The Father of Jihad

This study revolves around the jihad ideas of 'Abd Allāh 'Azzām -- an iconic figure in the study of militant jihad in the 20th century, history of Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union, Al-Qaeda and current threat of terrorism.

This study has several objectives:

• to render an in-depth description of his ideas by way of a review of his writing, hitherto little referenced in the literature;
• to identify how these ideas have inspired so many to participate in militant jihad in the Soviet-Afghan war, and indeed elsewhere;
• to highlight the internal contradictions and inconsistencies in 'Azzām's ideas, and to juxtapose these ideas with contemporary jihadism;
• to identify specific aspects of 'Azzām's ideas in order to extract key lessons for counter-ideology work within the framework of counter-terrorism.

some of 'Azzām's jihad ideas diverge from dominant ideas held by current jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda and these could potentially be used to counter contemporary jihad ideas and practices of jihadists.