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Anwar al-Awlaki (also spelled Aulaqi; Arabic: أنور العولقي Anwar al-‘Awlaqī; April 22, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was a Yemeni-American imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda.He was implicated in helping to motivate at least three attacks on U.S. soil,[19] and was the first U.S. citizen to be approved for targeted killing. With a blog, a Facebook page, and many YouTube videos, he had been described as the "bin Laden of the Internet".Obama described Awlaki as “the leader of external operations for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula”.
Al-Awlaki reportedly spoke with, trained, and preached to a number of al-Qaeda members and affiliates, including three of the 9/11 hijackers,[26] alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, and alleged "Christmas Day bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab;he was also reportedly involved in planning the latter's attack.
Ideology
Al-Awlaki was called an Islamic fundamentalist, and accused of encouraging terrorism.He developed animosity towards the U.S. and became a proponent of Takfiri and Jihadi thinking, while retaining Islamism, according to one research paper.While imprisoned in Yemen, al-Awlaki became influenced by the works of Sayyid Qutb, an originator of the contemporary "anti-Western Jihadist movement." He would read 150–200 pages a day of Qutb's works. He described himself as "so immersed with the author I would feel Sayyid was with me in my cell speaking to me directly.”He was noted for attracting young men with his lectures, especially U.S.-based and Britain-based Muslims. Terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann calls al-Awlaki "one of the principal jihadi luminaries for would-be homegrown terrorists. His fluency with English, his unabashed advocacy of jihad and mujahideen organizations, and his Web-savvy approach are a powerful combination." He calls al-Awlaki's lecture "Constants on the Path of Jihad", which he says was based on a similar document written by al-Qaeda's founder, the "virtual bible for lone-wolf Muslim extremists." Philip Mudd, formerly of the C.I.A.’s Counterterrorism Center and the F.B.I.'s top intelligence adviser, said: "He’s a magnetic character. He’s a powerful orator.
Later life, and alleged ties to terrorism
In the United States; 1991–2002
In 1993, while he was a college student and the same year as the first World Trade Center bombing, al-Awlaki took a vacation trip to Afghanistan like "many other thousands of young Muslim men with jihadist zeal". Much of the nation was under the control of various mujahideen factions, after the withdrawal of the Soviet occupation. Mullah Mohammed Omar would not form the Taliban until 1994. When al-Awlaki returned to campus, he showed increased interest in politics and religion. He wore Afghan hats and Eritrean t-shirts, and quoted Abdullah Azzam—who theologically justified the jihad to liberate Muslim lands such as Afghanistan and Palestine by fighting infidel invaders, and was later known as a mentor to Osama bin Laden.In 1994, al-Awlaki married a cousin from Yemen.He served as Imam of the Denver Islamic Society from 1994–96. Although he preached eloquently against vice and sin, he left two weeks after he was chastised by an elder for encouraging a student at the mosque to fight jihad.[ He then served as Imam of the Masjid Ar-Ribat al-Islami mosque at the edge of San Diego, California, from 1996–2000. There, he had a following of 200–300 peopleand had been arrested on allegations of soliciting prostitutes.
In 1998 and 1999, he served as Vice President for the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) in San Diego. That charity was founded by Abdul Majeed al-Zindani of Yemen, who has been designated by the U.S. government as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" who has worked with Osama bin Laden.During a terrorism trial, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Brian Murphy testified that CSSW was a “front organization to funnel money to terrorists,” and U.S. federal prosecutors have described it as being used to support bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
The FBI investigated al-Awlaki from June 1999 through March 2000 for possible fundraising for Hamas, links to al-Qaeda, and a visit in early 2000 by a close associate of "the Blind Sheik" Omar Abdel Rahman (who was serving a life sentence for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center attack, and plotting to blow up NYC landmarks). The FBI's interest was also triggered because he had been contacted by an al-Qaeda operative who had bought a battery for bin Laden's satellite phone, Ziyad Khaleel.[ But it was unable to unearth sufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution.
Nawaf al-Hazmi, for whom al-Awlaki was reportedly a spiritual adviser
Khalid al-Mihdhar, for whom al-Awlaki was reportedly a spiritual adviser
Al-Awlaki told reporters that he resigned from leading the San Diego mosque "after an uneventful four years", despite his contacts with 9/11 participants. He took a brief sabbatical and a trip overseas to various countries, which have not been identified or explained.
When al-Awlaki returned to the U.S., he settled in January 2001 on the East Coast. There, he served as Imam at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in the Falls Church metropolitan Washington, DC, area, and was also the Muslim Chaplain at George Washington University.Esam Omeish hired al-Awlaki to be the mosque's imam. Omeish said in 2004 that he was convinced that al-Awlaki: "has no inclination or active involvement in any events or circumstances that have to do with terrorism." Fluent in English, known for giving eloquent talks on Islam, and with a mandate to attract young non-Arabic speakers, al-Awlaki "was the magic bullet," according to mosque spokesman Johari Abdul-Malik; "he had everything all in a box."[72] "He had an allure. He was charming."[73]
Soon afterward, his sermons were attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers (Al-Hazmi again, and Hani Hanjour, which the 9/11 Commission Report concluded "may not have been coincidental"), and by Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan.When police investigating the 9/11 attacks raided the Hamburg, Germany, apartment of Ramzi bin al-Shibh (the "20th hijacker"), al-Awlaki's telephone number was found among bin al-Shibh's personal contact information.
Anwar al-Awlaki terrorism
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