Al Qaeda

In 1984 Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin-Laden, and Ayman al-Zawahiri founded the Afghan Services Bureau to fund, recruit, and train Arabs fighting in Afghanistan as part of the CIA-backed jihadist opposition to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The eventual jihadist victory over the Soviets convinced them that Allah was with them and that they were destined to defeat infidels. Filled with new confidence in the power of jihad warriors, they decided to export jihad globally, and so founded al-Qaeda (“the base”) in 1988 to promote and expand global jihad.

Al-Qaeda is a Sunni organization whose goal is to create, through armed force, a global caliphate that will enforce Sharia law. Al-Qaeda believes that a Christian-Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam, that the killing of non-combatants is sanctioned by the Quran, that the practice of taqiyya (“deception”) is now required, and that strict Sharia law must be implemented. Al-Qaeda has been responsible for countless terrorist attacks around the world, including high profile attacks like the 9/11 attacks in the USA (2001), the 2002 and 2005 bombings in Bali, Indonesia, and the July 2005 bombings in London.

In the aftermath of the American attack on the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, the transformation of its Iraq branch into Islamic State, and the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011, al-Qaeda was forced to change its tactics. In attempts to evade being destroyed by global anti-terrorist efforts, al-Qaeda has adopted a less centralized structure. Regional groups are taking the lead. Al-Qaeda supports these regional affiliates from the shadows.

The rise of Islamic State brought a serious rivalry for global influence between IS and al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda sought to change its “public image” by discouraging jihadists from randomly killing women, children, and non-combatant Muslims, and from attacking mosques. One analyst suggests that al-Qaeda may be deliberately cultivating the false impression – to Western opponents – that they are weak, so that they can stay out of sight as they continue to help local Muslim communities to become more like them.

Now that IS has lost its territory in the Middle East, al-Qaeda is once again believed to be the world leader in Islamist insurgencies. It is mostly visible and active through its branches in places like Syria, North Africa, Mali, Somalia, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

Despite the global influence Al Qaeda has achieved, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but…against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12). This is a spiritual battle against our adversary, the devil, who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8).

We hate the darkness and underlying evil, and we grieve the resulting bloodshed and pain. Yet Jesus still says, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5:44). God’s love reaches not only those suffering under this oppression, but it reaches even into the ranks of Al Qaeda. Just as God transformed Saul into Paul through an encounter with Jesus, so can He transform today’s persecutors into tomorrow’s evangelists. And He is doing just that.