Compare And Contrast Al Qaeda And Al Qaeda

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Al Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) have become the two major terrorist organizations of the 21st century, not only among Islamic groups, but compared to all terrorist groups without distinction. Indeed, the two organizations are responsible of the most impressive attacks worldwide, the first one being Al Qaeda’s attacks on 9/11/2001, the deadliest and most spectacular so far. Although Islamic terrorism is only a part of what composes global terrorism, it has become the biggest threat to national and international security in the public mind. This essay aims to compare both organizations on some points, first by analysing how ISIS’s ideology and aims differ from Al Qaeda’s, then by comparing their respective …show more content…

Both Al Qaeda and ISIS are Sunni organizations, follow Wahhabism principles as well as Sayyid Qutb’s ideas , and are have cells and supporters in almost every country of the globe. Both have Western world for enemy , amongst others. However, the similarities seem to end here. Al Qaeda was created to fight a ‘holy war’ against ‘apostate Muslims’, ‘unbelievers’ and the West , and to achieve a seven-point plan, which includes fighting the foreign enemy, in particular chasing Americans away from the Middle East, establishing Islamic authority over Arab countries and beyond, creating ‘emirates’ and safe heavens across the Middle East and eventually, when the time is right, creating a caliphate faithful to the Quran and legitimised by Muslim populations . Thus, Al Qaeda has a long-term program, which is still in its infancy, and capturing a territory to build an Islamic state is not on the agenda for the moment. On the contrary, ISIS has achieved some great successes –that is, from the extremist Islamic view- in a very short time. It surprised the entire world by creating a strong, powerful group , a ‘state’ with borders and ruled by the Sharia, which somehow attract the support of local populations and of so many different individuals from so many different countries. This ‘God’s principality’ was imposed on populations located in parts of Iraq and Syria and was created through a

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