Abdullah Yusuf Azzam

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 CHAPTER 2 Ayman al- Zawahiri Goal in life: to put Qutb?s vision into action At age 15, he formed an underground cell devoted to overthrowing the government and establishing an Islamist state. 1967 war with Israel Israel captured all of the Sinai, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Golan Heights It crushed the forces of the frontline Arab states This was a psychological turning point in the history of the modern Middle East War continued? Muslims not only lost their armies and their territories, but also their faith in their leaders, their countries, and in themselves. They began to say that God had turned against the Muslims The only way back to Him was to return to the pure religion: Islam is the solution Zawahiri?s goals