1
Q
Who was Osama Bin Laden?
A
- 1989 created Al Qaeda with other people he met during 1979 jihad
- He took full control over Al-Qaeda in 1989 after Azzam was killed
- He lost is Suadi citizenship and was later kicked out in 1996
- In 1996 he returned to Afghanistan and made Al-Qaeda Training camps under Taliban protection
- Published “Declaration of War Against America” and later “Moderate Islam is a Prostration to the West”
2
Q
Who was Ayman al-Zawahiri?
A
- Egyptian-born Islamist
- Became Leader of Al-Qaeda after Bin Laden (2011-2022)
- World is divided into Dar al-Islam (Demand Loyalty) and Dar al-Harb (Expect Enmity)
- Abandoned Brotherhood of Muslims for more radical groups
- believed democracy could not exist in Islam because Allah is the highest rule
3
Q
Who was Abdullah Azzam?
A
- Was mentor / teacher to Bin Laden
- Wanted to fight the near enemy first then work out from there
- wanted to liberate Palestine
- killed by a car bomb on November 24, 1989 by known people
4
Q
Who was Hasan al-Banna?
A
- Egyptian Imam (early 1900s)
- Founded the Muslim Brotherhood
- Believed the Quran and the Sunnah are the only acceptable constitution
- 1924 following abolishment of Caliphate called Muslims to prepare for armed conflict
- Believed jihad of the sword was more important than jihad of the heart
- Encouraged rejection of Western morality / culture
- killed by Egyptian secret police 1949
5
Q
Who was Mohammad Abd al-Salam Faraj?
A
- radical Islamist (mid-1900s)
- Argued modern Muslims have neglected jihad
- He belied jihad among the five pillars of Islam
- Believed in armed conflict being greater jihad
- Near enemy: Muslim majority countries that don’t agree with them
- Far enemy: US/the west
6
Q
Who was Omar Abdel Rahman?
A
- “The Blind Sheikh”
- Spirtual Leader of people who bombed World trade center (1993)
- Noteworthy: Despite being on US terrorist watch list was able to travel and in out of country on multiple occasions (it was the CIA)
7
Q
Sayed Qutb
A
- Promoted violent Jihad against US
- Modern Society lived in jahiliyya
- Wanted a Vanguard (small group of true believers) to dedicate themselves to establishing gods will
- After being in America for 2 years found it offensive (among other things)
- Legacy: Seen as the inspiration for for violent Islamic groups / seen as a martyr
8
Q
Who was Ramzi Yousef (Yusuf)
A
- the cell leader behind the (1993) World Trade Center bombing and bombing of Philippine Airline flight 434 (1994)
- followed “The blind sheikh”
- Nephew of 9/11 architect
- called “The Mozart of Terror”
9
Q
Who was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
A
- principle architect for the 9/11 attacks
- worked with nephew (Ramzi Yousef) on Philippine airplane bombing (1994)
10
Q
Who was Yasser Arafat?
A
- former chairman of PLO (‘69 - ‘04)
- Founding member of Fatah political party
- Helped start negotiations with Israel in the 1980s and helped end the conflict with Israel and the PLO
11
Q
Who was Mullah Omar?
A
- Founder of Taliban (1994)
- fought against Soviets (1979)
- Took over Afghanistan until its topple by US in 2001
- Strictly enforced sharia law
12
Q
Who was Velupillai Prabhakaran?
A
- Founder and leader of Tamil Tigers
- Militant org. wanting to create indepentend Tamil state in north and east Sri Lanka
13
Q
Who was Anwar al-Awlaki?
A
- US / Yemen citizen
- Former (semi)peaceful imam in US
- After imprisonment (for passport fraud) in Yemen (2006) he became highly radicalized
- Key organizer for Al-Qaeda
- Repeatedly called for Jihad against the US
- killed via drone strike September 30 2011
14
Q
Who was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?
A
- Founder and Leader of the Islamic State
- Proclaimed self as Caliph in 2014
- took name of the first caliph
- Encouraged use of suicide bombings
15
Q
Who was Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini?
A
- founder / first leader of Islamic Republic of Iran
- wanted to establish an Islamic state world wide countries they take over will be marked for salvation
- wrote “Islam is not a religion of Pacifists”
16
Q
Who was Ahmed Yassin?
A
- Palestinian Politician and founder of Hamas
- called for suicide attacks against Israel
17
Q
Who is Ali Khamenei?
A
Current Iranian Supreme Leader
18
Q
Who were Black September?
A
- best known for kidnapping and killing 11 Israeli athletes and officials in the 1972 Olympics
- Hostile off shoot of the PLO
19
Q
Who are the The Rajapaksa Brothers?
A
- One brother was elected president of Sri Lanka in 2005
- Named brother Defense Minister in 2006
- Ended negotiations and instead started fighting the tamil tigers in 2007
- Declared victory over the tamil tigers in 2009
20
Q
You was Yusuf al-Qaradawi?
A
- Presented Prophet Muhammad as ideal model for jihad
- emphasis on mental and spiritual readiness before combat
- Martyrdom is legitimate and praiseworthy not like suicide
- distinction between suicide and martyrdom
21
Q
What is Takfir?
A
- Excommunication from Islam by one Muslim to Another
- aka accusing another Muslim of being an apostate
- “one Muslim accuses another of being to western or un-islamic”
22
Q
What is the difference between the near enemy and the far enemy
A
- Near Enemy: Muslim majority countries that do not hold the same opinions of the west as them
- Far Enemy: The west / the US
- Concept introduced by Faraj
23
Q
What is Jahiliyyah?
A
- Age of Ignorance
- A period of time leading up to the life time of Muhammad
- Conceptually seen as western values and lifestyle
- Result of lack of sharia law
24
Q
What is Rahbar?
A
A rahbar is the supreme leader of Iran
25
What is Twelverism?
- Largest branch of Shia Islam
- Belief in the 12 Imams
- Belief that the last Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, lives alone and will reappear in order to restore justice and peace
-
26
What is Vilayat-e faquih?
concept in Twelverism that until the reappearance of the last imam religious and social affairs should be overseen by Muslim leaders
- "absolute authority of the jurist"
27
What is the difference between Dar al-Islam and Dar al-harb?
- Divisions of the world
- Dar al-Islam: refer to countries under Muslim rule, includes both Muslims and non-Muslims. (Demand Loyalty)
- Dar al-harb: countries that dont have peace with Muslims. Place where muslims are not safe (Expect Enmity)
28
What is a fatwa?
- formal ruling or interpretation on Islamic law
- Needs person with doctorate in sharia law to declare
29
What is a Hadith?
- Series of sayings / traditions of Prophet Muhammad
- Many reports first passed down orally then later written.
30
What is the army of Roses?
The women suicide bombers
30
What is the franchise strategy?
- A branching out strategy used by Al-Qaeda
- Many independent "franchises" of the same group
31
What is Absent Obligation?
- Text written by Mohammad Abdus Salam Faraj
- Believes Jihad is the Absent obligation or neglected duty
- Jihad has been absent or neglected by Muslims for centuries and has lead to weakness and humiliation
32
What does Partnership with Allah refer to?
- Refers to a point of criticism of Democracy by many extremist
- They claim democracy is putting people as equals or above Allah when putting them in power
- Shariah law and democracy can never co-exist because of this
33
What was the Hijra?
The journey the prophet Muhammad and his followers took from Mecca to Medina
34
What is the IRGC & Basij
- IRGC: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
- Individual members of this corps are called Basij
- Created by Ayatolla Khomeinin to originally fight in the Iran-Iraq war
- Now act as enforcing state control over society
35
What is the "White Revolution"
- Modernization / Westernization of Iran from 1963-1979
- ended with the overthrowing of the Shah for being to western
36
Who was Hussein Ali?
The grandson of the Prophet Muhammad
37
What is Baka'a Valley?
- Place in Lebanon
- Most suicide terrorism groups have ties to the Baka'a Valley
- Black September, PLO, Hezbollah, and hamas
38
Who was Syed Abul Ala Maududi?
- Believed purpose of Jihad was not to war but to end oppression
- Rejects idea that Jihad is only defensive - wants to establish Islam everywhere
39
What are the main points of "Your fate is in your hands"
- Written by Bin Laden
- how to avoid 9/11 - why 9/11 happened
- Bush interested in middle eastern ideology
-
40
What are the main points of "Why we are fighting you"
- Written in Bin Laden
- In response to America "What We're fighting for" and Saudis scholars "How we can co-exist"
- Why are we fighting and opposing you reasons:
You attacked us, you attack us in Palestine, you support other countries attacking us, steal out wealth and oil, occupy our countries
- Separating religion from policies
- By our religion we have a right to return aggression
- Americans people contribute to the bloodshed via taxes
- What we are calling you to:
calling to islam, call to stop oppression, lies, immorality, debauchery
- Stop the homosexuals, the US gave everyone AIDS
41
What are the main points of "Jihad, Martyrdom, and the killing of innocents"
- Written by Ayman al-Zawahiri
- JIhad is martyrdom, martyrdom is okay
- need to fight against rulers without sharia law
- Learning from the Hadith
- fatwas command people to abandon jihad
- You are allowed to kill yourself if its for jihad / Allah
42
What are the main points of "Sharia and Democracy"
- Written by Ayman al-Zawahiri
- Forbidden to overthrow unjust ruler but required to overthrow infidel leader
- Rulers governing without sharia are apostate infidels
- Sharia law
43
What are the key points of "Is not a religion of Pacifists"
- Written by Ayatollah Khomeini
- religion for blood for infidels but peace and guidance of believers
- Martyrdom is a legacy
- freedom from the west and freedom for our children from western influence / sins (opium / gambling)
- We are reactionaries, and you are enlightened intellectuals
- do not accept imported freedom
- we have out own freedom
- putting end to leading Islamic young men to corruption
44
What are the main points of "Muhammad as a Jihad Model"
- Written by Yusuf al Qaradawi
- Types of preparation for jihad - mental and physical
- Prophet Muhammad prepared his followers first mentally then physically
- Blood and property of Dar al-harb people is not protected
- Every citizen must be willing to provide or fight
- Martyrdom is not suicide and people who claim that are making a big mistake
- suicide is killing for oneself
