A Blog about Middle Eastern & North African Politics, Society and Culture
Abstract Dr. Abdullah Azzam has been seen as the father of global jihad both by analysts and indeed al-Qaeda itself. Al-Qaeda and Jihadis of all varieties claim him to be… Continue reading "When Abdullah Azzam met Ahmed Shah Massoud"
Writing about and covering Muslim jihadi militancy for more than half a decade now, I realise that Westerners, analysts, journalists or otherwise find Arab names extremely difficult to grasp. One… Continue reading "The Problem with Abu Bakr, Osama Bin Laden and Zarqawi: An explanation of Arabic names"
For the forthcoming book, To the Mountains: My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan by Abdullah Anas and Tam Hussein, (Hurst), 2019, I thought I would add materials that are useful… Continue reading "An Interview with Umm Mohammed: The Wife of Bin Laden’s Spiritual Mentor Abdullah Azzam"
The Afghan Jihad: An Annotated Interview with Musa al-Qarni about Abdullah Azzam and Ahmed Shah Massoud and the tension with the ‘Afghan Arabs’ In my research into the Arab Afghans… Continue reading "Musa al-Qarni on the Afghan Jihad"