PPt assignment

Terrorism

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Terrorism

Terrorist groups carry out acts of terror that seek to intimidate the people and the governments. Over the years, terrorist groups have carried out terrorist activities that have largely undermined humanity and caused losses in millions of dollars. Governments have been working hard to combat terrorism and works in ensuring that the terrorist activities have been minimized. Despite the efforts of different governments on combating terrorism, the terrorists have continued to perform their terrorist activities, which raise questions on the most effective strategies that need to be applied in ensuring that terrorism has been completely eliminated. The AL-Qaeda and the ISIS are some of the two common terrorist groups whose terrorist activities have largely degraded humanity. The aim of this paper is to describe the similarities and differences between the al-Qaeda and ISIS in providing insightful information on what really drives the inhuman activities by the terrorist groups.

ISIS

The Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) is a terrorist group that has been carrying out terrorist activities over the years. The ISIS is believed to have started in 1999 and ascribes to the Sunni Islam. The ISIS is believed to promote religious violence where the individuals who do not ascribe to their religious beliefs and practices are considered infidels. The group is believed to have gained its ground after the invasion of Iraq by the US and claims to have military and political authority over all other Muslim states across the world. Despite its claims, the UN and the US government have condemned its attacks and rejected its authority over other Muslim states (Agnew, 2010).

Al-Qaida

The al-Qaida or ‘The Base’ as it is usually translated is a terrorist organization that ascribes to the Sunni Muslims. The group was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden and other volunteers during the war between Soviet Union and Afghanistan. The al-Qaida is considered as among the largest terrorist groups since it operates network of Islamic extremists. Before his death in 2011, Osama bin Laden had organized the group into one large organization whose aim was to provoke the US and any other country that supports the US. After his death, the group was led by Ayman al-Zawahiri who continued with the ideologies that were being held by Osama bin Laden. The terrorist believes that continued attacks on the US and its allies will lead to the collapse of the Use economy by 2020, which will largely affect the world economy. Once the world economy is affected, the al-Qaeda will become powerful and control the world. The Al-Qaeda major goal is to control the world by installing Wahhabu Caliphate (Agnew, 2010).

Similarities and Differences between ISIS and Al-Qaida

Similarities

There is a wide range of similarities between the ISIS and Al-Qaida. One of the major similarities between the two groups is the performance of the Jihad. The jihad is considered fighting for the Islamic religion against the unbelievers. The Jihad is considered a defensive warfare whose aim is to defend the Islamic religion. According to the beliefs by members from both groups, Jihad is considered as a religious warfare, which justifies their actions to the unbelievers. The members believe that if a member dies during the warfare, then they will go to heaven since Allah allow his people to fight for their religion. This religious belief has since been disputed by Islamic religious leaders who condemn the terrorist attacks and have stated that these beliefs and practices are condemned and that the terrorist group members misinterpret the Quran (Agnew, 2010).

The members of the Al Qaida group and the ISIS have also have a similarity in sharing a common enemy: the United States of America. Both terrorist groups feel that the United States is much into the Islamic affairs and that it should refrain from meddling into issues in the Middle East and all other Islamic nations. Both terrorist groups condemn the actions by the United States, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan and work towards driving away the American forces in these regions. The terrorist groups feel that the US government only aims at the oil and other natural resources in these countries and not their well-being. In addition, the terrorist groups believe that the US is full of on-believers who need to be executed. It is for this reason that these terrorist groups hate the US government and any other country that is in support of the actions by the US government. These similarities explain some of the terrorist actions by these groups and the explanation behind these activities (Enders & Sandler, 2013).

Differences

There are a number of differences among the ISIS and Al Qaida terrorist groups. One of the major differences is the aim of each group. The aim of the Al-Qaeda is to weaken the United States economically, which will reduce its global influence and its infiltration to the issues in the Middle East. Once the US is defeated, the Al-Qaeda believes that it will take over and make every country to become an Islamic state. Al-Qaeda aims at attaining this goal through terrorist activities, which it believes will not only affect the US economic power but will also threaten other nations that are associated with the US. The Al-Qaida considers itself as a military group whose aim is to fight for the Muslims, which explains their terrorist actions. The focus of the Al-Qaida has been considered unrealistic especially after the death of their leader, Osama bin Laden (Fernandez, 2015). 

Conversely, the ISIS does not consider itself as a military group but rather a group whose focus is on governance and state building. The ISIS has been considered one of the recent terrorist groups that need to be curtailed since it is organized and has been recruiting members from different parts of the world. The main goal of the ISIS is to create a utopian state and calling for contribution from different professionals in building one nation. Instead of fighting the United States to achieve its mission, the ISIS has been considered to be using its resources to create its nation. The ISIS believes that the creation of an Islamic government requires the contribution of everyone in their own capacities, which makes it important to be strategic and resourceful to the community. For example, the ISIS has been contributing to the crisis in Syria by offering different forms of aid to help the Syrian people. The explanation on the activities by the ISIS explains why the UN Security Council, the US government, and other global leaders need to come together in mitigating the actions of the ISIS (Enders & Sandler, 2013).

Actual Attacks

The al-Qaida has carried a series of attacks over the years. The first attack that the group took responsibility of is the attack that was carried out in Yemen in 1992. In this attack, a bomb blew at a hotel in Yemen where US troops had been staying as they travelled to Somalia. In 1993, the al-Qaida also claimed responsibility for the bombing at the World Trade Center where more than a thousand people were injured and six killed. In 1998, the Al-Qaida also carried out bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam at the US embassies in both countries. These bombings are considered to have killed more than 200 people and injured thousands of others. The ISIS attacks are mostly carried out through mass shootings where the ISIs members focus mostly on police officers, church gatherings, and social places. One of the deadliest attacks by the ISIS was the aircraft bombing of a Russian passenger plane, which claimed 224 lives. Another attack in 2015 in Lebanon saw suicide bombers blowing themselves up, killing 43 people and injuring hundreds others. These attacks alongside others that both groups have claimed responsibility show how these groups need to be curtailed (Cronin, 2016).

In conclusion, Al-Qaida and ISIS are some of the largest terrorist groups with a different set of similarities and differences. The similarity among these groups is that they fight the US to create one Islamic nation but the difference is that they use different means to attain this goal. The Al-Qaida is unrealistic in its goals but the ISIS seems more strategic, which makes it a more dangerous group whose actions need to be curtailed. It is important for all the world leaders to come together and ensure that they create strategies aimed at stopping the activities of these groups.

References

Agnew, R. (2010). A general strain theory of terrorism. Theoretical Criminology, 14(2), 131-153.

Cronin, A. K. (2006). How al-Qaida ends: The decline and demise of terrorist groups. International Security, 31(1), 7-48.

Enders, W., & Sandler, T. (2013). Transnational terrorism in the post–Cold War era. International Studies Quarterly, 43(1), 145-167.

Fernandez, A. M. (2015). Here to stay and growing: Combating ISIS propaganda networks. Project on US Relations with the Islamic World, Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings.