Al Qaeda in its own words / edited by Gilles Kepel and Jean-Pierre Milelli ; translated by Pascale Ghazaleh.

General Introduction: Al Qaeda, the Essentials / Gilles Kepel -- Pt. I. Osama Bin Laden -- Introduction: Osama Bin Laden, the Iconic Orator / Omar Saghi -- The Companions' Den (Excerpts) -- Declaration of Jihad against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Sanctuaries (Excerpts) -- Interview with CNN (Excerpts) -- World Islamic Front Statement Urging Jihad against Jews and Crusaders -- Interview with Al-Jazeera (Excerpts) -- Tactical Recommendations (Excerpts) -- Second Letter to the Muslims of Iraq -- Message to the American People -- Pt. II. Abdallah Azzam -- Introduction: Abdallah Azzam, the Imam of Jihad / Thomas Hegghammer -- The Defense of Muslim Territories Constitutes the First Individual Duty (Excerpts) -- Join the Caravan (Excerpts) -- Morals and Jurisprudence of Jihad (Excerpts) -- To the Young Muslims of the United States (Excerpts) -- The Solid Base (Excerpts) -- Pt. III. Ayman Al-Zawahiri -- Introduction: Ayman al-Zawahiri, Veteran of Jihad / Stephane Lacroix -- Bitter Harvest: Sixty Years of the Muslim Brotherhood (Excerpts) -- Advice to the Community to Reject the Fatwa of Sheikh Bin Baz Authorizing Parliamentary Representation (Excerpts) 182 Knights under the Prophet's Banner (Excerpts) -- Loyalty and Separation: Changing an Article of Faith and Losing Sight of Reality (Excerpts) -- Pt. IV. Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi -- Introduction: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Jihad in "Mesopotamia" / Jean-Pierre Milelli -- Letter to Bin Laden and Zawahiri (Excerpts) -- Notes to Part I: Osama Bin Laden / Omar Saghi -- Notes to Part II: Abdallah Azzam / Thomas Hegghammer -- Notes to Part III: Ayman al-Zawahiri / Stephane Lacroix -- Notes to Part IV: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi / Jean-Pierre Milelli.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Despite the frequent appearances of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri on television screens worldwide, Al Qaeda remains an elusive entity. As the world has grown increasingly familiar with the spectacle of Islamist terrorism, Al Qaeda's essential worldview has remained be-wilderingly opaque. To reveal its inner workings, Gilles Kepel and his collaborators, all scholars of Arabic and Islam, have collected and brilliantly annotated key texts of the major figures from whom the movement has drawn its beliefs and direction. The resulting volume offers an unprecedented glimpse into the assumptions of the Salafist jihadists who have reshaped political life at the beginning of the third millennium."--BOOK JACKET.

Translated from the French.