While imprisoned in Yemen after 2004, al-Awlaki was influenced by the works of Sayyid Qutb, described by the New York Times as an originator of the contemporary "anti-Western Jihadist movement" [REF].
Terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann in 2009 referred to al-Awlaki as "one of the principal jihadi luminaries for would-be homegrown terrorists.