Osama bin Laden took ideological guidance from prominent militant Islamist scholars and ideologues from the classical to contemporary eras, such as Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Sayyid Qutb, Nizamuddin Shamzai and Abdullah Azzam.Sources:

During his middle and high school years, bin Laden was educated in Al-Thager Model School, a public school in Jeddah run by Islamist exiles of the Muslim Brotherhood; during which he was immensely influenced by pan-Islamist ideals and displayed strict religious commitment. As a teenager, bin Laden attended and led Muslim Brotherhood-run "Awakening" camps held on desert outskirts that intended to raise the youth in religious values, instil martial spirit and sought spiritual seclusion from "the corruptions" of modernity and rapidly urbanising society of the 1970s in Saudi Arabia.

Bin Laden subscribed to the Athari school of Islamic theology. During his studies in King Abdulaziz University, bin Laden became immersed in the writings of the Egyptian militant Islamist scholar Sayyid Qutb; most notably Milestones and In The Shade of the Qur'an. Bin Laden adopted Qutb's anti-Westernism, his assertion that the Muslim World has been steeped in a state of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance) and embraced his revolutionary call for overthrowing the Arab governments by means of an ideologically committed vanguard.

To effectuate his beliefs, Osama bin Laden founded al-Qaeda, a pan-Islamist militant organization, with the objective of recruiting Muslim youth for participating in armed Jihad across various regions of the Islamic world such as Palestine, Kashmir, Central Asia, etc. In conjunction with several other Islamic leaders, he issued two fatwas—in 1996 and then again in 1998—that Muslims should fight those that either support Israel or any Western military forces in Islamic countries, stating that those in that mindset are the enemy, including citizens from the United States and allied countries. His goal was for Western military forces to withdraw from the Middle East and for foreign aid to Israel to cease as the aid is used to fund Israeli policy in the region.

Sharia Following a form of Islamism, bin Laden believed that the restoration of God's law will set things right in the Muslim world. He stated, "When we used to follow Muhammad's revelation we were in great happiness and in great dignity, to Allah belongs the credit and praise." He believed "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world was Afghanistan under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban before that regime was overthrown in late 2001.

Differences with Wahhabi ideology Bin Laden's connection with contemporary Wahhabi Islam is disputed. Although a BBC reporter labelled bin Laden as a "Wahhabi" in 2001, other researchers have disputed such characterizations. Many academics have asserted that Bin Laden's ideology is different in crucial ways. While modern Wahhabi doctrine states that only political leaders can call for jihad, bin Laden believed he could declare jihad. Modern Wahhabism forbids disobedience to a ruler unless the ruler has commanded his/her subjects to violate religious commandments.

A number of Islamists have asserted that bin Laden has no direct connections with Wahhabism, although he may have been inspired by the movement of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al- Wahhab and its ideals. Bin Laden's Yemeni origins also point to a non-Wahhabi background. Moreover, many Wahhabi Shaykhs are strongly opposed to war-tactics like suicide bombings justified by the Al-Qaeda ideologues, viewing such attacks as "un-Islamic". During his stay in Afghanistan in the 1990s, Bin Laden was also strongly influenced by the prominent Deobandi Islamic scholar Nizamuddin Shamzai.

Furthermore, the main goals of bin Laden were different to that of most contemporary Wahhabis. Bin Laden was most interested in "resisting western domination and combating regimes that fail to rule according to Islamic law," while Wahhabism focuses on correct methods of worshiping God, removing idols, and ensuring adherence to Islamic law. Bin Laden adopted a Salafi-leaning "live and let live" approach and worked together with followers of other Islamic schools to advance Islamist goals. In line with his pan-Islamist outlook, Bin Laden maintained a close friendship with Mawlawi Yunus Khalis, a Sufi mystic and Afghan insurgent who facilitated Bin Laden's return to Afghanistan in May 1996 and offered him asylum. Despite Khalis' adherence to Sufi spirituality, Bin Laden lauded him as a "tiger" who fought bravely in defense of Muslims during the Afghan Jihad.

On the other hand, Israeli diplomat Dore Gold claimed in 2003 that Bin Laden "adopted Wahhabi terminology" when he described America as "the Hubal of the age", since Hubal was a stone idol and idolatry (shirk) is heavily opposed by Wahhabis. According to Jonathan Sozek:"Salafism can be understood as an umbrella term under which a movement like Wahhabism might be placed. Not everyone who identifies with Salafism is a Wahhabi... . Bin Laden himself has identified himself with Salafism (meaning little more, perhaps, than a Christian identifying themselves as an evangelical), but this says nothing as to his relationship to Wahhabism."

Jihad

Jihad, a common Arabic word meaning to "strife" or "struggle", is referred to in the Qur'an to indicate that Muslims must be willing to exert effort in the cause of God, using their wealth and themselves. It refers to the internal struggle to be a better Muslim, the struggle between good and evil. In a January 2004 message bin Laden called for the establishment of provisional underground ruling councils in Muslim countries to be made up of "ulema, leaders who are obeyed among their people, dignitaries, nobles, and merchants." The councils would be sure "the people" had "easy access to arms, particularly light weapons; anti-armored rockets, such as RPGs; and anti-tank mines" to fight "raids" by "the Romans", i.e. United States.

His interviews, video messages and other communications always mentioned and almost always dwelt on need for jihad to right what he believed were injustices against Muslims by the United States and sometimes other non-Muslim states,Messages to the World, (2005), pp. xix, xx, editor Bruce Lawrence the need to eliminate the state of Israel, and to force the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Middle East. Occasionally other issues arose; he called for Americans to "reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling, and usury", in an October 2002 letter.Oct. 6, 2002. Appeared in Al-Qala'a website and then the London Observer Nov. 24, 2002.

Former CIA officer and chief of Bin Laden Issue Station, Michael Scheuer writes: "In the context of the ideas Bin Laden shares with his brethren, the military actions of Al-Qaeda and its allies... are part of a defensive jihad sanctioned by the revealed word of God... bin Laden believes Islam is being attacked by America and its allies and is simply recognizing his responsibility to fight in a defensive jihad. Further, bin Laden is calling on other Muslims to similarly identify the threat and to do their duty to God and their brethren... Having defined the threat to Islam as the U.S.-led crusaders' attacks and prescribing a defensive jihad as the only appropriate response, bin Laden regards al Qaeda as having an important role to play—"the vanguard of a Muslim nation"

Grievances against countries

East Timor In his November 2001 statement, bin Laden criticized the United Nations and Australian "Crusader" forces for ensuring the independence of the mostly Catholic East Timor from the mostly Muslim state of Indonesia.

India Bin Laden considered India to be a part of the 'Crusader-Zionist-Hindu' conspiracy against the Islamic world.Terrorism in India and the Global Jihad , Brookings Institution, November 30, 2008

Saudi Arabia Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia and had a close relationship with the Saudi royal family, but his opposition to the Saudi government stemmed from his radical ideology. The Saudi decision to allow the U.S. military into the country in 1990 to defend against a possible attack by Saddam Hussein upset bin Laden, although he was not necessarily opposed to the royal family at this time or going to war with Iraq and even offered to send his mujahedeen from Afghanistan to defend Saudi Arabia from an Iraqi attack, an offer which was rebuked by King Fahd. From his point of view, "for the Muslim Saudi monarchy to invite non-Muslim American troops to fight against Muslim Iraqi soldiers was a serious violation of Islamic law".

Bin Laden, in his 1996 fatwa entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places", identified several grievances that he had about Saudi Arabia, the birthplace and holy land of Islam:

Bin Laden wanted to overthrow the Saudi monarchy (and the governments of Middle Eastern states) and establish an Islamic state according to Shari'a law (Islamic Holy Law), to "unite all Muslims and to establish a government which follows the rule of the Caliphs."

Soviet Union

In 1979, bin Laden opposed the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan and would soon heed the call to arms by Afghan freedom fighters. Bin Laden would use his own independent wealth and resources to get fighters from Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait and Turkey to join the Afghans in their battle against the Soviets. While bin Laden praised the U.S. intervention early on, being happy that the Afghans were getting aid from all over the world to battle the Soviets, his view of the U.S. soon grew sour, stating "Personally neither I nor my brothers saw evidence of American help. When my mujahedin were victorious and the Russians were driven out, differences started..." In 1993, bin Laden stated to The Independent that "we believe that God used our holy war in Afghanistan to destroy the Russian army and the Soviet Union".

United Kingdom Bin Laden believed that Israeli Jews controlled the British government, directing it to kill as many Muslims as it could. He cited British participation in 1998's Operation Desert Fox as proof of this allegation.

United States

Osama Bin Laden condemned United States as the head of the "Zionist-Crusader alliance" that is waging war against Muslims across the world. In particular, Bin Laden was fiercely opposed to the stationing of US troops in the Arabian Peninsula and urged Muslims to rise up in armed Jihad and expel American forces from Muslim lands. He asserted that it is the religious duty of all Muslims to fight defensive Jihad against United States and resist the numerous acts of American aggression against the Muslim World.

Numerous crimes of United States listed by Bin Laden included the sanctions against Iraq which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, arms embargo in Bosnia which led to the Bosnian genocide, as well as massacres committed by US military and its allies in Somalia, Tajikistan, Palestine, Kashmir, Philippines, etc. In Al-Qaeda's "Declaration of War Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places", also known as the "Ladenese Epistle", Osama Bin Laden stated:

Bin Laden's stated motivations of the September 11 attacks include the support of Israel by the United States, the presence of the U.S. military in the sacred Islamic lands of the Arabian Peninsula, and the U.S. enforcement of sanctions against Iraq. He first called for jihad against the United States in 1996. This call solely focused on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia; bin Laden loathed their presence and wanted them removed in a "rain of bullets".

Denouncing Americans as "the worst thieves in the world today and the worst terrorists", Bin Laden mocked American accusations of "terrorism" against Al-Qaeda. Bin Laden's hatred and disdain for the U.S. were also manifested while he lived in Sudan. There he told Al-Qaeda fighters-in-training:Wright, The Looming Tower, p. 187