Anwar al-Awlaki

Who was Anwar al-Awlaki?

Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam and Islamic militant. U.S. government officials said that he was a senior talent-recruiter and motivator who was involved in planning terrorist operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. With a blog, a Facebook page, the al-Qaeda magazine Inspire, and many YouTube videos, the Saudi news station Al Arabiya described him as the "bin Laden of the Internet." After a request from the U.S. Congress, in November 2010 YouTube removed many of al-Awlaki's videos from its site. However, al-Awlaki's influence continues to be apparent amongst Islamists in the west and internationally, and his statements, articles and lectures are regularly cited and used as inspiration by extremists in the West and worldwide.

U.S. officials say that as imam at a mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, which had 3,000 members, al-Awlaki spoke with and preached to three of the 9/11 hijackers, who were al-Qaeda members. In 2001, he presided at the funeral of the mother of Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who later e-mailed him extensively in 2008–09 before the Fort Hood shootings.