Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 71
They believe the answer lies in total acceptance of the Koran as God‘s ordained
commandments and the creation of an upright society.
Usama bin Laden is less a cult leader than a model of a pious Muslim. He left a life of wealth
and leisure to fight the atheist Soviets for the sake of Islam. He was victorious,
demonstrating that Islam is not weak but could bring down a powerful nation by selfless
determination, trust in Allah, and creative warfare. He captured the imagination of Muslims,
and the fighters who marched at his side lived and died to fulfill his vision (Gerecht, 2001,
77). Bin Laden is considered a Robin Hood among many Muslims who name their children
after him and speak of his defense of Islam approvingly (http://www.pacdonald.com, no
date Addario, 2001, 38-41). His demeanor on his videotapes is that of a quiet, well-spoken
aesthete who, with simple Koranic-inspired allusions, explains the current world situation.
As with some other leaders of terrorist groups, bin Laden acts as an indispensable
inspiration, one who manifests the virtues to be attained, and one who explains the struggle
in a strategic, comprehensive manner.
Usama‘s success has been his ability to assemble and organize the young men seeking a
pious society and point them toward a jihad he envisions. In his view, this jihad is a just
war, in defense of and an expansion of, the Islamic Ummah. He provided his volunteers
training, focused them on the United States and Christian West as the enemy, World
Judaism as a primary threat, and the established governments in the Islamic world as foes
for destruction. Good and evil were clearly laid out, with the warriors placed at the center or
the cosmic struggle.
Because Muslims are fighting a war for Allah against a far more powerful foe, bin Laden has
argued that all means are just and all targets are legitimate. To justify his position bin
Laden repeated Iraq‘s propaganda that UN sanctions starve Muslim children, and he bewails
the deaths of Palestinians, although in fact he has no sympathy with either regime. In other
cases, bin Laden has justified the killing of American women and children because the
United States killed women and children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (bin Laden in ―NIDA‘UL
ISLAM,‖ 1996).
Al Qaeda as a Suicide Cult
The suicidal murderers who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on
September 11 last year were not hard to find within the modern Islamic community. ―Our
biggest problem,‖ explained a Hamas leader, ―is the hordes of young men who beat on our
doors clambering to be sent‖ (Hassan, N., 2001). A respected poll of the people in Gaza
showed a 78 percent approval rate for suicide bombings (Lelyveld, 2001, 50).
Suicidal attacks in modern Islam have become, unfortunately, virtuous acts. They are
lauded by religious groups and even secular terrorist groups in the Middle East. Usama
believed they would prove the difference between the religious and the secular:
Those youths are different from your soldiers. Your problem will be how to
convince your troops to fight, while our problem will be how to restrain our
youths to wait for their turn in fighting and in operations. These youths are
commendation and praiseworthy. (bin Laden, 1996)
Islamic children are taught that ―to sacrifice oneself in the holy war (Jihad)‖ is a religious
obligation (Zihad, 1999, 4). Palestinian calendars are illustrated with ―martyrs,‖ and children
chant their names (Hassan, N., 2001). Volunteers for these acts are treated as ―living
martyrs,‖ given great respect, and find it virtually impossible to back out without shaming
their families. They instead concentrate on their mission, on ritual, and on their faith
(Hassan, N., 2001). In Palestine, suicide bomber deaths are announced in official
newspapers as wedding announcements to the ―black eyed‖ virgins who awaited them in
Paradise (Lelyveld, 2001, 51). This group dynamic—an emotional support structure, peer
They believe the answer lies in total acceptance of the Koran as God‘s ordained
commandments and the creation of an upright society.
Usama bin Laden is less a cult leader than a model of a pious Muslim. He left a life of wealth
and leisure to fight the atheist Soviets for the sake of Islam. He was victorious,
demonstrating that Islam is not weak but could bring down a powerful nation by selfless
determination, trust in Allah, and creative warfare. He captured the imagination of Muslims,
and the fighters who marched at his side lived and died to fulfill his vision (Gerecht, 2001,
77). Bin Laden is considered a Robin Hood among many Muslims who name their children
after him and speak of his defense of Islam approvingly (http://www.pacdonald.com, no
date Addario, 2001, 38-41). His demeanor on his videotapes is that of a quiet, well-spoken
aesthete who, with simple Koranic-inspired allusions, explains the current world situation.
As with some other leaders of terrorist groups, bin Laden acts as an indispensable
inspiration, one who manifests the virtues to be attained, and one who explains the struggle
in a strategic, comprehensive manner.
Usama‘s success has been his ability to assemble and organize the young men seeking a
pious society and point them toward a jihad he envisions. In his view, this jihad is a just
war, in defense of and an expansion of, the Islamic Ummah. He provided his volunteers
training, focused them on the United States and Christian West as the enemy, World
Judaism as a primary threat, and the established governments in the Islamic world as foes
for destruction. Good and evil were clearly laid out, with the warriors placed at the center or
the cosmic struggle.
Because Muslims are fighting a war for Allah against a far more powerful foe, bin Laden has
argued that all means are just and all targets are legitimate. To justify his position bin
Laden repeated Iraq‘s propaganda that UN sanctions starve Muslim children, and he bewails
the deaths of Palestinians, although in fact he has no sympathy with either regime. In other
cases, bin Laden has justified the killing of American women and children because the
United States killed women and children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (bin Laden in ―NIDA‘UL
ISLAM,‖ 1996).
Al Qaeda as a Suicide Cult
The suicidal murderers who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on
September 11 last year were not hard to find within the modern Islamic community. ―Our
biggest problem,‖ explained a Hamas leader, ―is the hordes of young men who beat on our
doors clambering to be sent‖ (Hassan, N., 2001). A respected poll of the people in Gaza
showed a 78 percent approval rate for suicide bombings (Lelyveld, 2001, 50).
Suicidal attacks in modern Islam have become, unfortunately, virtuous acts. They are
lauded by religious groups and even secular terrorist groups in the Middle East. Usama
believed they would prove the difference between the religious and the secular:
Those youths are different from your soldiers. Your problem will be how to
convince your troops to fight, while our problem will be how to restrain our
youths to wait for their turn in fighting and in operations. These youths are
commendation and praiseworthy. (bin Laden, 1996)
Islamic children are taught that ―to sacrifice oneself in the holy war (Jihad)‖ is a religious
obligation (Zihad, 1999, 4). Palestinian calendars are illustrated with ―martyrs,‖ and children
chant their names (Hassan, N., 2001). Volunteers for these acts are treated as ―living
martyrs,‖ given great respect, and find it virtually impossible to back out without shaming
their families. They instead concentrate on their mission, on ritual, and on their faith
(Hassan, N., 2001). In Palestine, suicide bomber deaths are announced in official
newspapers as wedding announcements to the ―black eyed‖ virgins who awaited them in
Paradise (Lelyveld, 2001, 51). This group dynamic—an emotional support structure, peer
