The Caravan : Abdallah Azzam and the rise of global jihad

Abdallah Azzam, the Palestinian cleric who led the mobilization of Arab fighters to Afghanistan in the 1980s, played a crucial role in the internationalization of the jihadi movement. Killed in mysterious circumstances in 1989 in Peshawar, Pakistan, he remains one of the most influential jihadi ideologues of all time. Here, in the first in-depth biography of Azzam, Thomas Hegghammer explains how Azzam came to play this role and why jihadism went global at this particular time. It traces Azzam's extraordinary life journey from a West Bank village to the battlefields of Afghanistan, telling the story of a man who knew all the leading Islamists of his time and frequented presidents, CIA agents, and Cat Stevens the pop star. It is, however, also a story of displacement, exclusion, and repression that suggests that jihadism went global for fundamentally local reasons. - Tells the entertaining story of Azzam's extremely eventful life, culminating in his extremely mysterious death - Explains why the jihadi movement went international in the 1980s, improving our understanding about this ideology and the people behind it - Revises early history of al-Qaida through the use of previously untapped primary sources —Publisher Abdallah Azzam, the Palestinian cleric who led the mobilization of Arab fighters to Afghanistan in the 1980s, played a crucial role in the internationalization of the jihadi movement. Killed in mysterious circumstances in 1989 in Peshawar, Pakistan, he remains one of the most influential jihadi ideologies of all time. Here, in the first in-depth biography of Azzam, Thomas Hegghammer explains how Azzam came to play this role and why jihadism went global at this particular time. It traces Azzam's extraordinary life journey from a West Bank village to the battlefields of Afghanistan, telling the story of a man who knew all the leading Islamists of his time and frequented presidents, CIA agents, and Cat Stevens the pop star. It is, however, also a story of displacement, exclusion, and repression that suggests that jihadism went global for fundamentally local reasons Dedication 6 Contents 8 Timelines 10 Maps 14 Illustrations 15 Table and Figure 17 Acknowledgments 18 Maps 22 Introduction 26 Prologue 34 1. Palestinian 36 2. Brother 53 3. Fighter 72 4. Scholar 91 5. Vagabond 113 6. Writer 150 7. Pioneer 168 8. Diplomat 197 9. Manager 230 10. Recruiter 269 11. Ideologue 313 12. Mujahid 353 13. Resident 394 14. Enemy 434 15. Martyr 461 16. Icon 488 17. Conclusion 518 Note on Sources 534 Overview of Abdallah Azzam’s Works 536 Notes 540 Bibliography 672 Index 707 Traces Abdallah Azzam's path from a West Bank village to the battlefields of Afghanistan and explains why jihadism went global.