Al-Qaeda is a transnational pan-Islamist militant organization led by Sunni Islamist jihadists who self-identify as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic caliphate. Its core membership is primarily composed of Arabs, with additional representation from other ethnic groups. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets of the U.S. and its allies; such as the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, the USS Cole bombing, and the September 11 attacks. It has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations and over two dozen countries around the world.
The organization was founded in a series of meetings held in Peshawar during 1988, attended by Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, Osama bin Laden, Mohammed Atef, Ayman Al-Zawahiri and other veterans of the Soviet–Afghan War. Building upon the networks of Maktab Al-Khidamat, the founding members decided to create the organization to serve as a "vanguard" for jihad. When Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait in 1990, bin Laden offered to support Saudi Arabia by sending his mujahideen fighters. His offer was rebuffed by the Saudi government, which instead sought the aid of the United States. The stationing of U.S. troops in the Arabian Peninsula prompted bin Laden to declare a jihad against both the rulers of Saudi Arabia – whom he denounced as murtadd (apostates) – and against the US. From 1992, al-Qaeda established its headquarters in Sudan until it was expelled in 1996. It then shifted its base to the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and later expanded to other parts of the world, primarily in the Middle East and South Asia. In 1996 and 1998, bin Laden issued two fatwās that demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia.
In 1998, al-Qaeda conducted the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people. The U.S. retaliated by launching Operation Infinite Reach, against al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. In 2001, al-Qaeda carried out the September 11 attacks, resulting in nearly 3,000 deaths, long-term health consequences of nearby residents, damage to global economic markets, the triggering of drastic geo-political changes as well as generating profound cultural influence across the world. The U.S. launched the war on terror in response and invaded Afghanistan to depose the Taliban and destroy al-Qaeda. In 2003, a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq, overthrowing the Ba'athist regime which they falsely accused of having ties with al-Qaeda. In 2004, al-Qaeda launched its Iraqi regional branch. After pursuing him for almost a decade, the U.S. military killed bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011.
Al-Qaeda members assert that a Judeo-Christian alliance led by the U.S. is waging a war against Islam and conspiring to destroy Islam.Fu'ad Husayn 'Al-Zarqawi, "The Second Generation of al-Qa'ida, Part Fourteen," Al-Quds al-Arabi, July 13, 2005 Al-Qaeda also opposes man-made laws, and seek to implement sharia law in Muslim countries. Al-Qaeda fighters characteristically deploy tactics such as suicide attacks (Inghimasi and Istishhadi operations) involving simultaneous bombing of several targets in battle-zones. Al-Qaeda's Iraq branch, which later morphed into the Islamic State of Iraq after 2006, was responsible for numerous sectarian attacks against Shias during the Iraqi insurgency. Al-Qaeda ideologues envision the violent removal of all foreign and secularist influences in Muslim countries, which it denounces as corrupt deviations. Following the death of bin Laden in 2011, al-Qaeda vowed to avenge his killing. The group was then led by Egyptian Ayman Al-Zawahiri, until he too was killed by the U.S. in 2022. Zawahiri was de facto replaced by Saif al-Adel, a former micro-manager of Al-Qaeda and one of the few surviving founding members. As of 2026, the militant group operates under a decentralized structure, focusing on regional insurgencies rather than global operations.Al-Qaeda as a Decentralized Insurgent Network: Structural Evolution, Operational Effectiveness, and Policy Implications Pennsylvania State University, 10 August 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.UN monitoring findings point to continued al-Qaeda activity 25 years after 9/11 The Jerusalem Post, 11 September 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.Report Warns of AQIS Expansion in South Asia, Calls for Scrutiny of Pakistan’s ISI India New England News, 17 August 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
Name The English name of the organization is a simplified transliteration of the Arabic noun (), which means "the foundation" or "the base". The initial al- is the Arabic definite article "the", hence "the base".Arabic Computer Dictionary: English-Arabic, Arabic-English By Ernest Kay, Multi-lingual International Publishers, 1986. In Arabic, al-Qaeda has four syllables (). However, since two of the Arabic consonants in the name are not phones found in the English language, the common naturalized English pronunciations include , and . Al-Qaeda's name can also be transliterated as al-Qaida, al-Qa'ida, or el-Qaida.
The doctrinal concept of al-Qaeda was first coined by the Palestinian Islamist scholar and jihadist leader Abdullah Azzam in an April 1988 issue of Al-Jihad magazine to describe a religiously committed vanguard of Muslims who wage armed jihad globally to liberate oppressed Muslims from foreign invaders, establish sharia (Islamic law) across the Islamic world by overthrowing the ruling secular governments; and thus restore the past Islamic prowess. This was to be implemented by establishing an Islamic state that would nurture generations of Muslim soldiers that would perpetually attack Americans and the U.S.' allied governments in the Islamic world. Numerous historical models were cited by Azzam as successful examples of his call; starting from the early Muslim conquests of the 7th century to the recent anti-Soviet Afghan mujahideen of the 1980s. According to Azzam's world-view: It is about time to think about a state that would be a solid base for the distribution of the (Islamic) creed, and a fortress to host the preachers from the hell of the Jahiliyyah [the pre-Islamic period].
Bin Laden explained the origin of the term in 2001:
It has been argued that two documents seized from the Sarajevo office of the Benevolence International Foundation prove the name was not simply adopted by the mujahideen movement and that a group called al-Qaeda was established in August 1988. Both of these documents contain minutes of meetings held to establish a new military group, and contain the term "al-Qaeda".. Wright indirectly quotes one of the documents, based on an exhibit from the "Tareek Osama" document presented in United States v. Enaam M. Arnaout .
Former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook wrote that the word al-Qaeda should be translated as "the database", because it originally referred to the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen militants who were recruited and trained with CIA help to defeat the Soviets. In April 2002, the group assumed the name Qa'idat Al-Jihad ( ), which means "the base of Jihad". According to Diaa Rashwan, this was "apparently as a result of the merger of the overseas branch of Egypt's Al-Jihad, which was led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, with the groups bin Laden brought under his control after his return to Afghanistan in the mid-1990s.""After Mombasa ", Al-Ahram Weekly Online, January 2–8, 2003 (Issue No. 619). Retrieved September 3, 2006.
Organization
Al-Qaeda only indirectly controls its day-to-day operations. Its philosophy calls for the centralization of decision making, while allowing for the decentralization of execution.al-Hammadi, Khalid, "The Inside Story of al-Qa'ida", part 4, Al-Quds al-Arabi, March 22, 2005 The top leaders of al-Qaeda have defined the organization's ideology and guiding strategy, and they have also articulated simple and easy-to-receive messages. At the same time, mid-level organizations were given autonomy, but they had to consult with top management before large-scale attacks and assassinations. Top management included the shura council as well as committees on military operations, finance, and information sharing. Through the information committees of al-Qaeda, al-Zawahiri placed special emphasis on communicating with his groups. However, after the war on terror, al-Qaeda's leadership has become isolated. As a result, the leadership has become decentralized, and the organization has become regionalized into several al-Qaeda groups.J. Feiser –
The group was initially dominated by Egyptians and Saudis, with some participation from Yemenis and Kuwaitis. Over time, it has evolved into a more international terrorist organization. While its core group originally shared a background in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, it has since attracted fighters from other Arab groups, including North Africans, Jordanians, Palestinians, and Iraqis. In the decade following the 9/11 attacks, Muslims from non-Arab backgrounds, such as Pakistanis, Afghans, Turks, Kurds, and European converts to Islam, have also joined the organization.
Many Western analysts do not believe that the global jihadist movement is driven at every level by al-Qaeda's leadership. However, bin Laden held considerable ideological influence over revolutionary Islamist movements across the world. Experts argue that al-Qaeda has fragmented into a number of disparate regional movements, and that these groups bear little connection with one another.
This view mirrors the account given by bin Laden in a 2001 interview:
, however, Bruce Hoffman saw al-Qaeda as a cohesive network that was strongly led from the Pakistani tribal areas.
Affiliates Al-Qaeda has the following direct affiliates:
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent (AQIS) Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) Al-Shabaab
The following are presently believed to be allied with al-Qaeda:
Fatah al-Islam Islamic Jihad Union Jaish-e-Mohammed Lashkar-e-Taiba
Al-Qaeda's former affiliates or allies include the following:
Abu Sayyaf (pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2014) Caucasus Emirate (inactive by 2016) Hurras al-Din (dissolved in 2025) Jemaah Islamiyah (dissolved in 2024) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (main faction joined ISIL) Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (dissolved) Al-Mourabitoun (joined JNIM in 2017) Al-Qaeda in Iraq (became the Islamic State of Iraq, which later seceded from al-Qaeda and became ISIL) Al-Qaeda in the Lands Beyond the Sahel (inactive since 2015) Ansar al-Islam (majority merged with ISIL in 2014) Ansar Dine (joined JNIM in 2017) Islamic Jihad in Yemen (became AQAP) Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (merged with Al-Mulathameen to form Al-Mourabitoun in 2013) Rajah Sulaiman Movement (leader arrested in 2024) Al-Nusra Front (dissolved in 2016 after breaking ties with al-Qaeda, merged with other Islamist organizations to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, subsequently merged into the Syrian Armed Forces in 2025)
Leadership Osama bin Laden (1988 – May 2011)
Osama bin Laden served as the emir of al-Qaeda from the organization's founding in 1988 until his assassination by US forces on May 2, 2011. Atiyah Abd Al-Rahman was alleged to be second in command prior to his death on August 22, 2011.
Bin Laden was advised by a Shura Council, which consists of senior al-Qaeda members. The group was estimated to consist of 20–30 people.
Ayman al-Zawahiri (May 2011 – July 2022) Ayman al-Zawahiri had been al-Qaeda's deputy emir and assumed the role of emir following bin Laden's death. Al-Zawahiri replaced Saif Al-Adel, who had served as interim commander.
On 4 June 2012, Al-Rahman's alleged successor as his second in command, Abu Yahya Al-Libi, was killed in Pakistan.