Islamic Fundamentalism

In the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, terrorist bombings took place in Morocco, the Philippines, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Turkey. The groups responsible for the attacks had loose ties or no ties to al-Qaeda. Madrid, Spain, and London, England, were the targets of the deadliest terrorist attacks against Western countries following September 11. On March 11, 2004, a chain of suicide bombs exploded on commuter trains in Madrid at the height of the morning rush hour, killing 191 people and wounding more than 1,500. The militant Moroccan group blamed for the bombings in Casablanca in May 2003 was charged with responsibility for the Madrid terrorist attacks. Although there is uncertainty regarding the group’s origin, it is widely believed to be linked to al-Qaeda and operating in Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Morocco, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

On July 7, 2005, a series of bombings on three London subway trains and a double-decker bus during the morning rush hour killed 56 people and wounded more than 700 others. Four young Britons, who led seemingly ordinary lives, carried out the attacks. Their relationship with al-Qaeda remained unclear. However, one year after the bombings, the al-Jazeera television network showed a videotaped message from one of the suicide bombers, Mohammad Sidique Khan, on the same tape as al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahri, who praised the London bombings. Khan said that he was “a soldier” who had given up his life for his beliefs and was inspired by Osama bin Laden.

Jordan became a prime target for al-Qaeda because it is used as a base for Westerners who fly in and out of Iraq for work. Four al-Qaeda suicide bombers from western Iraq attacked two wedding parties in Amman, Jordan, in November 2005, killing 57 people and wounding nearly 100. Al-Qaeda’s leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was of Jordanian origin (he was killed near Baghdad in 2006), claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks.

Saudi Arabia also became the target of terrorist attacks after 9/11. In May 2003 al-Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia attacked a housing compound, killing 34 people, including 8 Americans. In 2004 al-Qaeda struck Saudi Arabia again, launching suicide attacks in downtown Riyadh in April and on the U.S. consulate in Jiddah in November. Osama bin Laden has listed the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia as one of the motives for his jihad against the United States and Saudi Arabia. However, the threat of terrorism has led to greater cooperation between the two countries.

Al-Qaeda took responsibility for attacks in Istanbul, Turkey, in November 2003. Car bombs exploded near two synagogues, the British consulate, and a British bank. Casablanca, Morocco, became the scene of a deadly terrorist attack in May 2003 that was blamed on a radical group, Salafia Jihadia, which is allegedly linked to al-Qaeda.

Abu Sayyaf, a militant group in the Philippines, has carried out terrorist attacks since the early 1990s with the aim of establishing an independent Islamic state on the island of Jolo. These attacks include kidnappings, murders, robberies, and bombings. The United States believes that Abu Sayyaf has links to al-Qaeda. Indonesia experienced its deadliest act of terrorism in recent history in 2002, when terrorists attacked nightclubs, killing more than 200 people, most of them tourists. Since then terrorists have struck Indonesia a number of times.