"al-Qaeda has never been weaker than now"

By maria [dot] lofstedt [at] cme [dot] lu [dot] se (Maria Löfstedt) - published 28 September 2020

Orwa Ajjoub is an affiliated researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

On the 19th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, the debate surrounding al-Qaeda strength is still alive among scholars and experts. Along with other researchers Hasan Abu Hanieh and Marwan Shehadeh, CMES researcher Orwa Ajjoub assess the group's relevance and argue that al-Qaeda has never been weaker than now.

The group has faced multiple challenges since the US invasion to Afghanistan in 2001:

losing its safe haven in Afghanistan,
its failure to dictate its vision on its Iraqi branch al-Qaeda in Iraq,
the challenge of the Arab spring's ability of peaceful change,
the death of Bin laden as a charismatic leader capable of containing disagreements between the group and its affiliates and the emergence of its rival the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham ISIS, which has been fighting its branches and attracting many of its file and ranks.

Thats is being said, the three researchers contend that al-Qaeda as a mother umbrella is rather feeble and incapable of controlling and guiding its affiliates which enjoy a high level of independence.

To Orwa Ajjoub´s bio