246 ISLAM AT WAR
larly Saudi Arabia where Osama bin Laden believes the presence of
American troops is a violation of Koranic proscriptions, and (2) to estab-
lish a pan-Islamic caliphate throughout the world by working with allied
Islamic extremist groups to overthrow regimes it deems non-Islamic.
To restate the second point, it is Al-Qaeda’s goal is to “unite all Muslims
and to establish a government that follows the rule of the Caliphs.” He
has stated that the only way to establish the caliphate is by force, a thread
clearly supported by the Koran. Al-Qaeda’s goal, therefore, is to over-
throw all Muslim governments viewed as corrupt, to drive Western influ-
ence from those countries, and eventually to abolish state boundaries,
essentially reestablishing the Islamic state that had existed under the early
caliphs.
According to Osama bin Laden’s “Declaration of War against the Amer-
icans,” occupation of the land of the two “Holy Places” (Mecca and Me-
dina), is the greatest aggression suffered by the Muslims since the death
of the Prophet. He considers it even worse than the Crusades.
Beyond that, it sees the United States as the chief obstacle to reform in
Muslim societies. To support its ends, Al-Qaeda also supports Muslim
fighters in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bosnia, Chechnya, Eritrea, Kosovo, Pa-
kistan, Somalia, Tajikistan, and Yemen. It also trains members of terrorist
organizations from such diverse countries as the Philippines, Algeria, and
Eritrea. These diverse connections clearly indicate that Al-Qaeda and its
leader Osama bin Laden have world-level plans and are not simply fo-
cused on the Middle East. They seek to bring death and destruction to
Dar ul-Harib (the Land of War), as defined by Muhammad, in their move-
ment toward the establishment of Islam as the single world religion.
Bin Laden has said, in reference to some of his terrorists, “What I know
is that those who risked their lives to earn the pleasure of God, Praise and
Glory be to him, are the real men, the true personification of the word
men [i.e., true Muslims], They managed to rid the Islamic nation of dis-
grace.” His response clearly demonstrates his total commitment to the
concept of a religious jihad against the United States and belief that those
involved were implementing the will of Allah.
Al-Qaeda is not a numerically large organization and until recently was
believed to consist of about 3,000 members, including an estimated few
hundred each of Egyptians, Jordanians, Yemenis, and Iraqis, and a few
dozen each of Syrians, Algerians, Sudanese, Tunisians, Moroccans, and
Palestinians. Other estimates place the number of members much higher.
Many Al-Qaeda members are veteran mujahedin of the Afghan war
against the Soviets. These militants fight not only for their cause, but also
because it is the only life they know. The mujahedin connection is an