Continuation of notes from Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror by Jason Burke.
3rd element: the idea, the worldview, ideology of ‘al-Qaeda’ and those who subscribe to it.
Bin Laden does not have power to issue orders that are instantly obeyed.
Bin Laden does not kidnap young men and brainwash them. People voluntarily travelled to the Afghan ‘al-Qaeda’ run military and terrorist training camps (1996-2001) and none was kept there against their will.
Bin Laden’s associates spent much of their time selecting which of the myriad requests for assistance they would grant. These requests were for help with bombings, assassinations and murder on large scale. (Burke, p.17)
These people share the same worldview as bin Laden and the ‘al-Qaeda hardcore’. They may or may not belong to any radical group. What unites them is the ‘way of thinking about the world, a way of understanding events, of interpreting and behaving’. (p.17)
