The Road to 9/11: A chronology

Jenny Vaughan
A month after the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were destroyed on 11 September 2001, Osama bin Laden recorded a video message celebrating the attacks. Praising his followers as ‘the vanguards of Islam’, he twice referred to the historical roots of his rage, citing the ‘humiliation and disgrace’ that the Middle East had suffered for ‘more than 80 years’.
Most Westerners had no idea what bin Laden was referring to, but his Muslim listeners were not confused.
This chronology charts the history of the Islamic world from the First World War to the tragedy of ‘9/11’. It covers the carving up of the Ottoman empire by the British and French, the decades of Westernisation across the region, the steady deterioration of social, political and economic conditions and the alliance of clerics and authoritarian regimes funded by oil money.
Throughout are links to relevant websites, and there is also a section of websites and books that will help you to take your interest further.