September 11 attacks

THE LOOMING TOWER AL-QAEDA AND THE ROAD TO 9/11 CH. 9 THE SILICON VALLEY The Blind Sheikh His followers, living in a neighborhood known as Little Egypt in Jersey City, conspired to bring the World Trade Center towers down. He issued a fatwa in America that permitted his followers to rob banks and kill Jews. He called on Muslims to assail the West, ?cut the transportation of their countries, tear it apart, destroy their economy, burn their companies, eliminate their interests, sink their ships, shoot down their planes, kill them on the sea, air, or land.? bin Laden was financially backing his efforts. Ramzi Yousef Bombed the WTC in 1993 He was the first Islamist terrorist to attack the American homeland

THE LOOMING TOWER AL-QAEDA AND THE ROAD TO 9/11 CH. 7 RETURN OF THE HERO The Muttawa Government subsidized religious vigilantes Their goal was to stamp out sinfulness and heresy They were officially known as ?representatives of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice? They became the models for the Taliban in Afghanistan The Hero bin Laden assumed the role of the hero who could voice a longing for change and provide a focus for the rage of the young people. He offered a conventional, Muslim Brothers critique of the plight of the Arab World: The West, particularly the U.S. was responsible for the humiliating failure of the Arabs to succeed. After describing the American/Vietnam conflict he stated: ?They won?t stop until we do jihad against them.?