However, this would represent a first and most visible connection between the political imperatives and the religious ideology which connected to render al-Qaeda's guiding vision in the years to come. He would go on to cite the evils of Zionism, communism and imperialism, all of which he viewed as explicit threats posted by the world against the Islamic faith. Given the various military and political confrontations which had persisted between Islam and these forces across history, we can at least gather from Wright's work that the threat which al-Qaeda would come ultimately to represent to the developed world was explicitly stated and intended for decades in preparation for September 11th.
A similarly humanizing description of Osama bin Ladin helps to remove some of the demonization which is produced by the Western media and political leadership, that has served to obscure the true motives and implications of the militant Islamic movement. While one might object to the humanizing of so objectionable a subject, it does help to shed some light onto a subject that is too frequently and problematically misunderstood by Americans. The characterization of the militant Islamic movement as something bred from outright hatred, evil and insanity is a critical misunderstanding of the ideological underpinnings that would help to justify in the minds of its perpetrators the September 11th attacks. As Wright provides the story of bin Laden's origins, we come to understand some of the forces that produced his eventual affiliations.
This is one of the more eye-opening elements of the text, and suggests bin Laden as a man with a genuine and deep commitment to what he believes are righteous values. Wright tells that "in Osama's fourteenth year he experienced a religious and political awakening. Some ascribe the change to a charismatic Syrian gym teacher at the school who was a member of the Muslim Brothers. Osama stopped watching cowboy shows. Outside of school, he refused to wear Western dress. Sometimes he would wit in front of the television and weep over the news from Palestine. 'In his teenage years, he was the same nice kid,' his mother later related. "But he was more concerned, sad, and frustrated about the situation in Palestine in particular, and the Arab and Muslim world in general.' He tried to explain his feelings to his friends and family, but his passion left them nonplussed. 'He through Muslims are not close enough to Allah, and Muslim youth are too busy playing and having fun,' his mother concluded." (Wright, 87)
This is a compelling description of a man who American authorities have elevated as the man most responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the ensuing War on Terror. There is nothing inaccurate in that element of the portrait painted by U.S. authorities and intelligence, but works such as Wright's promote a far more nuanced understanding of the conditions inclining the ultimate acts of aggression that motivate our interest in Middle East affairs.
Key Findings:
In doing so, he also produces what may be seen as the key finding of his work. Namely, the failure of the United States to prevent the attacks of September 11th may be attributed to a stubborn refusal of Americans either to understand the nature of this enemy or to take it seriously as it demonstrated its determination time and time again. In addition to the implications of radical Islam and the varying interpretations of Koranic law that have been used over centuries to mold differing sects and Muslim movements, there would be a startling refusal on the part of Americans to publicly acknowledge some of the more tangible reasons that men might be inclined to sacrifice their lives simply to reign destruction upon America.
Here, Wright indicates that beyond such stated imperatives as those scripturally driven claims by al-Zawahiri and bin Laden, the average participant in al-Qaeda's suicide missions and terrorist attacks suggests a pattern for men living in the...
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