Abdullah Azzam
<p ><b>Abdullah Yusuf Azzam</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language" title="Arabic language" >Arabic</a>: عبد الله يوسف عزام, <i>‘Abdu’llāh Yūsuf ‘Azzām</i>; 1941 – 24 November 1989) a.k.a. <b>Father of Global Jihad</b><sup id="cite_ref-Riedel_1-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-Riedel-1" >[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-2" >[2]</a></sup> was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_people" title="Palestinian people" >Palestinian</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni" title="Sunni" class="mw-redirect" >Sunni</a> Islamic<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholar" title="Scholar" class="mw-redirect" >scholar</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theologian" title="Theologian" class="mw-redirect" >theologian</a> and founding member of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda" title="Al-Qaeda" >al-Qaeda</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-uoozvz_3-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-uoozvz-3" >[3]</a></sup> Azzam preached both<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_jihad" title="Defensive jihad" >defensive jihad</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offensive_jihad" title="Offensive jihad" >offensive jihad</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim" title="Muslim" >Muslims</a> to help the Afghan <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujahideen" title="Mujahideen" >mujahideen</a></i>against the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan" title="Soviet war in Afghanistan" >Soviet invaders</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-uoozvz_3-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-uoozvz-3" >[3]</a></sup> He raised funds, recruited and organised the international Islamic volunteer effort of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Arabs" title="Afghan Arabs" >Afghan Arabs</a> through the 1980s and emphasised the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_aspects_of_Islam" title="Political aspects of Islam" >political aspects of Islam</a>.
Azzam was a teacher and mentor of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden" title="Osama bin Laden" >Osama bin Laden</a> and persuaded bin Laden to come to Afghanistan and help the <i>jihad</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-4" >[4]</a></sup> Together, they both established <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda" title="Al-Qaeda" >al-Qaeda</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-uoozvz_3-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-uoozvz-3" >[3]</a></sup> The two differed as to where the next front in global jihad should be after the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_withdrawal_from_Afghanistan" title="Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan" >withdrawal of the Soviets from Afghanistan</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-5" >[5]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-wright_6-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-wright-6" >[6]</a></sup> He was also a co-founder of<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lashkar-e-Taiba" title="Lashkar-e-Taiba" >Lashkar-e-Taiba</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-7" >[7]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-8" >[8]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-9" >[9]</a></sup> Azzam was killed by a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_bomb" title="Car bomb" >car bomb</a> blast on November 24, 1989 in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshawar" title="Peshawar" >Peshawar</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan" >Afghanistan</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Azzam#cite_note-10" >[10]</a></sup></p>