ABSTRACT
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, President Bush moved quickly to dismiss al-Qaeda operatives as part of the lunatic fringe, religious usurpers bent on misrepresenting and "hijacking" Islam to serve terrorism. This characterization was echoed in the Muslim world, where an assortment of government officials, religious scholars and opposition figures fervidly denounced the killing of civilians as un-Islamic. Al-Qaeda is a component of a broader "fundamentalist" community and as a result is actively engaged in debates about religious authority, the legitimacy of war and rules of engagement in combat. The debate within the Salafi community over the use of violence has divided the movement more than any other issue. A lack of credibility can undermine the effect of a religious interpretation or argument by leading an audience to question the intentions of the source and thus whether the message represents an honest assessment of Islam and the will of God.
