A book about al qaeda

It is an essential work of reference and is destined to be valued a vital onestop research and pedagogic resource. Al qaeda planned and carried out the september 11, 2001 attacks of the world trade center towers in new york city and the pentagon in washington, d. Alqaedas declaration of war against americans praise be to allah, who revealed the book koran, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in his book. Al qaeda arabic for the base is a complex international islamist terrorist network made up of regional affiliate organizations and clandestine cells with varying degrees of communication with osama bin laden and ayman al zawahiri, the groups ideological and operational leaders. However, also like the far enemy, gergess new book has much to recommend. The rise and fall of alqaeda middle east policy council. The book is slim but could have stood to be even slimmer with better editing.

Books about the pursuit of al qaeda the new york times. Jul 12, 2003 in this extract from his new book, alqaeda. Far from the battlefields of iraq and afghanistan, the united states and alqaeda are fighting a clandestine war of drones and suicide bombers in an unforgiving corner of arabia. Aug 06, 2006 in one of the most remarkable scenes in the book, ali soufan, an f. Jason burkes description of the structure and role that alqaeda play as. As a double agent at the heart of alqaedas chemical weapons programme, he foiled attacks on civilians and saved countless lives, brushing with death so often.

He was ubiquitous and palpable, both in a physical and a cyberspectral form, to the extent that his death took on something of the feel of an exorcism. The definitive work on al qaeda, this book is based on five years of research, including extensive interviews with its members. Alqaeda defector alfadl, who was a former member of qatar charity, testified in court that abdullah mohammed yusef, who served as qatar charitys director, was affiliated to alqaeda and simultaneously to the national islamic front, a political group that gave alqaeda leader osama bin laden harbor in sudan in the early 1990s. Compiled by paul cruickshank, a new yorkbased investigative journalist and one of cnns top correspondents on terrorism, this. Alqaeda and the road to 911, is one of the few must read books of 2006. The third rose between 2009 and 2011, driven by the emergence of the radical cleric anwar al awlaki in yemen, and concluded with the killing of osama bin laden and several other qaeda. In his book, invisible balance of power, published in 2005, sajjad shaukat has taken present different war as an interaction of state terrorism led by the united states and the group terrorism by the al qaeda or islamic militants. The al qaeda manual the attached manual was located by the manchester england metropolitan police during a search of an al qaeda members home. The longest war also draws on these interviews and looks at al qaeda after 911, but most of the text focuses on u. Al qaeda is fully indexed and has a comprehensive introduction, newly written by the editor, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context.

I came away from reading the book thinking that al qaeda will find it difficult. This is an incomplete list of books about al qaeda. Drawing on unparalleled access to osama bin laden and his key associates, journalist abdel bari atwan gives an incisive and timely account. Osama bin laden sits with his adviser al zawahiri during an interview with pakistani journalist hamid mir, in november 2001. List of books and articles about al qaeda online research. Alqaeda has an organisational structure and it appears that bin laden was still very much involved in it whilst he was in the compound, but all its various affiliates are still going strong. Following azzams assassination, the ideological vacuum in alqaeda was filled by dr. Bin laden led al qaeda to both triumphs and disasters, and his. List of books and articles about al qaeda online research library. This approach makes for a harder read but allows the different views of bin laden and al qaedas history to shine forth, helping the reader understand the organizations complexity. The awardwinning bbc documentary maker tells us what hes learned in 10 years investigating al qaeda, and suggests what we should read to understand where the group came from, and what its still trying to do. Al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri 2001 in knights under the prophets banner which was released by al sharq al awsat. Gerges repeats dozens of times his contention that the terrorist threat is overblown and alqaeda is dead. Most shed light on our understanding of how al qaeda emerged as a potent threat to regimes.

Few american writers understand the phenomenon of islambased terrorism better than writer lawrence wright, whose 2006 book the looming tower comprehensively detailed the rise of alqaeda from its roots in the muslim brotherhood to the 911 attacks. In 1985, al zawahiri went to saudi arabia on hajj and stayed to practice medicine in jeddah for a year. Here is an annotated list of some of the more useful books on those subjects. Aug 24, 2002 it has become synonymous with the terrorist attacks of september 11 but what is the origin of the name al qaida. Wright is the author of ten books, including the looming tower. Another factor is that a different jihadi organization, the islamic state, eclipsed al qaeda over the past decade.

The qaeda al noorania is a method that is designed just for the purpose. The best books on alqaeda five books expert recommendations. The secret history of al qaeda, updated edition atwan, abdel bari on. Discover librarianselected research resources on al qaeda from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines.

Alqaeda and the road to 911 is a 2006 nonfiction book by lawrence wright. In these pages, lawrence wright examines alqaeda as it experiences a. Al qaeda, broadbased militant islamist organization founded by osama bin laden in the late 1980s. Isis the ruling to kill the americans and their allies civilians and military is an individual duty for every muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al aqsa mosque and the holy mosque mecca from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of islam, defeated and unable to threaten any muslim. The length, language, and organization of the search for al qaeda provide a glimpse into the mindset of a widely misunderstood and misrepresented enemy. In this original and provocative book, nahed artoul zehr explores the theological underpinnings of alqaeda and related islamic movements such as isis.

A brief summary of the soviet invasion of afghanistan in 1979, of the us invasion of iraq in 2003, and how these historic events were related to terrorism, and more specifically to al qaeda and the islamic state. Holbrook examines the strategic thinking of alqaeda under its leader ayman alzawahiri with care, rigour and insight. He writes in a new book, called american radical, about infiltrating terrorist groups at home and abroad. The manual was found in a computer file described as the military series related to the declaration of jihad.

Ayman al zawahiri worked in the medical field as a surgeon. It began as a logistical network to support muslims fighting against the soviet union during the afghan war and transformed into the active terrorist organization known for carrying out the september 11 attacks of 2001. Despite our tendency to dismiss islamic extremism as profoundly irrational, alqaeda is not without a coherent body of beliefs. This book gets five stars for all the useful information it contains. This is a book which will enlighten and inform all students of islamic militancy, inside and outside government, veteran or novice, the specialist and the general reader alike. Al qaeda defector al fadl, who was a former member of qatar charity, testified in court that abdullah mohammed yusef, who served as qatar charitys director, was affiliated to al qaeda and simultaneously to the national islamic front, a political group that gave al qaeda leader osama bin laden harbor in sudan in the early 1990s. In one of the most remarkable scenes in the book, ali soufan, an f. The awardwinning bbc documentary maker tells us what hes learned in 10 years investigating alqaeda, and suggests what we should read to understand where the group came from, and what its still trying to do. The book was originally conceived by sheikh noor muhammad haqqani, born in the year 1841 in punjab, india.

The al qaeda franchise asks why al qaeda adopted a branchingout strategy, introducing seven franchises spread over the middle east, africa, and south asia. A survey of books about osama bin laden and al qaeda the. Alqaedas continuing challenge to the united states lawfare. Al qaeda expert daniel byman has argued that this record indicates the groups decline, and some see the reported death of hamza bin ladenonce tipped to succeed ayman al zawahirifurthering al qaeda s demise. These official communications are introduced and contextualised to provide the reader with a comprehensive sourcebook, outlining the alqaeda leaderships stance on the challenges to its existence since the death of bin laden. It is a historical look at the way in which the militant organization alqaeda came into being, the background for various terrorist attacks and how they were investigated.

This book is a good summary of the war on terror from the founding of al qaeda in 1988 to just before the death of osama bin laden in 2011, when this book was published. Al qaeda al qaeda training manual inside the terror. As a reportedly qualified surgeon, when his organization merged with bin ladens al qaeda, he became bin ladens personal advisor and physician. Unfortunately, the rise and fall of al qaeda suffers from a great deal of repetition.

What to read on bin laden and al qaeda foreign affairs. The rather silly cover of his book on the subject belies what is in fact a thorough, erudite, dispassionate and compelling account of the rise of radical islam, of which al qaeda in its strict sense is really only a small part. Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever you find themseize them, besiege them, and be ready to ambush them 9. Most of the world thinks it is a takfiri and terrorist organization members of alqaeda have performed many acts of terrorism. The vision of alqaedas senior leadership is to make the organizations one and the same. For each case, he probes primary sources and applies a series of questions to determine the precise involvement of al qaeda. Alqaeda and the road to 911 by lawrence wright, the panther by nelson demille, the black banners. What is unique about it is that it teaches kids the alphabet, the correct pronunciation and even the tajweed rules of the quran at the same time.

Al qaeda claims that the fight in afghanistan bankrupted the soviet union in the 1980s and led to its collapse, and that the united states too is being driven to the brink of ruin. Giles foden on how bin laden may have been inspired by. Burke has spent a number of years in various islamic hot spots saudi, afghanistan. Al qaeda and the road to 911, which spent eight weeks on the new york times bestseller list and was awarded the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction. The book describes how the september 11 attacks changed the traditional muslim community around the globe. The rise of affiliated groups such as al qaeda the arabian peninsula and al qaeda in the islamic maghreb is a new and important development and. The awardwinning bbc documentary maker tells us what hes learned in 10 years investigating. Cole in yemen, which left 17 american sailors dead. Apr 29, 2015 al qaeda often takes a similar approach to western aid workers operating in its midst. The main theme of shahzads book is how the dynamic between alqaeda and the taliban, afghanistans sons of the soil, has evolved over time. Time magazine pronounced it one of the 100 best nonfiction books ever written. Forming franchises was not an inevitable outgrowth of al qaeda s ideology or its u. At least, it comes closest to the sense of alqaeda that ive arrived at after a lot of library research.

A counterterrorism expert explains how we got here and what. She demonstrates how this marginal narrative transformed alqaeda from a relatively hierarchical and regional organization to a globalized, decentralized, and diffuse system of networks. The true story of radical islam on a hot summers day in 1996 a plane carrying osama bin laden and a few friends and family landed at a runway just outside the eastern afghan city of jalalabad. It has become synonymous with the terrorist attacks of september 11 but what is the origin of the name al qaida. The alqaeda franchise asks why al qaeda adopted a branchingout strategy, introducing seven franchises spread over the middle east, africa, and south asia. Burke is knowledgeable, fair, broad, deep, and occasionally eloquent. After all, transnational terrorist organizations can expand through other organizational strategies.

Burke is convincing in his arguments that alqaeda the actual organisation was never more than a hardcore of twenty or thirty militants, was not more than indirectly associated with many of the terrorist acts attributed to them, and was dispersed, incapacitated and in large part eliminated after the war in afghanistan. Exposing islams new war on christians 20 and the al qaeda reader 2007. This approach makes for a harder read but allows the different views of bin laden and al qaeda s history to shine forth, helping the reader understand the organizations complexity. The best way to teach kids to read arabic qaeda al noorania. After seven years of reading books and articles about alqaeda and violent political islamists, i might just now have read the best book of the bunch. Shrouded as he was for a decade in an apparent cloak of anonymity and obscurity, osama bin laden was by no means an invisible man. In the last two years, quite a few books have been published about al qaeda and its leader, osama bin laden. This book provides the reader with professional translations of zawahiris key statements during his first five years as leader of alqaeda.

Now, for the first time, the al qaeda reader gathers together the essential texts and documents that trace the origin, history, and evolution of the ideas of alqaeda founders ayman alzawahiri and osama bin laden. The al qaeda reader by raymond ibrahim, paperback barnes. The war against alqaeda georgetown university press. A stunningly wellresearched opus that puts the catastrophe in vibrant context. Destroying bin ladens jihad and restoring americas honor is a nonfiction book about counterterrorism strategies towards alqaeda, written by u. The following excerpts are from a document found by the police in manchester, england, during a search of an al qaeda members home. Casting a shadow of terror, the observers chief reporter, jason burke, looks at the true nature of bin ladens organisation and why the wests. Al qaeda was also responsible for the 2,000 strike against the u. Now, for the first time, the al qaeda reader gathers together the essential texts and documents that trace the origin, history, and evolution of the ideas of al qaeda founders ayman al zawahiri and osama bin laden. Alqaeda began as a logistical network to support muslims fighting against the soviet union during the afghan war. Of all the books released this year, lawrence wrights exhaustively researched and extraordinarily wellwritten the looming tower. Bruce riedels the search for al qaeda is more timely now than ever, as osama bin laden, the al qaeda leader who eluded united states and allied forces for nearly a decade, was killed in a.

The attached manual was located by the manchester england. Alqaeda in the arabian peninsula and in yemen were much more directly involved with bin laden in pakistan. Alqaida alsulbah mixes a type of revolutionary vanguardism, borrowed from european political philosophy, with islamic martyrdom. Inside al qaeda examines the leadership, ideology, structure, strategies, and tactics of the most violent politicoreligious organization the world has ever seen. Chapter 8 looks at amer azizi and the alqaeda link to 311 including historic links in hamburg before 911 that suggests spain spain of the cross was a longheld alqaeda target. Al qaeda in bosnia and herzegovina is the al qaeda branch based in bosnia and herzegovina, formed during the bosnian war in 1992.

In the al qaeda factor he examines sixteen al qaeda associated plots and attacks, from the 1993 world trade center bombing to today. Bin laden also was reported to have financed or trained islamic guerrillas operating in kosovo, kashmir, the philippines. Like other totalitarian movements, the movements leaders have rationalized their brutality in a number of published treatises. Reality of invisible balance of power naveed ahmed in his book, invisible balance of power, published in 2005, sajjad shaukat has taken present different war as an interaction of state terrorism led by the united states and the group terrorism by the al qaeda or islamic militants. The document, which has since been described by the fbi as the. A wellknown hardliner, zawahiri became the principal strategist of the jihad movement, transforming bin laden and alqaeda significantly. A california sorority girl has revealed in a new book how she became a cia agent, foiled al qaeda plots around the world after 911, and interviewed captured terrorists in the middle east. Giles foden on how bin laden may have been inspired by isaac asimovs foundation. In the aftermath of the september 11th attacks, alqaeda has become the most infamous terrorist organization in history. Al qaeda, the islamic state, and the global jihadist movement. I came away having finished this book feeling much better informed about radical islam.