Al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri: The “terror doctor” | tagesschau.de

His nickname “Terror Doctor” stood for both sides of the personality of al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri: he was a doctor and even as a doctor he was in charge of terrorist cells in Egypt. But he was always overshadowed by bin Laden.

Aiman ​​al-Zawahiri was considered highly intelligent, came from a respected Egyptian family from the Nile Delta and, following family tradition, could have pursued a career as a doctor; one designed to save and heal lives. If it wasn’t for the ideology.

Even as a young man, Al-Sawahiri was considered to be extremely religious. According to media reports, he is said to have founded a secret group at the age of 15 while still at school with the aim of overthrowing the Egyptian government and imposing Islamic rule. The spread of jihad worldwide remained his declared goal throughout his life.

two lives

After studying medicine, al-Sawahiri initially worked as a surgeon in a hospital and in the army. But even as a young doctor in the 1970s, he led a cell with 40 members. This later gave rise to the group al-Jihad. This planned a coup in Egypt in the early 1980s – many members were arrested. Al-Zawahiri was also imprisoned in Egypt for three years in 1981, was severely tortured and continued to radicalize himself in prison.

After that he was definitely a violent extremist. He traveled to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan and met Osama bin Laden there. Both became part of the founding generation of al-Qaeda, formed the terror network from 1988, but initially continued to lead their own groups.

Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri stayed together all their lives, moving to Sudan in the 1990s and setting up a training camp for violent Islamists there. When they were expelled from Sudan in 1996, al-Zawahiri traveled the world to raise money for the fight. There were the first bomb attacks on US embassies and in June 2001, just a few months before 9/11, the groups led by al-Zawahiri and bin Laden finally merged to form Al Qaeda. Shortly thereafter, the attacks of September 11, 2001.

In the shadow of bin Laden

Al-Zawahiri remained number 2 behind Osama bin Laden for a long time until bin Laden was killed in a sensational operation by a US special forces unit in Pakistan in 2011. Since then, al-Zawahiri, long nicknamed the “Terror Doctor,” has led al Qaeda, although he has failed to achieve the iconic status of his predecessor.

Greg Barton, an Islamic political scientist at Deakin University in the US, told ABC: “Al-Zawahiri wasn’t very charismatic, not very inspirational. And he was an old man. Now a young, new generation of al-Qaeda… move up to leaders.”

Death by remote control

Al-Zawahiri made his last public appearance last September, exactly 20 years after the September 11 terrorist attacks. In a video message, he called on his followers to fight against the West.

The United States had put a $25 million bounty on his head, and there have been unconfirmed rumors of his death in recent months.

In the end, it was probably very silent: when al-Zawahiri emerged from his hiding place in Kabul onto the balcony early this weekend, an American drone killed him. Death by remote control, so to speak – the end of a long-time extremist. How he saw his path in life compatible with his original profession as a doctor – many would have liked to ask him this question.