al qaeda before 2001

conchubhar1

hi, i am looking for any information on al-qaeda before 2001

what acts did they commit before 9/11?

thanks

Overheal

Look harder,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda#History

Serenity Now!

Wikipedia & Politics/Foreign Affairs? LOL

Get a book called Ghost Wars by Steve Coll. Everything you need to know on this subject is in there. It also has an extensive recommended bibliography so you needn't just stop there.

solice

I was given a book called "Full Tilt" as a present recently. Its a true story about a woman from Wexfod who cycled from Ireland to India. The most amzing thing about the book was that she cycled through Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan (including the Swat Valley) and it would seem that she was treated with great respect throughout each country. She described each country as being spectacular and the people as being warm and friendly. They gave her food and refused to take money from her. She made the trip back in the 50s but there was no sign of fundamentalism or that women were being treated as they are today.

It really got me thinking as to how such an organisation like al qaeda could become so strong in such a relatively short time.

mike65

The answer the that is a mix of Soviet and US "imperialism" which was played out in the various "stans" and other spots like Egypt (where the founder of Islamism Sayyid Qutb was born) post WW2 and which provided a backdrop for pan-nationalist Political Islam to flourish.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Just one thing to remember. Al Qaeda isn't a terrorist organisation like the IRA/ETA

It's more of an ideology. You'll notice every attack committed in the name of militant islam is attributed to Al Qaeda even if there's no connection to Bin Laden/Al Zawihiri

Great book by Jason Burke called Al-Qaeda if you're interested in finding out more

procure11

I think this post would be more appropriate in the conspiracy theory section IMO ...

Victor

mike65 wrote: »

The answer the that is a mix of Soviet and US "imperialism" which was played out in the various "stans" and other spots like Egypt (where the founder of Islamism Sayyid Qutb was born) post WW2 and which provided a backdrop for pan-nationalist Political Islam to flourish.

Also, the changes in Saudi Arabia in 1979. With the fall of the Shah in Iran, the USA shifted its support in the region to Saudi Arabia. While the régime in Saudi Arabia had been seen as extreme since the country was formed, a 1979 revolt saw any liberalisations reversed and the education system turned over to Wahhibism. Concurrent with the rise in the price of oil, these measures saw the funding of the "export" of Wahhibism and intervention in Afghanistan by the USA, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Mosque_Seizure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Hamid_Mohammed_Al-Qahtani_(dissident_leader)

DTrotter

What Bottle of Smoke says, go with Jason Burke.

conchubhar1

thanks all

pfff wikipedia - ye ill check that bastion of facts right now

conspiracy section, no. if i wanted it there i would have posted it there

DTrotter

procure11 wrote: »

I think this post would be more appropriate in the conspiracy theory section IMO ...

Why, as far as I see there are facts in this section.

Overheal

conchubhar1 wrote: »

thanks all

pfff wikipedia - ye ill check that bastion of facts right now

assuming you find inconsistencies you are welcome to share.

conchubhar1

thanks everybody

its wikipedia - its riddled with them