Osama Bin Laden's Influence On Terrorism

Terrorism is not a phenomenon that emerged within recent years. Over the course of decades, the battle between many religious groups over territory in the middle east has been a constant problem. To better understand the issue between the territories we would have to do extensive research to understand what lead to the formation of current radical Islamic groups. Although these radical groups associate themselves to Islam, Muslims condemn their actions. Sayyad Qutb fervent Egyptian nationalist and anticommunist stance would become ideas for his Islamic fundamentalism. He despised westerners because of the support they had provided the Israelis. In addition, his experience in American confirmed his views of it being a scandalous, materialistic,
sexual driven culture. The death of his contemporary and intellectual rival cleared the way for his conversion to the Muslim Brothers. His sour impression about American values, culture, and the concept of race would shape the Arab and Muslim perception of the new world. His writing would emphasize separation of the sacred, secular, state and religion, science and theology, and mind and spirt. He believed that the only way for Muslims to recapture their rightful place and be the dominant culture in the world was by making Islam the center of Muslims lives. While in prison Qutb managed to smuggle out Milestones, published in 1964. The book was quickly banned, but five copies had been printed before. He endorsed the idea of Islamic teachings and that it was the only way humanity could be saved. He encouraged generations of young Muslims to initiate the movement of Islamic revival in Muslim countries. He became the designated Muslim to proclaim the birth of the Islamic movement and was named the father of the Islamic movement. Fast forward to more recent years, other events added to the creation of Islamic terrorism. For example, in 1979 and 1980, the Shi’ite Iranian revolutionary overthrow of the shah’s oppressive, modernizing, pro-Western regime brought the first Islamist state to power.
That historic event, combined with the week-long Islamist take- over of Mecca in the fall of 1979, provoked a brutal response against Islamist politics among the authoritarian regimes of the Middle East (joseph Schwartz). It is possible that Sayyed could be blamed for the initiation of the Islam states and if we fast forward to the most recent terrorist attacks in the United States we can see the influence that Osama bin Laden had on terrorism. In the eyes of Osama Bin Laden, the United States were to blame for all of the injustice that Muslims were put through. Bin Laden strongly believed that the United States was responsible for the humiliating failure of the Arabs to succeed. Bin Laden dated his hatred towards America in 1982. After America permitted the Israelis to invade Lebanon it provoked his intense desire to fight tyranny and longed for revenge. His frustration of American troops and Jews in Palestine also advocated his violence against the United States. In bin Laden’s words, punishing the oppressors by destroying towers in America, in the way towers in Lebanon were demolished would give Americans a taste of what they had
tasted. Many of Bin Laden’s countrymen date the moment of his total radicalization to the announcement of the king’s decision. The king of Saudi Arabia cancelled bin Laden’s citizenship. After the announcement Bark bin Laden, Osama’s eldest brother, publicly condemned Osama and his family turned their back on him. To be expelled from the country was to be banished from these intricate relationships. Citizenship is closely guarded as property and rarely awarded to foreigners. In addition, the Interior Ministry ordered bin Laden’s family to cut him off, and it seized his share of the company- about $7 million. The fact that his only real source of income was taken away was a turning point for al-Qaeda’s organization. The organization relied on Bin Laden’s income to continue operating and recruiting new members. His leadership held together al-Qaeda which had now been bankrupted and thrown into exile. On may 18,1996 he was forced to leave Sudan his family scatted and broken. The organization he had built was torn apart. He held America responsible for the crushing reversal that had led him to this state. “Political grievances do not motivate most of the individuals who hold them to attack innocent civilians. But it is ludicrous to think that the Arab-Israeli conflict and the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with the motivation of Al Qaeda operatives” (joseph Schwartz)