ABSTRACT
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