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Faculty Advisors

Dr. Stephen Cory

Description

This paper examines the life of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of ISIS, and the events that led up to him becoming a terrorist. United States officials have implicated al-Zarqawi for 700 deaths during the invasion of Iraq in 2004, the number rising to the thousands since. There is no denying the violent nature of his acts of terror, but one must look at his history and rise to infamy to determine why he went down this path of radicalism. The methods used to delve into al-Zarqawi’s history and feats consist mainly of intensive research, reading texts such as ‘The New Face of Al-Qaeda’ by Jean-Charles Brisard, utilizing articles and scholarly journals, and watching multiple documentaries retelling the history of ISIS and how his actions impacted the world. It has been found that a part of al-Zarqawi’s dramatic lifestyle was ultimately a result of religious radicalism, political instability in the region, and being raised in war zones under oppressive governments. Al-Zarqawi was raised in an area and in a time of intense conflict between the Islamic and Western worlds, on top of civil wars and regional instability. His rise started with him abandoning his old religious views of Salafi Islam, then climbing the ranks of Al-Qaeda under Osama Bin Laden. He finally became an independent force and contributed to some of the worst acts of terror the world has seen. There are multiple circumstances that contributed to al-Zarqawi’s rise to power and modes of violence including political instability, civil war, the conflict between the West and the Islamic world, and the rampant religious radicalism in the region.

Publication Date

2024

Department

History

Student Publication

This item is part of the McNair Scholars Program.

The Origin of ISIS and its Founding Father

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