The Rise in Radical Islamic Terrorism Against The United States

The Rise in Radical Islamic Terrorism Against The United States

The Islamic terrorism against the United States is being waged by the organization calling itself Al-Qaeda . It was organized by Osama Bin Laden sometime in 1980 to unite Arab fighters who were battling the forces of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan . It has since grown into a multi-national entity which is trying to establish its presence worldwide and is estimated to have a membership of several thousands found in many countries around the world . Al-Qaeda was based in Afghanistan from its inception

in late 1980 until 2001 when the Taliban regime was overthrown which left Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden without a permanent home . The ultimate objective of Al-Qaeda is the establishment of a worldwide pan-Islamic Caliphate ' by working with all Islamic extremist organizations for the purpose of overthrowing all non-Islamic ' regimes everywhere in the world . It is also bent on driving out all non-Muslims - specifically Westerners - from all Islamic countries , particularly Saudi Arabia . A February 1998 statement issued by al-Qaeda under the name World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders ' stated that all Muslims are duty-bound to kill Americans and their friends wherever they could be found (Pike Aftergood , 2005

Bin Laden 's personal crusade against the United States started after the Gulf War of 1991 . For him , the entry of the military forces of the United States and its allies into Saudi Arabia was not only a great insult to the birthplace of Islam ' - it also betrayed the Islamic community of the world . For this reason he strongly advocated for the eviction of all military forces of the United States and its allies , in the process severely criticizing the royal family of Saudi Arabia for allowing their presence in the kingdom . He was not only rebuffed by the leaders and the government of Saudi Arabia , however , but was altogether expelled from the country . It enraged Bin Laden , who consequently focused his ire on the United States . Several years later , in 1996 , he declared a jihad ' or a holy war against the United States (Blanchard , 2007

He asserted that the United States has been leading a crusade against Islam , in effect alluding to the theory advanced by Samuel Huntington which predicted an impending clash of civilizations ' He cited as an example of the U .S .-led crusade against Islam the massacres in Tajikistan , Burma , Kashmir , Assam , the Philippines , Fatani [as transliterated] , Ogaden , Somalia , Eritrea , Chechnya , and Bosnia-Herzegovina ' According to him , the United States should be punished for such atrocities against Muslims . Since then , he orchestrated and /or supported attacks against the United States and other countries he considered as anti-Islamic forces , claiming that a holy war would only be a defensive action on the part of Muslims who are on the brink of annihilation in the hands of the Americans (Blanchard 2007 ) Some of the attacks against U . S . installations attributed to Al-Qaeda were the 1998 bombings of the embassies of the United States in Tanzania...