This unit -- The Origins of Terror -- traces the development of Islamic extremism from World War II through the bombing of the USS Cole in October 2000. It opens with the teachings of the Egyptian writer Sayyid Qutb, who called for a vanguard group of Islamic fundamentalists to initiate a revival movement so that Islam could secure its destiny of world domination. As author Lawrence Wright explains, "Qutb divided the world into two camps, Islam and jahiliyya, the period of ignorance and barbarity that existed before the divine message of the Prophet Mohammed. Qutb used the term jahiliyya to encompass all of modern life: manners, morals, art, literature, law, even much of what passed as Islamic culture. He was opposed not to modern technology but to the worship of science, which he believed had alienated humanity from natural harmony with creation. Only a complete rejection of rationalism and Western values offered the slim hope of the redemption of Islam. This was the choice: pure, primitive Islam or the doom of mankind." (The Looming Tower, 30).

From Qutb, we will move to a group of radical activists including Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden, Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, Abdullah Azzam, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. We will focus attention on the activities of these men in the period from the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979) to the bombing of the USS Cole (2000). In particular, we will examine the formation and development of al-Qaeda -- "the base" -- which bin Laden hoped would act as the vanguard called for by Qutb in the 1960s.

Major topics of study include:

A. The formation and U.S. support for Israel (1948)
B. The Six Day War (1967)
C. The Soviet War in Afghanistan and U.S. support for the Mujahedeen (1979-89)
D. The Islamic Revolution and Hostage Crisis (1979-81)
E. The Assassination of Anwar Sadat (1981)
F. Bombings of U.S. Embassy and Marine Barracks in Beirut (1983)
G. Formation of al-Qaeda (1988)
H. Airline Hijackings (1980s)
I. The Gulf War (1990-91)
J. The Collapse of the Soviet Union (1989-91)
K. The World Trade Center Bombing ( February 26, 1993)
L. The Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia, (October 3 and 4, 1993)
M. Osama bin Laden makes Afghanistan home to al-Qaeda (May 1996)
N. The Khobar Towers Bombing (June 25, 1996)
O. Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri issue a Fatwa Against U.S. (February 1998)
P. U.S. Embassy Bombings in East Africa (August 7, 1998)
Q. Attack on USS Cole in Yemen (October 12, 2000)
R. The U.S. Response to Terrorism