that a war on terror had begun. America enabled the creation of al Qaeda by ignoring the signs and not responding to their attacks, which energized the group and helped cultivate their confidence: all which caused September 11th, …show more content…
Bin Laden expressed his basis for hostility against America in a London newspaper in 1996 when he described “the people of Islam had suffered from aggression, iniquity, and injustice imposed on them by the Zionist-Crusaders alliance,” in reference to the United State’s relationship with Israel as well as Arab countries they felt the United States was oppressing. They felt the United States directly opposed their religion because of the disasters that had occurred with their military occupation Iraq and the events that occurred at Guantanamo Bay. Many Muslims died during United States military occupation due to poor health conditions and lack of food, which al Qaeda interpreted as America against Muslims. Al Qaeda chose three targets in American civilization to disable or degrade the United States. Their targets were the commercial center, the military center and the legislative center of the United States. These were symbols for parts of the U.S. al Qaeda perceived as a threat. The Twin Towers represented America’s economic power and their role as leaders in globalization, which al Qaeda believed to be the reason the United States could control and occupy Islamic countries. The group also targeted the United States military not only because of their occupation but also because al Qaeda could never directly fight the U.S. military. Al Qaeda also opposed the United States foreign policy and wanted to