Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda was established by Usama Bin Laden, son of a billionaire Saudi family, in the late 1980s to bring together Arabs who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion. It helped finance, recruit, transport, and train Sunni Islamic extremists for the Afghan resistance. The current goal of the organization is to establish a pan-Islamic Caliphate throughout the world by working with allied Islamic extremist groups to overthrow regimes it considers “non-Islamic” and expelling Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries. It issued statement under the banner of “The World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders” in February 1998, saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill U.S. citizens – civilian or military – and their allies everywhere.

Source: Kurt M. Campbell, Michele A. Flournoy “To Prevail”

Jihad - literally means to “struggle in the way of God” or “to struggle to improve one's self and/or society”. It is sometimes referred to as the sixth pillar of Islam, although it occupies no official status as such. Within Islamic jurisprudence, jihad is usually taken to mean military exertion against non-Muslim combatants but there are other ways to perform jihad as well. In broader usage and interpretation, the term has accrued both violent and non-violent meanings. It can imply striving to live a moral and virtuous life, spreading and defending Islam, and fighting injustice and oppression, among other things. In the languages of non-Islamic cultures, the term is usually used to refer to Muslim 'Holy War' or any violent strife invoking Allah.

Source: Wikipedia

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