Perhaps the most famous and effective Salafist jihadist group was Al-Qaeda . Al-Qaeda evolved from the Maktab al-Khidamat ( MAK ) , or the " Services Office " , a Muslim organization founded in 1984 to raise and channel funds and recruit foreign '' mujahideen '' for the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan . It was established in Peshawar , Pakistan , by Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Yusuf Azzam . As it became apparent that the jihad had compelled the Soviet military to abandon its mission in Afghanistan , some '' mujahideen '' called for the expansion of their operations to include Islamist struggles in other parts of the world , and Al Qaeda was formed by bin Laden on August 11 , 1988 . Members were to making a pledge ( '' bayat '' ) to follow one 's superiors . Al-Qaeda emphasized jihad against the " far enemy " , i.e. the United States . In 1996 , it announced its jihad to expel foreign troops and interests from what they considered Islamic lands , and in 1998 , it issued a fatwa calling on Muslims to kill Americans and their allies whenever and wherever they could . Among its most notable acts of violence were the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi that killed over 200 people ; and the 9/11 attacks of 2001 that killed almost 3000 people and caused many billions of dollars in damage
1998 bombings of US embassies
1998 United States embassy bombings
Salafi jihadism