[Disertasi ini membahas Representasi Al Qaeda, Strategi naratif Lawrence Wrightdalam Narasi Apologi The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 911.Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menunjukkan strategi naratif yang membangunrepresentasi Al Qaeda dan memperlihatkan aspek retorika (pathos, ethos, logos)yang mengonstruksi apologi melalui pendekatan representasi Stuart Hall danretorika Kenneth Burke. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa Al Qaedadirepresentasikan sebagai sebuah identitas yang ambigu melalui representasitokoh-tokoh serta tindakan-tindakan mereka: di satu pihak TLT membela danmemperlihatkan upaya pemahaman dengan menyampaikan sebab-sebab tindakanradikal, di pihak lain mengukuhkan citra Islam yang negatif seperti dimitoskanoleh Barat. Representasi identitas Al Qaeda juga dikonstruksi oleh sikap-sikap ASmelalui kebijakan terhadap Timur Tengah dan dunia Muslim. Aspek retorikamenimbulkan empati dan menyampaikan alasan-alasan yang melatarbelakangitindakan Al Qaeda sehingga teks ini terlihat membela Al Qaeda. Dengandemikian dapat dikatakan bahwa TLT merupakan narasi apologi yang jugaditunjang oleh teknik jurnalisme sastrawi, dan menampilkan “kenyataan” denganmemberikan “suara” pada tokoh-tokoh marjinal sehingga memberikan kesannyata yang berdampak pada semakin dekatnya jarak antara teks dengan pembaca.Apologi dalam TLT ditunjukkan pula oleh representasi tokoh-tokoh sebagaikorban dalam alur pengkhianatan, dehumanisasi, dan penghinaan terhadap tokoholeh penguasa Mesir dan AS. Namun demikian, dalam TLT ditemukan pula biasideologi pengarang sebagai orang Amerika yang terlihat dari penggunaan jargonjargonBarat dalam mendefinisikan Islam dan Al Qaeda dari perspektif Barat.;This dissertation discusses the Representation of Al Qaeda and NarrativeStrategies in Lawrence Wright's Narrative Apologetic, The Looming Tower: AlQaeda and the Road to 9/11. The purpose of this study is to show narrativestrategies in the representation of Al Qaeda and rhetorical aspects (pathos, ethos,logos) in constructing aspects of apology by using representation theory of StuartHall and Kenneth Burke's rhetoric. The results show that Al Qaeda represented asa complex identity in the representation of the characters and their actions: on theone hand TLT defends Al Qaeda by understanding the causes of radical actions,on the other hand it confirms the negative image of Islam in the Western myth.The identity of Al Qaeda is also constructed by the United States policies towardsthe Middle East and the Muslim world. Aspects of rhetoric raise empathy andconvey the reasons behind the actions of Al Qaeda so that the text tends to defendAl Qaeda. The narrative apologetic in TLT is supported by literary journalismtechniques, portraying the "reality" by giving "voice" to the marginalized figuresthat give a real impression in proximity between the text and the reader. Theaspects of apology in TLT are also indicated by the representation of thecharacters as victims in the plot of betrayal, dehumanization, and humiliation bythe Egyptian and the United States authorities. Nevertheless, The author'sideological bias as an American is revealed in the use of western jargon indefining Islam and Al Qaeda from a Western perspective, This dissertation discusses the Representation of Al Qaeda and NarrativeStrategies in Lawrence Wright's Narrative Apologetic, The Looming Tower: AlQaeda and the Road to 9/11. The purpose of this study is to show narrativestrategies in the representation of Al Qaeda and rhetorical aspects (pathos, ethos,logos) in constructing aspects of apology by using representation theory of StuartHall and Kenneth Burke's rhetoric. The results show that Al Qaeda represented asa complex identity in the representation of the characters and their actions: on theone hand TLT defends Al Qaeda by understanding the causes of radical actions,on the other hand it confirms the negative image of Islam in the Western myth.The identity of Al Qaeda is also constructed by the United States policies towardsthe Middle East and the Muslim world. Aspects of rhetoric raise empathy andconvey the reasons behind the actions of Al Qaeda so that the text tends to defendAl Qaeda. The narrative apologetic in TLT is supported by literary journalismtechniques, portraying the "reality" by giving "voice" to the marginalized figuresthat give a real impression in proximity between the text and the reader. Theaspects of apology in TLT are also indicated by the representation of thecharacters as victims in the plot of betrayal, dehumanization, and humiliation bythe Egyptian and the United States authorities. Nevertheless, The author'sideological bias as an American is revealed in the use of western jargon indefining Islam and Al Qaeda from a Western perspective]