Sheikh — Anwar Al-awlaki

During this period, he was viewed as a moderate bridge-builder and was interviewed by major media outlets following the September 11 attacks to explain Islam to the American public. However, it later emerged that three of the —Nawaf al-Hazmi, Khalid al-Mihdhar, and Hani Hanjour—had attended his sermons in San Diego and Virginia. Radicalization and AQAP Leadership

Al-Awlaki left the U.S. in 2002, spending time in the United Kingdom before moving to Yemen in 2004. His rhetoric became increasingly anti-Western during this time, a shift some analysts attribute to his 18-month imprisonment in Yemen (2006–2007). sheikh anwar al-awlaki

Anwar al-Awlaki was born in 1971 in New Mexico and grew up in Yemen. He studied at the Islamic University of Medina and later became an imam in the United States. He was a vocal supporter of al-Qaeda and was linked to several terrorist plots. During this period, he was viewed as a