The physiology of Al- Qaeda: from ideology to participation

Introduction Al-­Qaeda,­ the­ first­ multinational­ terrorist­ group­ of­ the­ twenty-­first­ century,­ embodies­the­new­enigmatic­face­of­terrorism.­Few­other­issues­–­if­any­at­all­–­ have­ received­ more­ public­ attention,­ yet­ speculations­ about­ the­ strength­ and­ extent­of­Al-­Qaeda,­bewildering­descriptions­of­a­shadowy­network,­undercover­ terrorist­ cells,­ new­ arrests­ and­ imminent­ dangers­ create­ alarm­ but­ not­ much­ clarity.­“Al-­Qaeda­not­driven­by­ideology”­is­the­conclusion­reached­by­a­Pentagon intelligence team,1­while­ according­ to­ Stephen­ Schwartz,­ amongst­ others,­ “Osama­ bin­ Ladin­ and­ his­ followers­ belong­ to­ a­ puritanical­ variant­ of­ Islam­ known­ as­ Wahhabism”.2­ Drawing­ extensively­ from­ the­ writings­ of­ Quintan­ Wiktorowicz,­more­recent­discussions­consider­Al-­Qaeda­as­a­sub-­group­of­the­ Salafi­ movement,­ characterized­ by­ “strict­ adherence­ to­ the­ model­ of­ Prophet­ Muhammad­and­rejection­of­a­role­for­human­reason­and­desire”.3 According to this­logic,­“Salafis­are­united­in­their­religious­belief.­Islamic­pluralism­does­not­ exist.”4