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by AB-Joel on April 9th, 2004

AB-Joel

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What is Al Qaeda's stated agenda or purpose?

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  • by Lemongrass on February 9th, 2005

    Lemongrass

    Further to the previous answer, I would add that Al Qaeda do not recognise nation states at all. They see them as a western construct (indeed, they are!). They envisage a world united under Muslim law - no less than another 'Caliphate' - which became defunct after the 'Young Turks' modernised Turkey after World War I. I think it also important to realise that the US invasion of Iraq was highly offensive to many Muslims because Iraq is sacred ground. Baghdad was the home of the Caliphs (leaders and descendants of Mohammed - the papacy is the nearest western analogy) for hundreds of years. Moreover, one of the stated aims of the Prophet was to never relinquish conquered land. This means that Al Quaeda will have an agenda that includes re-establishing the map of Europe as it was during the 14th-15th century, when Islam lorded over Spain and where knocking on the door of Austria. The problem with Al Qaeda and many Muslim countries is that Islam is not conducive to modernisation like the Christian Church is. Christianity has gone through many reformations and counter-reformations, and continues to do so. Islam has not and finds it difficult to exist in the modern world. Al Qaeda's conservatism becomes ever more extreme the more the world becomes secularised.

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  • by Sketchy Mess Jeoffory on March 7th, 2007

    Sketchy Mess Jeoffory

    The United States Department of Defense defines Al-Qaeda as:

    "A radical Sunni Muslim umbrella organization established to recruit young Muslims into the Afghani mujahideen and is aimed to establish Islamist states throughout the world, overthrow ‘un-Islamic regimes’, expel US soldiers and Western influence from the Gulf, and capture Jerusalem as a Muslim city."

    In addition Osama bin-Laden released a statement declaring the religious edict to all Muslims in which he said:

    "[t]he ruling to kill the Americans and their allies- civilians and military— is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem) and the holy mosque (in Makka) from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah, 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah'."

    I also found this at http://www.infoplease.com/spot/al-qaeda-terrorism.html :

    "Ideology and Goals

    The principal stated aims of al-Qaeda are to drive Americans and American influence out of all Muslim nations, especially Saudi Arabia; destroy Israel; and topple pro-Western dictatorships around the Middle East. Bin Laden has also said that he wishes to unite all Muslims and establish, by force if necessary, an Islamic nation adhering to the rule of the first Caliphs.

    According to bin Laden's 1998 fatwa (religious decree), it is the duty of Muslims around the world to wage holy war on the U.S., American citizens, and Jews. Muslims who do not heed this call are declared apostates (people who have forsaken their faith). "

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  • by Duane Roelands on April 27th, 2004

    Duane Roelands

    It seeks to rid Muslim countries of what it sees as the profane influence of the West and replace their governments with fundamentalist Islamic regimes.

    In an al-Qaeda house in Afghanistan, New York Times reporters found a brief statement of the “Goals and Objectives of Jihad”:

    - Establishing the rule of God on earth
    - Attaining martyrdom in the cause of God
    - Purification of the ranks of Islam from the elements of depravity

    In 1998, several al-Qaeda leaders issued a declaration calling on Muslims to kill Americans—including civilians—as well as “those who are allied with them from among the helpers of Satan.”

    (http://cfrterrorism.org/groups/alqaeda.html)

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  • by alreadydead on March 16th, 2007

    alreadydead

    To destroy Freedom, free world, to establish the Sharia in whole world. in their eyes our world is evil, satanic and bad.

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  • by tripwire on November 23rd, 2006

    tripwire

    I think their first stated objective was to remove the western presence from their holy lands,like Saudi Arabia. Apparently Bin Laden felt snubbed by the Saudi leaders in 1990, when he offered to protect them from Saddam Hussein, with his holy fighters (Mujahidin)but they politely declined and accepted the American governments offer of troops instead. This was seen as highly offensive by the ultra conservative leaders of what was to soon become Al Qaeda (the base)
    Having built up their confidence in their own invincibility after seeing the Russians withdraw from Afghanistan, they felt they could also take on the other super power and with the help of Allah, show them who was boss too. Now, I think their thinking has mutated from a set objective to a more all encompassing ideology, which means, short of killing every non believer in the world, they have no real goal or point at which they can say, "We've succeeded, and now we can stop!"

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