Foundations of terrorism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Foundations of terrorism - Research Paper Example Hence, finding a certain ungrounded reason, more so driven by extremism to exterminate the innocent. Al-Qaeda is a Saudi opposition movement that emerged in the 1990s. Its main aim was to Islamize the Saudi society. This was a response to what they perceived as a cultural attack by the West on the Muslim religion. The group’s source of influence came from Abdallah Azzam teachings. In the 1980s, Abdallah ‘Azzam led the Afghan mujahideen. In 1979, the USSR invaded Afghanistan. To those who were cautioning against a Western cultural attack, this was an affirmation of their assumptions. This struggle gave young religious Saudis an opportunity to defend their religion and culture, which they deemed the West, more so the US would lead to its extinction. Hundreds of young men travelled to Afghanistan to join the mujahideen, the Muslim guerilla fighters. Instead of joining the fight to remove the US forces, they engaged Soviets who had penetrated Afghanistan. Numerous Saudis turned out to be Abdallah Azzam adherents together with Bin Laden (Javaid & Noureen, 2013). Azzam had studied the Islamic law to the extent of attaining a doctorate level whereby he embarked on teaching the same in Jordan. He had already joined the Muslim Brotherhood. After he was fired, he decided to help other members of the brotherhood movement in planning for the Soviet Jihad both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This is where Bin Laden became a close ally and assisted him with the logistics and financing. According to Azzam, it was mandatory for every Muslim (fard al-ayn) to defend the Islamic lands against the infidel penetration. Several leaders coming from the Muslim community endorsed Azzams ideas. His other colleagues in Saudi Arabia were against the Western penetration and preached about it, but Azzam went as far as transforming his ideas into successful armed struggles.