Al-Qaeda – IFC Terrorist Groups Library Back to Jihadist Movements Library Jihadist Organisation  ·  Founded 1988 Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda — “The Base” — is the jihadist network founded by Osama bin Laden that changed the course of modern history by carrying out the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, killing nearly 3,000 people. Though bin Laden was killed in 2011, Al-Qaeda endures as a decentralised global network of affiliates operating across Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia — continuing to plan attacks, radicalise populations, and destabilise states. Jihadist Salafi-Jihadism North Africa Horn of Africa Sahel Arabia September 11 Founded 1988 Peshawar, Pakistan, by Osama bin Laden 9/11 Deaths 2,977 Deadliest terrorist attack in history Active Affiliates 6 Major AQIM, AQAP, Al-Shabaab, JNIM, AQ-Syria, AQ-India Current Leader Saif al-Adel Based in Iran; succeeded al-Zawahiri (killed 2022) Origins History & Founding Al-Qaeda was formally established in 1988 in Peshawar, Pakistan, by Osama bin Laden — the Saudi-born son of a billionaire construction magnate — and his associate Abdullah Azzam, during the final stages of the Soviet-Afghan War. Bin Laden had arrived in Afghanistan in 1980 to support the mujahideen resistance against Soviet occupation, using his personal wealth and family connections to fund fighters and infrastructure. The CIA and Saudi intelligence also channelled significant support to the broader mujahideen effort, though direct operational links to Al-Qaeda’s formation remain disputed by historians. Following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia — only to be radicalised further by the 1990 stationing of US troops on Saudi soil ahead of the Gulf War. He considered the presence of non-Muslim military forces on the Arabian Peninsula — home to Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holiest sites — an intolerable religious desecration. Expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1991, he relocated to Sudan and then Afghanistan, where the Taliban provided him sanctuary from 1996 onward. In August 1996, bin Laden issued his first formal declaration of war against the United States, and in February 1998 published a fatwa — signed jointly with Ayman al-Zawahiri of Egyptian Islamic Jihad — declaring it a religious duty for Muslims to kill Americans and their allies, civilian and military, anywhere in the world. “The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies — civilians and military — is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it.” Osama bin Laden & Ayman al-Zawahiri, fatwa, February 1998 The 1998 East Africa embassy bombings — simultaneous truck bomb attacks on US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people and wounding over 4,500 — announced Al-Qaeda’s arrival as a global terrorist threat. The USS Cole bombing in 2000 (17 US sailors killed) followed. Then came September 11, 2001. The 9/11 attacks — carried out by 19 Al-Qaeda operatives who hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing two into the World Trade Centre, one into the Pentagon, and one into a Pennsylvania field after passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers — killed 2,977 people and triggered the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and the global War on Terror. Bin Laden was ultimately tracked to a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed by US Navy SEALs on 2 May 2011. Key Events Timeline 1988 Al-Qaeda formally established in Peshawar by Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam at the end of the Soviet-Afghan War. 1996 Bin Laden issues his first declaration of war against the United States from Afghanistan, where the Taliban provides safe haven. 1998 Simultaneous bombings of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam kill 224. Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri issue fatwa declaring killing Americans a religious duty. 2000 USS Cole bombed in Aden harbour, Yemen. 17 US sailors killed. Al-Qaeda confirms its reach into the Arabian Peninsula. 11 September 2001 Al-Qaeda operatives hijack four US airliners. World Trade Centre destroyed, Pentagon struck. 2,977 killed — the deadliest terrorist attack in history. US invades Afghanistan within weeks. 2003–2010 Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) emerges under Zarqawi. Madrid bombings (2004, 191 killed), London 7/7 bombings (2005, 52 killed). Al-Qaeda decentralises into regional affiliates as Afghan core is degraded. 2 May 2011 Osama bin Laden killed by US Navy SEALs at compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan — where he had been living in proximity to Pakistan’s premier military academy for years. 2011–2022 Ayman al-Zawahiri leads Al-Qaeda. Affiliates — AQIM, AQAP, Al-Shabaab, JNIM — expand operations across Africa and the Middle East. Al-Zawahiri killed by US drone strike in Kabul, July 2022. 2022–Present Saif al-Adel assumed to lead from Iran. Al-Qaeda affiliates remain most active jihadist forces across the Sahel and Horn of Africa, with JNIM and Al-Shabaab controlling significant territory. Doctrine Ideology & Strategy Al-Qaeda’s ideology is rooted in Salafi-jihadism — a fusion of the Salafi movement’s literalist, puritanical interpretation of Islam with the concept of armed jihad as a personal religious obligation. Its intellectual foundations draw directly from Sayyid Qutb’s Muslim Brotherhood writings, particularly the concept that contemporary Muslim societies have fallen into a state of pre-Islamic ignorance (jahiliyyah) and must be violently purified. Al-Qaeda’s strategic doctrine, as articulated by bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, targets the “far enemy” — the United States and its Western allies — on the theory that destroying Western support for Middle Eastern governments will cause those governments to collapse, enabling Islamic states to be established in their place. This distinguishes Al-Qaeda from groups like ISIS, which focused primarily on immediate territorial conquest. Al-Qaeda views the entire world as divided into two camps: the House of Islam and the House of War. All non-Muslims and Muslims who collaborate with non-Muslim governments are legitimate targets. The organisation explicitly endorses mass civilian casualties as a legitimate tactic, arguing that Western citizens bear collective responsibility for their governments’ actions in Muslim lands. “We have the right to kill four million Americans — two million of them children — and to exile twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands.” Suleiman Abu Ghaith, Al-Qaeda

Hamas – IFC Terrorist Groups Library Back to Jihadist Movements Library Jihadist Organisation  ·  Founded 1987 Hamas Hamas — the Islamic Resistance Movement — is the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and has governed the Gaza Strip since its violent seizure of power in 2007. Designated a terrorist organisation by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, and others, Hamas carried out the October 7, 2023 massacre — the deadliest single-day killing of Jews since the Holocaust — murdering 1,200 people, raping women, and taking 251 hostages. Jihadist Muslim Brotherhood Levant Desk Gaza Iran Backed October 7 Founded 1987 During the First Intifada, as MB’s Palestinian branch October 7 Killed 1,200 Deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust Hostages Taken 251 Including women, children, and elderly civilians Primary Backers Iran & Qatar Financial, military, and political support Origins History & Founding Hamas (an Arabic acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya — Islamic Resistance Movement) was founded in December 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a paraplegic cleric, and his associates during the outbreak of the First Palestinian Intifada. It emerged directly from the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which had been operating in Gaza since the 1950s building schools, mosques, and social welfare institutions — the same grassroots infiltration strategy employed globally by the Brotherhood. From its founding, Hamas explicitly rejected the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution. Its original 1988 charter called for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state across all of historic Palestine, citing the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as evidence of a global Jewish conspiracy. A revised charter in 2017 softened some language but maintained the fundamental rejection of Israel’s right to exist and explicitly endorsed continued armed struggle. “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” Hamas Charter, 1988 — preamble Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Hamas conducted a systematic campaign of suicide bombings targeting Israeli buses, markets, restaurants, and discotheques — killing hundreds of Israeli civilians and derailing multiple peace processes. It positioned itself as the hardline alternative to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, capitalising on public frustration with the Oslo process. In January 2006, Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections — a result that stunned Western governments and the PA alike. Rather than governing in coalition, Hamas used its electoral mandate to consolidate power, and in June 2007 launched a violent coup against Fatah forces in Gaza, executing rivals, throwing prisoners from rooftops, and establishing sole control over the territory’s 2.3 million inhabitants. Gaza has been under Hamas governance ever since. Key Events Timeline 1987 Hamas founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin during the First Intifada as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. 1988 Hamas publishes its founding charter calling for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state across all of historic Palestine. 1993–2000 Hamas suicide bombing campaign against Israeli civilians intensifies, targeting buses, markets, and public spaces. Attacks kill hundreds and derail the Oslo peace process. 2004–2005 Sheikh Yassin assassinated by Israel in March 2004. Israel withdraws all settlers and soldiers from Gaza in August 2005. 2006 Hamas wins Palestinian legislative elections. Western governments and Israel refuse to recognise the result and impose sanctions. 2007 Hamas violently seizes full control of Gaza in coup against Fatah. Rivals executed and thrown from rooftops. Gaza blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt. 2008–2021 Four major conflicts with Israel (2008–09, 2012, 2014, 2021). Hamas fires thousands of rockets at Israeli civilian population centres. Uses civilian infrastructure including hospitals and schools as military cover. 7 October 2023 Hamas launches its largest ever attack. 3,000 fighters breach the Gaza border fence, massacring 1,200 Israelis — mostly civilians — at kibbutzim, a music festival, and military bases. 251 taken hostage. Systematic rape and sexual violence documented by UN investigators. Israel launches military campaign to destroy Hamas. Doctrine Ideology & Goals Hamas’s ideology fuses Palestinian nationalism with Islamism — specifically the Muslim Brotherhood’s vision of a society governed by Sharia — resulting in an explicitly religious framework for what it describes as “resistance.” Unlike secular Palestinian nationalist movements, Hamas frames the conflict with Israel not as a territorial or political dispute but as a religious obligation: a jihad that all Muslims are duty-bound to support. The organisation’s foundational position is the total non-recognition of Israel’s legitimacy in any borders. Hamas has consistently rejected, sabotaged, or undermined every negotiated framework — from Oslo to the Abraham Accords — that moved toward a two-state solution, on the grounds that no Muslim land may ever be permanently ceded to non-Muslims. Hamas’s social ideology mirrors the Muslim Brotherhood’s authoritarian Islamism. In Gaza, it has enforced dress codes for women, suppressed LGBT individuals, restricted freedom of the press, banned political opposition, and executed collaborators — often in public. It has consistently used Gaza’s civilian population as a strategic asset, embedding military infrastructure — tunnels, rocket launchers, weapons caches — beneath hospitals, schools, mosques, and residential blocks. “We will not betray our principles. Palestine is Islamic land and will not be given up.” Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader in Gaza, architect of the October 7 attack Hamas’s political bureau, headquartered in Doha with Qatari government protection, maintains a deliberately separate public posture from its military wing — the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades — allowing it to conduct diplomatic engagement while directing terrorism. This duality has complicated international efforts to isolate the organisation and allowed sympathetic governments to maintain contact. October 7, 2023 The October 7 Massacre In the early hours of 7 October 2023 — the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah — approximately 3,000 Hamas fighters and affiliated militants breached the Gaza security fence at multiple points and poured into southern Israel. What followed was the largest mass killing of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust. Kibbutz massacres: Hamas fighters systematically moved through kibbutzim — small agricultural communities — executing entire families in their homes

Islamic State (ISIS) – IFC Terrorist Groups Library Back to Jihadist Movements Library Jihadist Organisation  ·  Emerged 2013 Islamic State(ISIS) The Islamic State — also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh — declared a global caliphate in June 2014, shocking the world with its speed of conquest, industrial-scale atrocities, and sophisticated use of social media for recruitment and propaganda. Though its territorial caliphate was destroyed in 2019, ISIS remains one of the most dangerous jihadist networks on earth, with active affiliates operating across West Africa, the Sahel, East Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Jihadist Salafi-Jihadism West Africa Sahel Levant South Asia Global Caliphate Caliphate Declared June 2014 Mosul, Iraq — collapsed March 2019 Peak Territory 88,000 km² Larger than the United Kingdom at its height Estimated Deaths 200,000+ Directly caused by ISIS violence, 2013–2019 Active Affiliates 19 Provinces Wilayat across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East Origins History & Founding The Islamic State’s roots trace to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian jihadist who established Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) following the 2003 US-led invasion. Al-Zarqawi’s extremism was so pronounced that Al-Qaeda’s central leadership, including Ayman al-Zawahiri, privately urged him to moderate his campaign of mass sectarian slaughter — warnings he ignored. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a US airstrike in 2006, but the organisation he built survived and evolved. Under subsequent leaders, AQI rebranded as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), exploiting the power vacuum created by the withdrawal of US forces in 2011 and the chaos of the Syrian civil war. Under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who assumed leadership in 2010, the group expanded into Syria in 2013 — renaming itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS) — and seized vast territories with terrifying speed. On 29 June 2014, from the pulpit of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul — a city of 1.8 million people seized in a matter of days — al-Baghdadi proclaimed himself Caliph Ibrahim and announced the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate. The declaration electrified jihadist movements globally and triggered an unprecedented wave of foreign fighter recruitment, drawing an estimated 40,000 individuals from over 100 countries. “Rush O Muslims to your state. Yes, it is your state. Rush, because Syria is not for the Syrians, and Iraq is not for the Iraqis. The earth is Allah’s.” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, caliphate declaration speech, Mosul, June 2014 At its peak in 2014–2015, ISIS controlled territory spanning from the outskirts of Baghdad to the suburbs of Aleppo — an area the size of the United Kingdom — and governed a population of approximately 8 million people under a totalitarian interpretation of Sharia. It generated revenues estimated at $1–2 billion annually through oil sales, taxation, extortion, looting of antiquities, ransom payments, and external donations. A US-led coalition began airstrikes in September 2014, and a grinding ground campaign supported by Kurdish Peshmerga, Iraqi forces, and Syrian Democratic Forces slowly recaptured ISIS territory. The fall of Mosul in July 2017 and the final defeat of the territorial caliphate at Baghouz, Syria in March 2019 ended ISIS’s experiment in state-building — but not the organisation itself. Key Events Timeline 2003 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi establishes Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) following the US invasion. Begins campaign of suicide bombings and sectarian massacres targeting Shia Muslims and Western forces. 2006 Al-Zarqawi killed in US airstrike. Organisation rebrands as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi eventually assumes leadership in 2010. 2013 ISI expands into Syria amid civil war chaos, renaming itself ISIS/ISIL. Captures Raqqa, which becomes its de facto capital. Publicly breaks with Al-Qaeda. June 2014 ISIS seizes Mosul in days. Al-Baghdadi declares the restoration of the Caliphate from the Great Mosque of al-Nuri. Yazidi genocide begins in Sinjar. Mass executions of Iraqi soldiers at Camp Speicher (1,700 killed). 2015 ISIS carries out coordinated attacks in Paris (130 killed), Beirut, and brings down a Russian airliner over Sinai (224 killed). Brussels attacks follow in 2016 (32 killed). Foreign fighter recruitment peaks. 2017 Fall of Mosul after brutal nine-month battle. ISIS loses Raqqa. Territorial caliphate rapidly collapses. Al-Baghdadi goes into hiding. 2019 Final defeat at Baghouz, Syria. Al-Baghdadi killed in US special forces raid in October. Organisation transitions to insurgency model, activating global affiliate network. 2020–Present ISIS affiliates — ISWAP (West Africa), ISKP (Afghanistan/Pakistan), IS-Mozambique, IS-Somalia — escalate attacks. ISIS-K carries out Kabul airport bombing (2021, 183 killed) and Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow (2024, 145 killed). Doctrine Ideology & Theology ISIS espouses a form of Salafi-jihadism — a literalist, puritanical interpretation of Sunni Islam that rejects centuries of Islamic scholarly tradition in favour of a direct, stripped-back reading of the Quran and Hadith. It holds that the original Islamic community of the 7th century represents the perfect society that all Muslims must strive to recreate, by force if necessary. Central to ISIS theology is the concept of takfir — the declaration that other Muslims are apostates and therefore legitimate targets for killing. This doctrine, derived from Sayyid Qutb’s Muslim Brotherhood writings and radicalised further by ISIS ideologues, provided religious justification for mass slaughter of Shia Muslims, Sunnis who cooperated with non-ISIS governments, and virtually all non-Muslims. ISIS’s embrace of apocalyptic prophecy distinguished it even within the jihadist world. The organisation deliberately sought to provoke a final, world-ending battle at Dabiq, Syria — referenced in Hadith as the site of the end-times confrontation between believers and their enemies. This eschatological framework made negotiations or moderation theologically impossible and gave recruits a sense of participating in cosmic, world-historical events. “The spark has been lit here in Iraq, and its heat will continue to intensify… until it burns the crusader armies in Dabiq.” Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, ideological forefather of ISIS Unlike Al-Qaeda, which prioritised attacking the “far enemy” (the West) to destabilise Muslim governments, ISIS focused first on seizing and governing territory — building a functioning state as proof of concept for its divine mandate. The caliphate was not merely a political project but a theological obligation: once declared, all Muslims worldwide

Muslim Brotherhood – IFC Terrorist Groups Library Back to Jihadist Movements Library Islamist Movement  ·  Founded 1928 MuslimBrotherhood The world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood is the ideological progenitor of virtually every major Sunni jihadist organisation operating today — from Hamas and Al-Qaeda to ISIS. Its global networks of influence, financing, and political infiltration have reshaped nations across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America. Political Islam Global Networks North Africa Europe Levant Sharia Governance Founded 1928 Ismailia, Egypt, by Hassan al-Banna Active In 70+ Countries Formal branches and affiliate networks Ideology Islamism Pan-Islamic Sharia-based governance Designation Status Varies by State Designated terrorist: Russia, Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, others Origins History & Founding The Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun) was founded in March 1928 in the Egyptian city of Ismailia by Hassan al-Banna, a 22-year-old schoolteacher deeply influenced by the collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924. Al-Banna was alarmed by what he viewed as Western cultural imperialism penetrating Muslim societies, and sought to create an organisation that would re-Islamise Muslim populations from the ground up — through education, social welfare, and ultimately political power. The Brotherhood’s foundational slogan — “Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope” — encapsulated its totalising vision: Islam not merely as a personal faith, but as a complete political, legal, and social system governing every aspect of life. “It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.” Hassan al-Banna, founder, Muslim Brotherhood By the 1940s, the Brotherhood had grown to an estimated 500,000 members in Egypt alone, operating a vast network of schools, clinics, businesses, and paramilitary units. It became involved in armed conflict during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and its secret apparatus carried out assassinations of Egyptian officials. Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud Fahmi al-Nuqrashi was assassinated by a Brotherhood member in 1948; al-Banna himself was killed by Egyptian secret police in retaliation months later. The Brotherhood’s relationship with Egyptian governments oscillated between alliance and violent suppression. After Gamal Abdel Nasser survived an assassination attempt attributed to Brotherhood members in 1954, he banned the organisation and imprisoned thousands of its members. It was in these prisons that Sayyid Qutb — the Brotherhood’s most influential theorist — developed the radical ideology that would directly inspire Al-Qaeda and ISIS, arguing that existing Muslim governments were apostates to be overthrown by violent jihad. Key Events Timeline 1928 Hassan al-Banna founds the Muslim Brotherhood in Ismailia, Egypt, following the collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate. 1948 Brotherhood fighters participate in the Arab-Israeli War. Egyptian PM al-Nuqrashi is assassinated by a Brotherhood member; al-Banna is killed by Egyptian security services in retaliation. 1954–1970 Nasser bans the Brotherhood following an assassination attempt. Sayyid Qutb writes Milestones in prison — a manifesto for violent jihad that becomes foundational to Al-Qaeda and ISIS ideology. 1973–1990s Brotherhood spreads globally, establishing branches across Europe, North America, and the Middle East, often funded by Gulf states. Hamas is founded in 1987 as the Brotherhood’s Palestinian wing. 2011–2013 Arab Spring brings Brotherhood to power in Egypt under Mohamed Morsi. Morsi is ousted by military coup in 2013 after mass protests; Egypt designates the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. 2013–Present Multiple states designate the Brotherhood terrorist. Qatar and Turkey continue to support Brotherhood-aligned movements globally. Western governments remain divided on formal designation. Doctrine Ideology & Strategy The Brotherhood’s ideology rests on the belief that Islam is a complete, self-sufficient system encompassing law, politics, economics, and social organisation — and that all Muslim societies must be governed exclusively by Sharia. It explicitly rejects the separation of religion and state as a Western imposition incompatible with Islam. Unlike purely violent jihadist groups, the Brotherhood employs a gradualist, long-term strategy combining da’wa (proselytising), social services, political participation, and institutional infiltration. It builds parallel social structures — schools, hospitals, mosques, charities — that create dependency and loyalty among populations, then leverages this grassroots base to pursue political power through democratic participation when permitted, and through other means when not. The Brotherhood’s strategic document for North America, discovered by the FBI in 2004, described its mission as “a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying Western civilisation from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and by the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated.” “The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilisation from within.” An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America, 1991 — admitted as FBI evidence, 2004 Sayyid Qutb’s prison writings introduced the concept of takfir — declaring other Muslims apostates — which became the theological justification for violence against Muslim governments. Though the Brotherhood officially distanced itself from violent tactics after the 1970s, its intellectual framework directly spawned the organisations that embraced them, including Al-Qaeda (founded by Brotherhood-influenced figures) and Hamas (its formal Palestinian branch). Operations Activities & Methods The Brotherhood operates across multiple domains simultaneously, making it uniquely difficult to counter through conventional counterterrorism measures alone: Institutional infiltration: Brotherhood-linked organisations have established deep roots in Western universities, mosques, think tanks, and political parties. In the UK, the Muslim Council of Britain has been linked to Brotherhood networks. In the United States, organisations including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the Muslim American Society were identified in federal court proceedings as Brotherhood fronts. Finance and media: Qatar’s Al Jazeera network serves as a de facto Brotherhood propaganda platform, and Qatari sovereign wealth funds have financed Brotherhood-linked institutions globally. Turkish state media under Erdoğan has similarly amplified Brotherhood narratives. Political power seizure: The Brotherhood participated in elections across Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Morocco, and Gaza — winning power in several instances. In Gaza, its Hamas