Al-Qaeda turned into a household name since 9/11, along with that of its founder Osama bin Laden. It has since grown globally, with branches in the Arabian peninsula and North Africa, and franchises in Iraq and Somalia.

The group is now at a much higher and more influential level than it was 10 years ago. But it is simultaneously a group, a series of affiliated and an ideology.

Does al-Qaeda need the man who founded it to carry on? Does it lose its way or galvanise into an even stronger force? Could the removal of the world's most wanted man promote even more change across the Arab world?

Inside Story, with presenter Kamahl Santamaria, discusses with Joshua Foust, an analyst at the American Security Project and formerly an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency; Dia Rashwan, the deputy director of the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies; and Phil Rees, the author of the book Dining with Terrorists: Meetings with the World's Most Wanted Militants.

This special edition of Inside Story marking the death of Osama bin Laden aired from Monday, May 2, 2011.