The name Abdallah Azzam is not widely known outside the field of security studies. However, anyone who has ever looked into Islamism, Islamist terrorism, or the foreign fighter phenomenon would be familiar with Azzam's work. The Palestinian cleric left behind a rich collection of books and taped lectures, some of which have featured in al-Qaʿida and ISIS propaganda. Azzam has become an iconic figure among jihadists. Indeed, the plotters of the September 11 attacks, Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, and the Jordanian triple agent who went on a suicide mission in a CIA base in Afghanistan in 2009 were all familiar with Azzam's writings.1 Despite such standing, not much has been known about this man.
In his seminal book, The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad, Thomas Hegghammer sheds light on the life of Azzam, whom he refers to as the Che Guevara of global...
