Saudi-born U.S. citizen Samir Khan was a propagandist for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the creator of the group’s English-language magazine Inspire. In October 2009, Khan left his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, and traveled to Yemen to join AQAP.Mark Schone and Matthew Cole, “American Jihadi Samir Khan Killed With Awlaki,” ABC News, September 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-jihadi-samir-khan-killed-awlaki/story?id=14640013;
Oren Adaki, “AQAP publishes biography of American jihadist Samir Khan,” Long War Journal, November 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/aqap_releases_biogra_1.php;
“AQAP's Radicalization Efforts in the West Take Another Hit,” Stratfor, September 30, 2011, https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/aqaps-radicalization-efforts-west-take-another-hit. He was killed in a U.S. airstrike on September 30, 2011, in Yemen’s Jawf province. The airstrike specifically targeted U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, AQAP’s prolific propagandist and director of external operations.Robbie Brown and Kim Severson, “2^nd American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War,” New York Times, September 30, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/world/middleeast/samir-khan-killed-by-drone-spun-out-of-the-american-middle-class.html?_r=0;
Mark Schone and Matthew Cole, “American Jihadi Samir Khan Killed With Awlaki,” ABC News, September 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-jihadi-samir-khan-killed-awlaki/story?id=14640013.

Khan was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1985 to Pakistani parents. His family moved to the United States in 1991, eventually settling in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2004.Oren Adaki, “AQAP publishes biography of American jihadist Samir Khan,” Long War Journal, November 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/aqap_releases_biogra_1.php;
Mark Schone and Matthew Cole, “American Jihadi Samir Khan Killed With Awlaki,” ABC News, September 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-jihadi-samir-khan-killed-awlaki/story?id=14640013. According to Musta Elturk, a prominent imam who knew the Khan’s, Samir immersed himself in Islam in order to “stay away from the peer pressure of his teenage days.”Robbie Brown and Kim Severson, “2^nd American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War,” New York Times, September 30, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/world/middleeast/samir-khan-killed-by-drone-spun-out-of-the-american-middle-class.html?_r=0. Khan wrote for his high school newspaper, a skill that—according to an AQAP biography of Khan released after his death—would help him produce future jihadist publications.Robbie Brown and Kim Severson, “2^nd American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War,” New York Times, September 30, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/world/middleeast/samir-khan-killed-by-drone-spun-out-of-the-american-middle-class.html?_r=0;
Oren Adaki, “AQAP publishes biography of American jihadist Samir Khan,” Long War Journal, November 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/aqap_releases_biogra_1.php.

As a teenager, Khan believed the 9/11 attacks were the result of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, according to his biography. During school, he reportedly refused to recite the pledge of allegiance.Oren Adaki, “AQAP publishes biography of American jihadist Samir Khan,” Long War Journal, November 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/aqap_releases_biogra_1.php. Khan began reading extremist websites, and watched videos of suicide bombers in Iraq.Mark Schone and Matthew Cole, “American Jihadi Samir Khan Killed With Awlaki,” ABC News, September 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-jihadi-samir-khan-killed-awlaki/story?id=14640013;
Robbie Brown and Kim Severson, “2^nd American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War,”  New York Times, September 30, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/world/middleeast/samir-khan-killed-by-drone-spun-out-of-the-american-middle-class.html?_r=0. His father made numerous failed attempts to dissuade Khan from the extremist content by introducing him to various imams and Islamic scholars in his community.Robbie Brown and Kim Severson, “2^nd American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War,” New York Times, September 30, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/world/middleeast/samir-khan-killed-by-drone-spun-out-of-the-american-middle-class.html?_r=0.

In 2007, Khan launched an online blog called “A Martyr, God Willing,” in which he praised al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and used sarcastic language in order to attract other impressionable western youth, according to ABC News.Mark Schone and Matthew Cole, “American Jihadi Samir Khan Killed With Awlaki,” ABC News, September 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-jihadi-samir-khan-killed-awlaki/story?id=14640013. In an interview in 2007 with the New York Times, Khan admitted that his favorite online video depicted a suicide bomber striking a U.S. military base in Iraq. Khan described the video as “something that brought great happiness to me…because this is something America would never want to admit, that they are being crushed.”Mark Schone and Matthew Cole, “American Jihadi Samir Khan Killed With Awlaki,” ABC News, September 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-jihadi-samir-khan-killed-awlaki/story?id=14640013;
Michael Moss and Souad Mekhennet, “An Internet Jihad Aims at U.S. Viewers,” New York Times, October 15, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/us/15net.html?_r=0. Khan spent several years disseminating extremist content online while living in his father’s house.Mark Schone and Matthew Cole, “American Jihadi Samir Khan Killed With Awlaki,” ABC News, September 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-jihadi-samir-khan-killed-awlaki/story?id=14640013.

In early 2009, while living in North Carolina, Khan created an online English-language magazine titled Jihad Recollections, which was ultimately released by al-Qaeda’s al-Furan Media. The publication called for attacks against non-Muslims, and was reported to be the precursor to AQAP’s Inspire. During this time, Khan was in contact with U.S. extremist Jesse Morton, who operated the extremist website revolutionmuslim.com. According to the FBI, Morton authorized Khan to post content on his website, and also provided Khan with two articles for Jihad Recollections. Khan released four issues of Jihad Recollections before traveling to Sana’a, Yemen, in October 2009 to join AQAP.Mark Schone and Matthew Cole, “American Jihadi Samir Khan Killed With Awlaki,” ABC News, September 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-jihadi-samir-khan-killed-awlaki/story?id=14640013;
Eric Shawn, “Glossy Internet Magazine Targets Americans for Jihad Training,” Fox News, May 1, 2009, http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/05/01/glossy-internet-magazine-targets-americans-for-jihad-training.html;
“Jihad Recollections,” SITE Intelligence Group, accessed 6/10/2016, https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&view=search&tagId=452&Itemid=726;
“Leader of Revolution Muslim Pleads Guilty to Using Internet to Solicit Murder and Encourage Violent Extremism,” FBI, February 9, 2012, https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/washingtondc/press-releases/2012/leader-of-revolution-muslim-pleads-guilty-to-using-internet-to-solicit-murder-and-encourage-violent-extremism.

As a member of AQAP, Khan was reportedly mentored by Anwar al-Awlaki, who took interest in Khan’s blogging and online magazine experience. Al-Awlaki, who typically relied on traditional sermons, reportedly saw value in Khan’s computer skills—as well as his unique ability to use American vernacular—in order to recruit young Muslims.Mark Schone and Matthew Cole, “American Jihadi Samir Khan Killed With Awlaki,” ABC News, September 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-jihadi-samir-khan-killed-awlaki/story?id=14640013;
Oren Adaki, “AQAP publishes biography of American jihadist Samir Khan,” Long War Journal, November 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/aqap_releases_biogra_1.php.

Khan released the first issue of Inspire magazine in the summer of 2010. Inspire, which he reportedly called “America’s worst nightmare,” was a revitalized version of Jihad Recollections, according to AQAP’s biography of Khan.Oren Adaki, “AQAP publishes biography of American jihadist Samir Khan,” Long War Journal, November 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/aqap_releases_biogra_1.php. Starting in 2010, Khan reportedly worked alongside Minh Quang Pham, a Vietnamese-born British convert to Islam who used his graphic design skills to help edit the magazine. Pham was later arrested in June 2012 in the United Kingdom after attempting to prepare a suicide attack on London Heathrow International Airport.“Minh Quang Pham,” Counter Extremism Project, accessed June, 10, 2016, http://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/minh-quang-pham.

Khan went on to edit seven more issues of Inspire, to which he contributed numerous articles. Inspire called for lone wolf attacks in the U.S., featured sermons by clerics such as al-Awlaki, and glorified al-Qaeda leaders including Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. Khan was responsible for authoring an infamous article titled “How to Build a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom,” which provided instructions on rudimentary bomb making.Oren Adaki, “AQAP publishes biography of American jihadist Samir Khan,” Long War Journal, November 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/aqap_releases_biogra_1.php. A copy of the article was reportedly found on the laptop of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who carried out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings alongside his brother, Tamerlan. The perpetrators of the December 2015 San Bernardino shooting, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tafsheen Malik, reportedly “reviewed instructions on how to make IEDs that were in Inspire Magazine,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.Richard Vladmanis, “Boston bomb suspect influenced by Al Qaeda: expert witness,” Reuters, March 23, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boston-bombings-trial-idUSKBN0MJ0Z620150323;
“California Man Charged with Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Terrorism and Being ‘Straw Purchaser’ of Assault Rifles Ultimately Used in San Bernardino, California, Attack,” U.S. Department of Justice, December 17, 2015, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-charged-conspiring-provide-material-support-terrorism-and-being-straw. According to Ben Venzke, CEO of the private intelligence firm IntelCenter, Inspire provides individuals in the West with “inspiration, ideological framework, targeting philosophy and practical mechanics of building a bomb or conducting a shooting.”Suzanne Kelly, “Samir Khan: Proud to be an American traitor,” CNN, September 30, 2011, http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/30/world/meast/analysis-yemen-samir-khan/.

Khan was killed alongside Anwar al-Awlaki in a September 30, 2011, U.S. drone strike that specifically targeted al-Awlaki.Jere Van Dyk, “Who were the 4 U.S. citizens killed in drone strikes?,” CBS News, May 23, 2013, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-were-the-4-us-citizens-killed-in-drone-strikes/. AQAP continues to publish Inspire.“Issue 14 of AQAP’s “Inspire” Magazine Focuses on Assassinations, Provides targets and Methods,” SITE Intelligence, September 9, 2015, http://news.siteintelgroup.com/blog/index.php/categories/jihad/entry/397-issue-14-of-aqap%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cinspire%E2%80%9D-magazine-focuses-on-assassinations,-provides-targets-and-methods.

In the September 2015 issue of its English-language magazine Dabiq, ISIS named Abul-Mughirah al-Qahtani as the leader of its wilayat (province) in Libya.“Interview With Abul-Mughirah Al-Qahtani,” Dabiq, September 2015, https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/the-islamic-state-e2809cdc481biq-magazine-11e280b3.pdf. He was killed that November in a U.S. airstrike in Derna, Libya.Callum Paton, “New Isis leader in Libya – Abdel Qader al-Najdi threatens Daesh invasion of Rome through Africa,” International Business Times, March 10, 2016, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/new-isis-leader-abdel-qader-al-najdi-threatens-daesh-invasion-rome-through-north-africa-1548697. According to U.S. officials, al-Qahtani was the first ISIS leader targeted in Libya,“Statement From Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on November 13 airstrike in Libya,” U.S. Department of Defense, December 7, 2015, http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/633221/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-nov-13-airstrike-in-libya. and the first one successfully targeted outside of Iraq and Syria.Benoit Faucon and Tamer El-Ghobashy, “A Divided Libya Struggles Against Islamic State Attacks,” Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-divided-libya-struggles-against-islamic-state-attacks-1454552044. After his death, ISIS praised al-Qahtani as “the noble, brilliant, courageous and serious man, whom America and its allies refused to encounter on the ground through their agents.”Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, “Translation: Eulogy to Abu Nabil al-Anbari, Islamic State Leader in Libya,” Middle East Forum, January 7, 2016, http://www.meforum.org/blog/2016/01/abu-nabil-al-anbari.

At the time of al-Qahtani’s ascendency, the International Business Times cited an unnamed Libyan activist who suggested al-Qahtani might not be a native Libyan. According to the source, there had been no mention of al-Qahtani in Libya prior to ISIS’s announcement of his leadership. Further, the source claimed, al-Qahtani’s name had been mentioned on Facebook in connection with fighting in Syria. The source did not know whether al-Qahtani had already arrived in Libya, or if he would.Callum Paton, “Isis in Libya: New leader of Islamic State in Sirte – Abul-Mughirah al-Qahtani – steps out from the shadows,” International Business Times, September 14, 2015, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-libya-new-leader-islamic-state-sirte-abul-mughirah-al-qahtani-steps-out-shadows-1519702. Sources later revealed that al-Qahtani had been a senior Iraqi commander who played a key role in ISIS’s 2014 battle in Tikrit, Iraq. Al-Qahtani was also suspected of narrating a February 2015 ISIS propaganda video featuring the execution of Coptic Christians.Callum Paton, “New Isis leader in Libya – Abdel Qader al-Najdi threatens Daesh invasion of Rome through Africa,” International Business Times, March 10, 2016, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/new-isis-leader-abdel-qader-al-najdi-threatens-daesh-invasion-rome-through-north-africa-1548697.

According to ISIS’s eulogy for al-Qahtani, the ISIS militant joined the Iraqi insurgency against U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion of that country. He was imprisoned in Baghdad in 2008 for a year and a half. After his release he returned to the battlefield. Al-Qahtani was soon re-captured and sent to Abu Ghraib prison, where he remained until an ISIS-led jailbreak in July 2013. ISIS credited al-Qahtani with participating in the establishment and growth of its caliphate and leading its expansion into North Africa.Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, “Translation: Eulogy to Abu Nabil al-Anbari, Islamic State Leader in Libya,” Middle East Forum, January 7, 2016, http://www.meforum.org/blog/2016/01/abu-nabil-al-anbari.

Al-Qahtani told Dabiq that Libya “has a great importance” for the global Islamic community because of its geography in Africa and proximity to Europe. He called Libya a “gate to the African desert stretching to a number of African countries,” and noted “Libyan resources are a concern for the kafir West due to their reliance upon Libya” for oil and gas. He further said ISIS control over Libya will cause “economic breakdowns” for Italy and the rest of Europe. The “Islamic State” in Libya is still young, he said, and needed medics, religious scholars, and administrative personnel, in addition to fighters.“Interview With Abul-Mughirah Al-Qahtani,” Dabiq, September 2015, https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/the-islamic-state-e2809cdc481biq-magazine-11e280b3.pdf.

Al-Qahtani also called Ansar al-Sharia in Libya part of “the apostate regime” in Tripoli. He accused the group of receiving resources from “filthy hands.” Al-Qahtani blamed an August 2015 rebellion in the ISIS-held Libyan city of Sirte on followers of Libyan army General Khalifa Hafter, who had led the fight against Islamist groups in the country.“Interview With Abul-Mughirah Al-Qahtani,” Dabiq, September 2015, https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/the-islamic-state-e2809cdc481biq-magazine-11e280b3.pdf. In mid-August, ISIS beheaded 12 of the rebellion’s leaders.Callum Paton, “Isis in Libya: 12 beheaded and crucified by Islamic State in city of Sirte,” International Business Times, August 17, 2015, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-libya-twelve-beheaded-crucified-by-islamic-state-city-sirte-1515774.

In December 2015, the Pentagon confirmed the November 2015 death of al-Qahtani, using his aliases Abu Nabil and Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi.“Statement From Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on November 13 airstrike in Libya,” U.S. Department of Defense, December 7, 2015, http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/633221/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-nov-13-airstrike-in-libya. The following month, ISIS released a eulogy confirming al-Qahtani’s death.Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, “Translation: Eulogy to Abu Nabil al-Anbari, Islamic State Leader in Libya,” Middle East Forum, January 7, 2016, http://www.meforum.org/blog/2016/01/abu-nabil-al-anbari.

Mohamed Dulyadayn, al-Shabab’s military leader for Somalia’s Juba region, is believed to have been killed in a raid on June 1, 2016, alongside four other al-Shabab militants in southern Somalia.Cyrus Ombati, “Garissa University terror attack mastermind killed in raid,” Standard Digital (Nairobi), June 2, 2016, http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000203731/garissa-university-terror-attack-mastermind-killed-in-raid. U.S. officials stated that the raid was carried out by Somali Special Forces with American support.Lolita Baldor, “US drone strike targets al-Shabab commander in Somalia,” Associated Press, June 1, 2016, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/000a88c13d2c4e0786d4cf568e7d2b07/us-drone-strike-targets-al-shabab-commander-somalia.

Dulyadayn was reportedly responsible for orchestrating the April 2015 attack at Kenya’s Garissa University, which killed 148 people in the single deadliest attack launched by al-Shabab to date.“Kenya attack: 147 dead in Garissa University assault,” BBC News, April 2, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32169080. In the months leading up to his death in 2016, Dulyadayn is believed to have been responsible for intensified attacks in northern Kenya and in the country’s coastal region, including the cities of Garissa, Mandera, and Lamu.Cyrus Ombati, “Garissa University terror attack mastermind killed in raid,” Standard Digital (Nairobi), June 2, 2016, http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000203731/garissa-university-terror-attack-mastermind-killed-in-raid.

Dulyadayn had evaded Kenyan, Somali, and even U.S. authorities for years. In 2015, it was falsely reported that Dulyadayn was killed in a U.S. drone strike. The claim was quickly retracted by Kenyan authorities.Cyrus Ombati, “Garissa University terror attack mastermind killed in raid,” Standard Digital (Nairobi), June 2, 2016, http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000203731/garissa-university-terror-attack-mastermind-killed-in-raid.

Before his reported death, Dulyadayn was involved with al-Shabab for more than 15 years. He joined the terror group in 2000 in the hopes of establishing an Islamic caliphate in Somalia. Prior to joining al-Shabab, Dulyadayn was a teacher and worked for an Islamic charitable foundation. From 1993 to 1995, Dulyadayn worked for Al-Haramain Foundation in Somalia. He then worked as a teacher and principal at a madrassa (Islamic school) in Garissa, from 1997 to 2000Cyrus Ombati, “Garissa University terror attack mastermind killed in raid,” Standard Digital (Nairobi), June 2, 2016, http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000203731/garissa-university-terror-attack-mastermind-killed-in-raid..

Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada is the emir (leader) of the Taliban, successor to Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour. Akhundzada’s appointment to the position was announced by the Taliban’s senior leadership on May 25, 2016, following the death of Mansour in a U.S. drone strike in southwestern Pakistan on May 21, 2016. As the emir of the Taliban, Akhundzada is responsible for overseeing the courts and judges.Abubakar Siddique, “The Quetta Shura: Understanding the Afghan Taliban’s Leadership,” Terrorism Monitor 12, no. 4 (February 21, 2014), http://www.jamestown.org/programs/tm/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=42006&cHash=7af7678306a23ff6734f35e261b15b90#.VTVCgy HBzGc. He also oversees the 11 Taliban commissions, which deal with the military, politics, culture, economics, health, education, outreach and guidance, prisoners, non-governmental organizations, martyrs and disabled persons, and civilian casualties.“Fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, submitted pursuant to resolution 2160 (2014) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to the peace, stability and security of Afghanistan,” United Nations Security Council, December 11, 2014, http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2014/888. Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, Akhundzada was named the supreme leader of the movement on September 7, 2021.Matthieu Aikins and Jim Huylebroek, “Taliban Appoint Stalwarts to Top Government Posts,” New York Times, September 7, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/world/asia/taliban-women-protest-kabul-afghanistan.html.

Before rising to the position of emir, Akhundzada had served as a deputy leader to Mullah Mansour. He was considered a key cleric and spiritual guide within the Taliban, but reportedly lacks any military experience.Mujib Mashal, “Taliban Name New Leader After Confirming Predecessor Died in U.S. Strike,” New York Times, May 25, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-new-leader.html. During the Taliban’s control of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, Akhundzada served as a top judge in the Taliban’s sharia court system, both in Kandahar and in the supreme court in Kabul.Mujib Mashal, “Taliban Name New Leader After Confirming Predecessor Died in U.S. Strike,” New York Times, May 25, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-new-leader.html. Following the Taliban’s fall from power, Akhundzada reportedly served as the Taliban’s Chief Justice.Masoud Popalzai and Euan McKirdy, “Taliban's new leader described as educated, well-respected,” CNN, May 25, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/middleeast/new-taliban-leader-announced.

Little else is publicly known about Akhunzada, other than that he was born in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and comes from the Noorzai tribe.Mujib Mashal, “Taliban Name New Leader After Confirming Predecessor Died in U.S. Strike,” New York Times, May 25, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-new-leader.html. According to sources from within the Taliban, Akhundzada is well-educated, well-liked, and may be amenable to entering into peace negotiations with the Afghan government. Akhundzada is believed to have been responsible for negotiating the Taliban’s temporary ceasefire with the Afghan government in early 2016.Masoud Popalzai and Euan McKirdy, “Taliban's new leader described as educated, well-respected,” CNN, May 25, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/middleeast/new-taliban-leader-announced.

Akhundzada’s relative anonymity has reportedly served as a factor in the Taliban’s decision to elevate him. Previously, many had assumed that more well-known figures, like Haqqani network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, would succeed Mullah Mansour. Akhundzada, on the other hand, may have been seen by the Taliban leadership as a significantly less public and controversial choice than Haqqani, both major assets as the group seeks to shield its leadership from detection by authorities, as well as retain control over its internal factions.Mujib Mashal, “Taliban Name New Leader After Confirming Predecessor Died in U.S. Strike,” New York Times, May 25, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-new-leader.html.

On August 6, 2021, the Taliban began an offensive against major Afghan cities with the seizure of Zaranj, capital of Nimruz province.Susannah George and Ezzatullah Mehrdad, “Taliban fighters overrun an Afghan provincial capital for the first time since withdrawal of foreign forces,” Washington Post, August 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/06/afghanistan-taliban-nimruz/. By August 13, the Taliban controlled 17 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals and more than two-thirds of the country.Rahim Faiez, and Joseph Krauss, “Taliban sweep across Afghanistan’s south; take 4 more cities,” Associated Press, August 13, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-taliban-c6c8d4a41c554f36031a8131538d1402. By August 16, the Taliban laid siege to the presidential palace and took complete control of Kabul, after which the Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan had ended.“Taliban declares ‘war is over’ as president and diplomats flee Kabul,” Reuters, August 15, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/talibans-rapid-advance-across-afghanistan-2021-08-10/. A month after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, on September 7, 2021, the Taliban announced the official appointments within their caretaker government. Akhundzada was named supreme leader of the movement. The government is exclusively male, with many positions filled with veterans from their hardline movement in the early 1990s.Matthieu Aikins and Jim Huylebroek, “Taliban Appoint Stalwarts to Top Government Posts,” New York Times, September 7, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/world/asia/taliban-women-protest-kabul-afghanistan.html; Kathy Gannon, “Taliban form all-male Afghan government of old guard members,” Associated Press, September 8, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-pakistan-afghanistan-arrests-islamabad-d50b1b490d27d32eb20cc11b77c12c87.

Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Akhundzada reportedly relocated to his native Kandahar.Hannah Ritchie and Sahar Akbarzai, “Taliban supreme leader warns foreigners not to interfere in Afghanistan,” CNN, July 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/02/asia/taliban-supreme-leader-warning-intl/index.html. Akhundzada maintained a relatively low profile following the appointments of the interim government, making few public appearances. This led to the spread of rumors of his death. On October 29, 2021, Akhundzada made an official public appearance—his first since the Taliban’s August takeover of Afghanistan—in Kandahar to visit the Jamia Darul Aloom Hakimia religious school. The Taliban subsequently released a 10-minute audio recording of the event on social media.“Reclusive Taliban supreme leader makes rare public appearance,” Guardian (London), October 31, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/31/reclusive-taliban-supreme-leader-rare-public-appearance-haibatullah-akhundzada. On November 5, 2021, Akhundzada released a statement informing Taliban members to “look inside their ranks and see if there is any unknown entity working against the will of the government, which must be eradicated as soon as possible.”“Afghanistan: Taliban's leader warns against infiltrators,” WION News, November 5, 2021, https://www.wionews.com/videos/afghanistan-talibans-leader-warns-against-infiltrators-427069; Rachel Bunyan,“Shot dead for playing music at a wedding reception: Gunmen claiming to be Taliban enforcers kill three guests at Afghan ceremony after demanding music is turned off,” Daily Mail, November 1, 2021, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10152447/Gunmen-claiming-Taliban-enforcers-kill-three-guests-Afghan-ceremony-playing-music.html. According to media sources, there have been individuals who joined the Taliban to discredit the movement from the inside. The statement was made following a shooting on October 30 in which three gunmen posing as Taliban members killed three people and injured 10 others at a wedding for allegedly playing music too loudly. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the men were associated with the Islamist movement, stating that two of the assailants have been arrested, while the other escaped.“Afghanistan: Taliban's leader warns against infiltrators,” WION News, November 5, 2021, https://www.wionews.com/videos/afghanistan-talibans-leader-warns-against-infiltrators-427069; Rachel Bunyan,“Shot dead for playing music at a wedding reception: Gunmen claiming to be Taliban enforcers kill three guests at Afghan ceremony after demanding music is turned off,” Daily Mail, November 1, 2021, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10152447/Gunmen-claiming-Taliban-enforcers-kill-three-guests-Afghan-ceremony-playing-music.html.

Hassan al-Banna (1906-1949) was an Egyptian schoolteacher, an Islamic theologian, and the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was a contemporary of Islamist ideologues Sayyid Qutb and Abul Ala Maududi, whose theories have helped form the violent Islamist ideology known as Qutbism.

As a young schoolteacher, al-Banna taught in the Suez Canal town of Ismailia, Egypt. He became increasingly angered by Western influence and morals, which he saw as a threat to Islam. To counter secularism and the modernization of Egypt, al-Banna began practicing dawa, proselytizing to young Egyptians with the message of returning to the early traditions of Muslim piety. He rejected the phenomenon of nationalism and instead espoused an ideology of pan-Islamic unity, marrying faith and nationalism in the hope of erecting an Islamic caliphate.Tarek Osman, Egypt on the Brink, (New Haven: Yale University Press: 2013); “Hassan al-Banna and his political thought of Islamic Brotherhood,” Ikhwanweb: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Official English web site, last modified May 13, 2008, http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=17065.

In 1928, the charismatic schoolteacher formed the Society of the Muslim Brothers (the Muslim Brotherhood) in Ismailia. The organization grew rapidly as al-Banna launched branches across Egypt complete with mosques, schools, and sporting clubs. Under al-Banna’s leadership, the Brotherhood grew to operate approximately 2,000 branches throughout the country.“Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood,” BBC News, December 25, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12313405; Denis J. Sullivan and Kimberly Jones, Global Security Watch-Egypt: A Reference Handbook: A Reference Handbook, (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International, 2008), 150.

In the 1940s, al-Banna formed the Brotherhood’s underground military wing, the “secret apparatus,” which focused its attacks on British rule in Egypt and Jewish presence in Palestine. He promoted jihad and what he called the “art of death,” reminding Brotherhood members of the Prophetic saying that “He who dies and has not fought and was not resolved to fight, has died a jahiliyya [non-Muslim, ignorant, or pagan] death.”Omar Ashour, “Myths and realities: The Muslim Brothers and armed activism,” Al Jazeera, August 12, 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/08/myths-realities-muslim-brothers--20148129319751298.html; “Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood,” BBC News, December 25, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12313405; “The Muslim Brotherhood: Understanding its Roots and Impact,” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, accessed September 10, 2015, http://www.defenddemocracy.org/the-muslim-brotherhood-understanding-its-roots-and-impact/.

In December 1948, the secret apparatus assassinated Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud an-Nuqrashi Pasha, who had recently banned the Brotherhood. Less than three months later, in February 1949, the Egyptian secret service assassinated al-Banna near his office, likely in retaliation for Nuqrashi’s murder.“Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201126101349142168.html;
“Hassan al-Banna,” Harvard Divinity School, accessed April 28, 2016, http://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/hassan-al-banna;
Tarek Osman, Egypt on the Brink, (New Haven: Yale University Press: 2013);
John Mintz and Douglas Farah, “In Search of Friends Among the Foes: U.S. Hopes to Work with Diverse Group,” Washington Post, September 11, 2004, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12823-2004Sep10.html;
Denis J. Sullivan and Kimberly Jones, Global Security Watch-Egypt: A Reference Handbook: A Reference Handbook, (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International, 2008), 149.

Abul Ala Maududi (1903-1979) was an Islamic theologian, a prolific author, and the founder of the political Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). Maududi’s theories helped form the tenets of Qutbism, an ideology that is believed to have influenced numerous violent extremist groups including al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Maududi was born in Aurangabad, British India (now Maharashtra, India), in 1903. As a child, he was homeschooled in subjects including the Quran and Hadith, as well as Arabic and Persian. He then studied at the prominent Deobandi school Dar ul-Ulum (also spelled Darul Aloom). At 17 years old, Maududi moved to Delhi and edited two prominent Deobani newspapers, Muslim and al-Jamiyat. He then became the editor and a key writer for the Muslim revivalist journal Tarjuman al-Qur’an.Nikhat Ekbal, Great Muslims of Undivided India (Delhi: Kalpaz Publications: 2009), 141; Haroon K. Ullah, Vying for Allah’s Vote, (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press: 2014), 78; Nadeem F. Paracha, “Abul Ala Maududi: An existentialist history,” Dawn (Karachi), January 1, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1154419.

Maududi initially expressed admiration for Mahatma Gandhi’s Indian National Congress. In the late 1930s Maududi began to denigrate the Congress for its nationalism, which he saw as the evil responsible for the destruction of the Ottoman Empire. In order to combat such evil, Maududi contended, humanity must live under the sovereignty of God and his laws, or sharia (Islamic law).

“Islam is not merely a religious creed or compound…but a comprehensive system which envisages to annihilate all tyrannical and evil systems in the world,” Maududi declared to a crowd at Lahore’s town hall in 1939. In this speech, titled “Jihad in Islam,” Maududi preached that Islam was a program that sought to “alter the social order of the whole world” and “rebuild it in conformity with its own tenets and ideals.” Jihad, he reasoned, was the “revolutionary struggle and utmost exertion” that would bring about Islam’s revolutionary program.Abul A’la Maududi, “Jihad in Islam,” April 13, 1939, 5, http://muhammadanism.com/Terrorism/jihah_in_islam/jihad_in_islam.pdf; Nadeem F. Paracha, “Abul Ala Maududi: An existentialist history,” Dawn (Karachi), January 1, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1154419.

Maududi insisted that sharia would eradicate what he referred to as modern jahiliyya, the state of ignorance afflicting the world’s Muslims. Such modern jahiliyya—in the form of socialism, secularism, or liberal democracy, for example—resembled the ancient variety under which Arabia was ruled prior to the divine message of the Prophet Mohammad. According to Maududi, the only way to defend against jahiliyya was to Islamize society, first by introducing Islamic regulation to politics and economy, and eventually the entire state. Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb went on to popularize these notions in the 1960s. Nadeem F. Paracha, “Abul Ala Maududi: An existentialist history,” Dawn (Karachi), January 1, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1154419; Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower (New York: Random House, 2011), 34-35; Dale C. Eikmeier, “Qutbsim: An Ideology of Islamic-Facism,” 2007, U.S. Army War College, 89, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a485995.pdf.

By the early 1940s, Maududi had declared the All India Muslim League—a political party advocating for a separate Muslim-majority nation state on the subcontinent—to be a “party of pagans” and “nominal Muslims.” A Muslim-majority nation was insufficient in protecting Muslims and eradicating jahiliyya, according to Maududi.Nadeem F. Paracha, “Abul Ala Maududi: An existentialist history,” Dawn (Karachi), January 1, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1154419.

In 1941 Maududi founded JeI, hoping to organize a group of pious and learned Muslims that would eventually take total political power. These Muslims, Maududi envisioned, would bring sharia to the Indian subcontinent and erect an Islamic state. Maududi was elected emir of JeI and served in that position until his health declined in 1972.Nikhat Ekbal, Great Muslims of Undivided India (Delhi: Kalpaz Publications: 2009), 141-142; Haroon K. Ullah, Vying for Allah’s Vote (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press: 2014), 78-80.

After the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent, Maududi moved to Pakistan and remodeled JeI as a political opposition party in that country. Pakistani authorities jailed Maududi between 1948 and 1950 for denouncing Pakistan’s operations in Kashmir. He was again imprisoned between 1953 and 1955.Haroon K. Ullah, Vying for Allah’s Vote (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press: 2014), 80; “Mawdūdī, Abūʾl-Aʿlā,” Britannica, accessed April 28, 2016, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Abul-Ala-Mawdudi.

In 1960, Maududi wrote in his book The Islamic Law & Constitution about his vision of an Islamic state where “no one can regard any field of his affairs as personal and private.” The totalitarianism of God’s sovereignty, Maududi wrote, would “[bear] a resemblance to the Fascist and Communist states.” Scholars have adopted the term Islamic-Fascism, or Islamofascism, to describe Maududi’s and others’ Islamist vision. Retired Colonel Dale C. Eikmeier wrote that Maududi “reminded Muslims that Islam [was] more than a religion; it [was] a complete social system that guide[d] and [controlled] every aspect of life including government.”Sayyid Abul A’La Maududi, The Islamic Law & Constitution (Lahore: Islamic Publications Ltd.: 1960), 146; Dale C. Eikmeier, “Qutbism: An Ideology of Islamic-Fascism,” Parameters: U.S. Army War College Quarterly, Spring 2007, 87, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a485995.pdf.

In 1972, Maududi stepped down from JeI’s leadership due to poor health. In 1979, he moved to the United States and received medical care from his son, a physician. He died in Buffalo, New York, on September 22, 1979.Nikhat Ekbal, Great Muslims of Undivided India (Delhi: Kalpaz Publications: 2009), 142.

Abdullah Azzam (1941-1989) was a Palestinian Islamist preacher who helped found al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Lashkar-e-Taiba. He is often referred to as the father of global jihad, and was instrumental in recruiting foreign fighters to Afghanistan in the 1980s. Azzam theorized that Muslims should fight a single, global jihad against their enemies as opposed to smaller, separate national fights.Bruce Riedel, “The 9/11 Attacks’ Spiritual Father,” Daily Beast, September 11, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/11/abdullah-azzam-spiritual-father-of-9-11-attacks-ideas-live-on.html;
Roland Jacquard, In the Name of Osama Bin Laden, (Diane Pub Co: 2002), 59; Chris Suellentrop, “Abdullah Azzam: the godfather of jihad,” Slate, April 16, 2002, http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/2002/04/abdullah_azzam.html.

Azzam served as Osama bin Laden’s mentor, and has reportedly influenced such notorious terrorists as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Anwar al-Awlaki. Azzam’s theories have also allegedly inspired large scale terrorist attacks and attempts, including the 2009 suicide bombing of a CIA base in Afghanistan, and the 2010 Times Square bombing attempt.Aryn Baker, “Who Killed Abdullah Azzam?” Time, June 18, 2009, http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902809_1902810_1905173-1,00.html;
Bruce Riedel, “The 9/11 Attacks’ Spiritual Father,” Daily Beast, September 11, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/11/abdullah-azzam-spiritual-father-of-9-11-attacks-ideas-live-on.html.

Azzam was born in Jordan-controlled Transjordan (now the West Bank) in 1941. During the 1967 war with Israel, Azzam’s family fled east across the Jordan River into Jordan proper. Azzam’s resentment toward Israel later fueled his ambitions to help found Hamas, a terrorist organization sanction-designated by the United States, the United Nations, and others which operates out of the Palestinian territories.Bruce Riedel, “The 9/11 Attacks’ Spiritual Father,” Daily Beast, September 11, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/11/abdullah-azzam-spiritual-father-of-9-11-attacks-ideas-live-on.html;
Sheik Abdullah Azzam, “Defense of the Muslim Lands,” Religioscope, 2002, 3, http://johnclamoreaux.org/smu/islam-west/s/azzam-def.pdf.

Azzam studied Islamic law and philosophy at several schools in Damascus and at Al-Azhar University in Egypt. He was offered a teaching position at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he taught Osama bin Laden. Azzam reportedly imparted his understanding of jihad to bin Laden, and served as a spiritual mentor in the years preceding the formation of al-Qaeda.Aryn Baker, “Who Killed Abdullah Azzam?” Time, June 18, 2009, http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902809_1902810_1905173-1,00.html;
Asaf Maliach, “Abdullah Azzam, Al-Qaeda, and Hamas,” Institute for National Security Studies, October 2010, Volume 2, No. 2, http://www.inss.org.il/uploadimages/Import/(FILE)1298359986.pdf.

In response to the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, Azzam published The Defense of Muslim Lands, in which he called for a religious war to liberate Muslim lands from foreign occupiers. Fighting such a war, Azzam believed, was a “Fard Ayn, a compulsory duty upon all [Muslims],” as translated by Religioscope, a French website that publishes articles on religion, among other resources. The book quickly spread through the Muslim world. In addition, Azzam wrote numerous articles outlining the requirements of global jihad and glorifying the role of suicide bombers.Sheik Abdullah Azzam, “Defense of the Muslim Lands,” Religioscope, 2002, 9, http://johnclamoreaux.org/smu/islam-west/s/azzam-def.pdf; Aryn Baker, “Who Killed Abdullah Azzam?” Time, June 18, 2009, http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902809_1902810_1905173-1,00.html;
Bruce Riedel, “The 9/11 Attacks’ Spiritual Father,” Daily Beast, September 11, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/11/abdullah-azzam-spiritual-father-of-9-11-attacks-ideas-live-on.html.

In 1979, Azzam and bin Laden traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan, close to the Afghan border, to join the fight against the Soviet occupation. The pair created the Maktab al-Khadamat or “Services Office,” which organized the influx of foreign fighters responding to the call of jihad. Al-Qaeda would later evolve from these efforts. The Maktab was funded by bin Laden, who provided foreign fighters with plane tickets and housing expenses. The pair published the monthly Al Jihad magazine to inspire jihad and condemn the Soviets.Aryn Baker, “Who Killed Abdullah Azzam?” Time, June 18, 2009, http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902809_1902810_1905173-1,00.html;
Bruce Riedel, “The 9/11 Attacks’ Spiritual Father,” Daily Beast, September 11, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/11/abdullah-azzam-spiritual-father-of-9-11-attacks-ideas-live-on.html.

During the 1980s, Azzam traveled internationally—including to 50 American cities and throughout the Arab world—to preach and recruit Muslims to the jihad in Afghanistan. He reportedly sent aides to 26 U.S. states to preach the message of global jihad. In his lifetime, Azzam is believed to have recruited between 16,000 and 20,000 fighters from over 20 countries.Roland Jacquard, In the Name of Osama Bin Laden, (Diane Pub Co: 2002), 59; Chris Suellentrop, “Abdullah Azzam: the godfather of jihad,” Slate, April 16, 2002, http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/2002/04/abdullah_azzam.html.

Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, Azzam urged bin Laden to take the jihad to the Palestinian territories. However, bin Laden instead stayed back in Afghanistan and combined forces with Ayman al-Zawahiri to form al-Qaeda. Azzam separated himself from the newly formed alliance due to his disagreement with al-Zawahiri’s goal of waging jihad in Afghanistan, as it called for Muslims to kill other Muslims. Instead, Azzam established a network to recruit Palestinians to train in Afghanistan for an eventual fight with Israel, which led to the formation of Hamas. Recruits would travel to Afghanistan under false passports to evade Israeli intelligence. Aryn Baker, “Who Killed Abdullah Azzam?” Time, June 18, 2009, http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902809_1902810_1905173-1,00.html; Bruce Riedel, “The 9/11 Attacks’ Spiritual Father,” Daily Beast, September 11, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/11/abdullah-azzam-spiritual-father-of-9-11-attacks-ideas-live-on.html.

Azzam had long promoted jihad against Israel. In the 1960s, he held membership in the Islamic Movement, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Palestinian territories. The movement evolved into Hamas in 1987. Azzam helped write its founding charter. Following Azzam’s death, Hamas included Azzam at the top of its list of martyrs. In a December 1989 interview with Al Jazeera, bin Laden admitted that Azzam had openly supported Hamas financially and ideologically.Asaf Maliach, “Abdullah Azzam, Al-Qaeda, and Hamas,” Institute for National Security Studies, October 2010, Volume 2, No. 2, http://www.inss.org.il/uploadimages/Import/(FILE)1298359986.pdf;
Bruce Riedel, “The 9/11 Attacks’ Spiritual Father,” Daily Beast, September 11, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/11/abdullah-azzam-spiritual-father-of-9-11-attacks-ideas-live-on.html.

Azzam and bin Laden also helped establish the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the late 1980s. They provided the group’s co-founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed with funding to build the terror organization. LeT follows the teachings of Azzam and calls for global jihad. Al-Qaeda and LeT maintain an alliance and provide each other with training and support.Bill Roggio, “US adds 2 Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders, several aliases to terror list,” Long War Journal, June 25, 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/us_adds_2_lashkar-e.php.

Azzam was killed by a roadside bomb in Peshawar, Pakistan, on November 23, 1989. He was killed alongside two of his sons while traveling to preach at a local mosque. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Analysts have speculated that Jordan’s intelligence service, Israel’s Mossad, the United States, the KGB, the Afghan intelligence service, or al-Zawahiri himself was responsible for his death. Al-Zawahiri and Azzam had reportedly feuded over bin Laden’s loyalty and the projection of global jihad. In alluding to al-Zawahiri’s alleged role in the assassination, Azzam’s former translator said: “Peshwar was a city where if you had money, you could pay to get any work done, from street-cleaning to assassinations.” None of these allegations have been proven.Aryn Baker, “Who Killed Abdullah Azzam?” Time, June 18, 2009, http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902809_1902810_1905173-1,00.html;
Bruce Riedel, “The 9/11 Attacks’ Spiritual Father,” Daily Beast, September 11, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/11/abdullah-azzam-spiritual-father-of-9-11-attacks-ideas-live-on.html.

Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian author and the lead theologian of the Muslim Brotherhood. His extremist theories have helped inform the tenets of an ideological movement often referred to by analysts as Qutbism. Born in Asyut Governorate, Egypt, in 1906, Qutb was executed by hanging in 1966. His writings—particularly Milestones and In the Shade of the Quran—are believed to have inspired the leaders of future Islamist terror groups, including al-Qaeda founders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.Dale C. Eikmeier, “Qutbism: An Ideology of Islamic-Fascism,” Parameters: U.S. Army War College Quarterly, Spring 2007, 89, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a485995.pdf; Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 36; Johannes J. G. Jansen, The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism, (New York: Cornell University Press, 1997), 50.

Qutb memorized the Quran by the age of 10 and completed his secondary education in Cairo. There he worked as a teacher, joined the ministry of education, and wrote novels and essays criticizing Egyptian society. Qutb traveled to the United States in 1948 to study in Washington, D.C., and Greeley, Colorado. Disgusted by what he perceived as the moral bankruptcy of Western society, Qutb joined the Muslim Brotherhood—founded by Hassan al-Banna in 1928—upon his return to Egypt in 1950. Through the Muslim Brotherhood, Qutb sought to eradicate Western influence from Egyptian society through the application of sharia (Islamic law).Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 9, 18-20, 27-28; Robert Siegel, “Sayyid Qutb’s America,” NPR, May 6, 2003, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1253796; Johannes J. G. Jansen, The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism, (New York: Cornell University Press, 1997), 49; Paul Berman, “The Philosopher of Islamic Terror,” New York Times, March 23, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/magazine/the-philosopher-of-islamic-terror.html?pagewanted=all.

As a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Qutb conspired with the Free Officers—a secular, nationalist, pan-Arab movement headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser—to overthrow the ruler of the British-tied Egyptian monarchy, King Farouk. Nasser reportedly promised Qutb a prominent position in government in the event of a successful coup. According to author Lawrence Wright, after the Free Officers took power in July 1952, Nasser offered Qutb the post of minister of education or general manager of Cairo radio, both of which Qutb turned down. Tension rose between the secular Free Officers and the theocratic Brotherhood, leading to Qutb’s brief, three-month incarceration in early 1953.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 31-33; Paul Berman, “The Philosopher of Islamic Terror,” New York Times, March 23, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/magazine/the-philosopher-of-islamic-terror.html?pagewanted=all; “1952: Egyptian army ousts prime minister,” BBC, accessed April 20, 2016, http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/7/newsid_3074000/3074069.stm.

Following his release, Qutb became the editor of the Brotherhood’s magazine, Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 32. In October 1954, a member of the Brotherhood’s underground military wing (the “secret apparatus”) attempted to assassinate Nasser, leading to a widespread crackdown on the group. Nasser executed the six suspected conspirators and sentenced Qutb to life in prison, charging him with membership in the Brotherhood’s secret apparatus.Paul Berman, “The Philosopher of Islamic Terror,” New York Times, March 23, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/magazine/the-philosopher-of-islamic-terror.html?pagewanted=all; Steven A. Cook, “Nearly 60 years ago, Egypt's generals tried to crush the Muslim Brotherhood. It didn’t go well,” Foreign Policy, July 17, 2013, http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/07/17/echoes-of-nasser/.

Qutb grew extremely ill during his first year in prison, prompting the court to reduce his life sentence to 15 years. He was moved to the prison hospital for the remainder of his incarceration, where he wrote his seminal works, including Milestones and In the Shade of the Quran. Qutb’s friends and family smuggled sections of Milestones from the prison. It was published in 1964 before being quickly banned.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 34-35.

In Milestones, Qutb re-popularized the Islamic concept of takfir, by which Muslims serving a secular ruler are rendered apostates and thus legitimate targets of execution. Qutb also wrote about jahiliyya, Arabia’s pagan existence prior to the divine message of the Prophet Mohammad. Qutb argued that the world was in a state of modern jahiliyya, and that Muslims were living as blindly and ignorantly as pagans in pre-Islamic Arabia. According to Qutb, this affliction could only be corrected by the implementation of sharia, brought about by offensive jihad. Takfir thus served as the legal loophole sanctioning Islamists to wage jihad against Muslim state officials. Analysts argue that the jihadists responsible for Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s assassination in 1981 were attempting to put Qutb’s theories into practice.Youssef Aboul-Enein, “Learning from Adel Hammouda’s Work on Militant Islamist Movements,” Combatting Terrorism Center, September 15, 2008, https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/learning-from-adel-hammouda%E2%80%99s-work-on-militant-islamist-movements; Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 34-35; Dale C. Eikmeier, “Qutbsim: An Ideology of Islamic-Facism,” U.S. Army War College 37, no. 1 (2007): 89, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a485995.pdf.

Qutb was released from prison in 1964. He returned to his home in Helwan province and began plotting with the Brotherhood’s secret apparatus to undermine Nasser’s government. On August 9, 1965, approximately six months following his release, Egyptian police rearrested Qutb on the grounds of treason, an attempted coup d’état, and his alleged previous role in Nasser’s assassination plot. During Qutb’s nearly three month trial, prosecutors cited passages from Milestones as evidence against him, effectively popularizing the book, its concepts, and its author.Paul Berman, “The Philosopher of Islamic Terror,” New York Times, March 23, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/magazine/the-philosopher-of-islamic-terror.html?pagewanted=all; Johannes J. G. Jansen, The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism, (New York: Cornell University Press, 1997), 50; The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 36.

On August 21, 1966, Qutb was found guilty by an Egyptian court and sentenced to death. Upon hearing the verdict, he declared, “Thank God…. I performed jihad for fifteen years until I earned this martyrdom.” Qutb was executed by hanging in Cairo on August 29, 1966.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 36-37; Johannes J. G. Jansen, The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism, (New York: Cornell University Press, 1997), 49-50.

The concepts propagated by Qutb have served as the ideological backbone of countless Islamist terror groups. According to journalist Paul Berman, Qutb’s Milestones became a “classic manifesto of the terrorist wing of Islamic fundamentalism.” Following his death, many regarded Qutb as a martyr for the Islamist cause. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the current leader of al-Qaeda, later credited Qutb’s execution with igniting the jihadist movement.Dale C. Eikmeier, “Qutbsim: An Ideology of Islamic-Facism,” U.S. Army War College 37, no. 1 (2007): 89, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a485995.pdf; Paul Berman, “The Philosopher of Islamic Terror,” New York Times, March 23, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/magazine/the-philosopher-of-islamic-terror.html?pagewanted=all.

Shaker Wahib al-Fahdawi, commonly known as Abu Wahib, was a former member of al-Qaeda who became ISIS’s senior military commander in Anbar province.Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Joby Warrick, “Notorious Islamic State leader killed in airstrike, Pentagon says,” Washington Post, May 9, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/09/notorious-islamic-state-leader-killed-in-airstrike-pentagon-says/. He reportedly held significant sway over younger militant members, and was, according to Western media, “obsessively image-conscious” and “something of a cult figure for up-and-coming jihadis.”Tim Arango and Eric Schmitt, “Escaped Inmates From Iraq Fuel Syrian Insurgency,” New York Times, February 12, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/world/middleeast/escaped-inmates-from-iraq-fuel-syria-insurgency.html?_r=0; Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Joby Warrick, “Notorious Islamic State leader killed in airstrike, Pentagon says,” Washington Post, May 9, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/09/notorious-islamic-state-leader-killed-in-airstrike-pentagon-says/.

In 2006, U.S. forces captured Abu Wahib in Iraq and held him at the U.S.-run Camp Bucca prison in the south of the country.“ISIS Commander mocked online for ‘shawarma’ outfit,” Al Arabiya, March 18, 2015, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2015/03/18/ISIS-commander-mocked-online-for-doner-kebab-outfit.html; Suman Varandani, “Who Is Abu Wahib? ISIS Leader In Iraq’s Anbar Province Killed In US Airstrike,” International Business Times, May 10, 2016, http://www.ibtimes.com/who-abu-wahib-isis-leader-iraqs-anbar-province-killed-us-airstrike-2366652. He was transferred to Iraq’s Tikrit prison after the U.S. withdrawal,Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Joby Warrick, “Notorious Islamic State leader killed in airstrike, Pentagon says,” Washington Post, May 9, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/09/notorious-islamic-state-leader-killed-in-airstrike-pentagon-says/. but escaped in 2012 alongside more than 100 other prisoners during an al-Qaeda raid on the facility.“A mass escape from Tikrit prison,” SkyNews Arabia, September 28, 2012, http://www.skynewsarabia.com/web/article/47628فرار-جماعي-سجن-تكريت. Wahib first gained notoriety in 2013, when he was filmed harshly interrogating three Syrian truck drivers in Anbar province in order to ascertain if they were Sunni.“Abu Wahib sentences three truck drivers to death in 2013,” Daily Mail (London), http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1099961/Abu-Wahib-sentences-three-truck-drivers-death-2013.html. Unsatisfied as to their Islamic commitment, Abu Wahib executed all three men on the side of the highway. After the murders, Anbar province intelligence official Colonel Yasin Dwaij remarked, “[Abu Wahid] is the only one who kills without covering his face, and is working on declaring an Islamic state…He is dangerous and cunning.”Agence France-Presse Baghdad, “Bare-faced killer rises to fore of Iraqi militancy,” Gulf Times (Doha), http://www.gulf-times.com/region/216/details/364086/bare-faced-killer-rises-to-fore-of-iraq-militancy. His charismatic qualities and prominence in ISIS propaganda videos made Abu Wahib an ISIS figurehead, “an image intended to inspire and stir ISIS supporters inside and outside Iraq,” according to Al-Monitor.Mushreq Abbas, “Has al-Qaeda found Zarqawi’s successor?” Al-Monitor, January 15, 2014, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/iraq-isis-shaker-wahib-zarqawi.html#.

In or around 2013, authorities in Anbar province placed a $50,000 bounty on Abu Wahib. This later rose to $500,000.Agence France-Presse Baghdad, “Bare-faced killer rises to fore of Iraqi militancy,” Gulf Times (Doha), http://www.gulf-times.com/region/216/details/364086/bare-faced-killer-rises-to-fore-of-iraq-militancy; “ISIS Commander mocked online for ‘shawarma’ outfit,” Al Arabiya, March 18, 2015, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2015/03/18/ISIS-commander-mocked-online-for-doner-kebab-outfit.html. In 2014, the New York Times described Abu Wahib as “perhaps the most dangerous Al Qaeda figure to emerge here [in Iraq].”Tim Arango and Eric Schmitt, “Escaped Inmates From Iraq Fuel Syrian Insurgency,” New York Times, February 12, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/world/middleeast/escaped-inmates-from-iraq-fuel-syria-insurgency.html?_r=0.

According to the Pentagon, Abu Wahib was killed in a U.S. air strike on May 6, 2016, that targeted his vehicle near the western Iraqi town of Rutbah. Three other ISIS militants reportedly died in the strike.Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Joby Warrick, “Notorious Islamic State leader killed in airstrike, Pentagon says,” Washington Post, May 9, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/09/notorious-islamic-state-leader-killed-in-airstrike-pentagon-says/; “Senior Islamic State leader in Iraq, Abu Wahib, ‘killed’ by US airstrike,” Guardian (London), May 9, 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/10/senior-islamic-state-leader-in-iraq-abu-wahib-killed-by-us-airstrike.

Musa Abu Dawud was a U.S.- designated senior leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The U.S. accused Dawud of leading terrorist attacks in North Africa as well as training and recruiting new members to the terror group. In 2012, Dawud was appointed commander of AQIM’s southern zone, which includes Algeria and Tunisia.“State Department Terrorist Designation of Musa Abu Dawud,” U.S. Department of State, May 5, 2016, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/05/256921.htm;
Sahara-medias, “AQIM emir named Abu El Hammam in the Sahara region,”October 5, 2012, http://malijet.com/actualte_dans_les_regions_du_mali/rebellion_au_nord_du_mali/52962-aqmi-nomme-abu-el-hammam-emir-de-la-zone-du-sahara.html. In March 2018, Dawud was killed in a U.S. drone strike in southern Libya.Eric Schmitt, “American Drone Strike in Libya Kills Top Qaeda Recruiter,” New York Times, March 28, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/world/africa/us-drone-strike-libya-qaeda.html.

In February 2013, Dawud led a mission in Tunisia to recruit new members and train them in the use of weapons. He coordinated a February 4-5, 2013, attack on military barracks in Khenchela, Algeria, that injured numerous Algerian soldiers. He also organized a July 2013 attack on a Tunisian military patrol in the Mount Chaambi area that killed nine soldiers. “State Department Terrorist Designation of Musa Abu Dawud,” U.S. Department of State, May 5, 2016, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/05/256921.htm.

On May 5, 2016, Dawud was designated by the U.S. State Department as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.“State Department Terrorist Designation of Musa Abu Dawud,” U.S. Department of State, May 5, 2016, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/05/256921.htm. According to the narrative summary released by the U.S. State Department, Dawud began engaging in terrorist activity as early as 1992 as a member of the Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), a forerunner to AQIM.“State Department Terrorist Designation of Musa Abu Dawud,” U.S. Department of State, May 5, 2016, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/05/256921.htm.

Over the weekend of March 24-25, 2018, the United States launched a drone strike on a house in Ubari, Libya, killing Dawud. The U.S. military confirmed that Dawud had been under surveillance “for a significant period of time” and was killed alongside another unidentified al-Qaeda fighter in the strike.Eric Schmitt, “American Drone Strike in Libya Kills Top Qaeda Recruiter,” New York Times, March 28, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/world/africa/us-drone-strike-libya-qaeda.html.

Following Dawud’s death, on May 20, 2022, the U.S. Department of State revoked Dawud’s designation as a SDGT.“Revocation of Five Foreign Terrorist Organizations Designations and the Delisting of Six Deceased Individuals as Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” U.S. Department of State, May 20, 2022, https://www.state.gov/revocation-of-five-foreign-terrorist-organizations-designations-and-the-delisting-of-six-deceased-individuals-as-specially-designated-global-terrorists.