Afghan war transformed scattered urban militants into an organized movement

Evidence

Thousands of people who came to be known as the “Afghan Arabs” poured in from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and several other countries. Until that point, those who believed that taking up arms might advance their political aims were in a minority and had no program outside of isolated acts of urban terror, Gerges argues. In fact, most were seen as outlaws in their countries of origin. The Afghan war served to unite them, train them, and give their movement life. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 397

Until that point, those who believed that taking up arms might advance their political aims were in a minority and had no program outside of isolated acts of urban terror, Gerges argues. In fact, most were seen as outlaws in their countries of origin. The Afghan war served to unite them, train them, and give their movement life. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 409

The main foreign source of volunteers for the Afghan jihad was the Arab world. Thousands of people who came to be known as the “Afghan Arabs” poured in from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and several other countries. Until that point, those who believed that taking up arms might advance their political aims were in a minority and had no program outside of isolated acts of urban terror, Gerges argues. In fact, most were seen as outlaws in their countries of origin. The Afghan war served to unite them, train them, and give their movement life. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 409

Categorization

• XREF: Parallel to how wars of empire elsewhere consolidated previously marginal militant factions — the same dynamic as US support creating al-Qaeda from mujahideen, and reminiscent of patterns in We (Zamyatin’s elites co-opting energy) and of how external wars consolidate internal factions. — connects to: The Afghan war transformed marginal terrorists into an organized movement; The Afghan war assembled previously isolated Islamist militants into a movement; The Afghan war transformed scattered Islamist outlaws into a global movement (+6 more)
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 397; Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 409

Broader Connections

• The Afghan war transformed marginal terrorists into an organized movement #corroborates (1.00)
• The Afghan war assembled previously isolated Islamist militants into a movement #corroborates (0.95)
• The Afghan war transformed scattered Islamist outlaws into a global movement #expands (0.85)
• Afghanistan assembled the first global army of Muslim fighters #expands (0.82)
• The Afghan war created an Islamist infrastructure and mindset aimed at further victories. #expands (0.80) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 683
• Afghan war veterans formed a floating Islamist international fighting across many conflicts. #expands (0.80) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 757
• Soviet defeat in Afghanistan legitimized Islamist militancy in the region #complicates (0.72) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 399
• Groups reattached war-cultivated solidarity to new enemies after the old one vanished #expands (0.70) — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 1324
• Early Islam institutionalized a permanent war-theater outside its own territory #complicates (0.70) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 234