The terrorist organization selected for this report is al-Qaeda, which translates to The Base or The Foundation. Al-Qaeda, which was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, has spread its operations to different countries around the world, primarily targeting western countries, including the United States and Britain (Byman, 2015). The organization operates a network of Islamic extremists and jihadists that are willing to engage in operations that reflect on the overall expectations of the group. Different countries and international organizations, which include the United National Security Council (UNSC) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), have been on the forefront in trying to show al-Qaeda as a group that goes against the vision of peace in the world (Novenario, 2016). That has been a critical approach towards ensuring that the group is designated as one among some of the leading terrorist organizations in the world.
The founder leader of al-Qaeda was Osama bin Laden, who was killed through a targeted operation by the United States, after which the mantle of leadership was transferred to Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri. Under the direction of bin Laden, al-Qaeda was able to undertake some of the most notable terrorist attacks, including the 1998 United States embassy bombings in the East African countries of Kenya and Tanzania and the September 11, 2001 attacks conducted in the United States (Byman, 2015). Regarding its funding, most of the financing of the organization's operations in the 1990s was directly from bin Laden's wealth. Other sources of income for the organization include trading in heroin and support received from countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, as well as, a wide array of Qatari citizens. Through this support, al-Qaeda has been able to expand its reach, affecting different countries around the world, explicitly focused on targeting non-Muslims.
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Preferred Targets
An analysis of the successful attacks that al-Qaeda has undertaken in the past shows that the organization’s preferred targets are the western countries with a particular focus on the United States. Byman (2015) takes note of the fact that a little more than 50% of the attacks by al-Qaeda have been targeted at the United States, its establishments, and citizens as a way of highlighting its reach in the world. That can be supported by the fact that during the 1998 attacks in East Africa, al-Qaeda focused much of its attention towards the United States embassies in the two countries, which suggests that it finds itself viewing the United States as a threat. The support the al-Qaeda has received from the Muslim-majority countries has been on the basis that it can fight against the western states, which have invaded Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
Methods of Operation
Al-Qaeda, as a terrorist organization, prefers several methods of operations as a way of ensuring that it can propel its ideologies to different countries around the world. Firstly, the organization favours the use of suicide bombings that are specifically targeted at crowded locations, which include malls. In suicide bombings, members of the al-Qaeda organization explode suicide vests with the sole intention being towards inflicting death and injury to the people around them (Novenario, 2016). Secondly, members of the al-Qaeda also prefer using hijackings as another method of operation that facilitates their abilities to deliver on their expectations. An excellent example when the organization undertook the September 11 attacks, where its members were involved in the hijacking of commercial airlines. The individuals would later use the airlines to conduct raids on the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City, resulting in the death of over 3,000 people.
Political or Religious Ideology
The central political ideology associated with al-Qaeda’s operations revolves around the idea of having to remove all foreign influences within Muslim countries in the Middle East. The United States has been at the forefront in its invasion of the Middle Eastern countries as a way of exerting its influence in the region. That has served as a driving factor for the decision for more persons to join al-Qaeda, as they believe that the force exerted by the United States is not favourable for the region (Novenario, 2016). From a political perspective, the political leaders in the area have been involved in calling for western countries to avoid meddling with the affairs of Muslim countries.
From a religious point of view, al-Qaeda's ideology is driven by the need to create a new caliphate that would rule over the Muslim world where a strict form of sharia law would define countries. Al-Qaeda has shown its opposition for what it considers as human-made laws, which it believes do not conform to the ideals of Islam; thus, calling for its members to fight against these laws. Al-Qaeda has led its ideology from the perspective where it teaches Salafist jihadists that killing of non-combatants is an action that has been religiously sanctioned. The outcome that this has had is that it has led to a situation where a majority of the young people in the Middle East and other parts of the world have shown interest in joining the ranks of al-Qaeda (Byman, 2015). The young people believe that they are fighting in a religious war, which is otherwise known as Jihad.
References
Byman, D. (2015). Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the global jihadist movement: What everyone needs to know . London, UK: Oxford University Press.
Novenario, C. M. I. (2016). Differentiating Al Qaeda and the Islamic State through strategies publicized in Jihadist magazines. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism , 39 (11), 953-967.
