al-Qaeda
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
 | This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Please consider splitting content into sub-articles and using this article for a summary of the key points of the subject. (August 2010) |
| Al-Qaeda القاعدة | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates of operation | 11 August 1988 – present |
| Leader | Ayman al-Zawahiri |
| Active region(s) | Global |
| Ideology | Sunni Islamism Islamic fundamentalism Wahhabism[1] Pan-Islamism |
| Status | Designated as Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department[2] Designated as Proscribed Groupby the UK Home Office[3] Designated as terrorist group byEU Common Foreign and Security Policy[4] |
| Size | 500 – 1,000 operatives (2001);[5] |
Al-Qaeda (
/ælˈkaɪdə/ al-KY-də or /ælˈkeɪdə/ al-KAY-də; Arabic: القاعدة, al-qāʿidah, "the base" or "the database"), alternatively spelled al-Qaida and sometimes al-Qa'ida, is a militant Islamist group founded sometime between August 1988[6] and late 1989.[7] It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army[8] and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad.
Al-Qaeda has attacked civilian and military targets in various countries, most notably the September 11 attacks on New York City andWashington, D.C. in 2001. The U.S. government responded by launching the War on Terror. Al-Qaeda has continued to exist and grow through the decade from 2001 to 2011.[9]
Characteristic techniques include suicide attacks and simultaneous bombings of different targets.[10] Activities ascribed to it may involve members of the movement, who have taken a pledge of loyalty to Osama bin Laden, or the much more numerous "al-Qaeda-linked" individuals who have undergone training in one of its camps in Afghanistan, Iraq or Sudan, but not taken any pledge.[11]
Al-Qaeda ideologues envision a complete break from the foreign influences in Muslim countries, and the creation of a new Islamic caliphate. Reported beliefs include that a Christian-Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam,[12] which is largely embodied in the U.S.-Israel alliance, and that the killing of bystanders and civilians is religiously justified in jihad.
Al-Qaeda is also responsible for instigating sectarian violence among Muslims.[13] Al-Qaeda is intolerant of non-Sunni branches of Islam and denounce them with excommunications called "takfir". Al-Qaeda leaders regard liberal muslims, Shias, Sufis and other sects as heretics and sometimes issue attacks on their mosques and gatherings.[14] Examples of sectarian attacks include the Yazidi community bombings, Sadr City bombings, Ashoura Massacre and April 2007 Baghdad bombings.[15]
Al-Qaeda is also known as the International Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Crusaders and the Jews.[16
No comments:
Post a Comment