Abdullah Yusuf Azam (, ‘Abdu’llah Yusuf ‘Azzam; 1941 – 24 November 1989) a.k.a. Father of Global Jihad was a Palestinian Sunni Islamic scholar and theologian and founding member of al-Qaeda. Azzam preached both defensive and offensive jihad by Muslims to help the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviet invaders. He raised funds, recruited and organised the international Islamic volunteer effort of Afghan Arabs through the 1980s, and emphasised the political aspects of Islam.