Mustafa Hamid: al-Qaidas „wichtigster Historiker“ oder verzerrender Propagandist und Ideologe?

This paper examines the reliability of an “Afghan Arab” named Mustafa Hamid as a historical source. Hamid’s texts offer a unique insight into the ‘evolution’ of Al-Qaeda, the origins of the Taliban movement and the early beginnings of the Islamic State. These accounts are particularly interesting because Hamid knew the decisive protagonists personally, experienced the developments of the so-called “Afghan Arabs” first-hand on the Afghan-Pakistani border in the 1980s and 1990s, and in some cases helped to shape them himself. But these advantages also raise a problem: to what extent could Hamid be trusted because of his personal involvement in the events, processes, and organisations?