Compare And Contrast Al Qaeda Vs Islamic State

Al-Qaeda v Islamic State The emergence of radical jihadist organizations has become a great threat to global security in the twenty-first century, and no organizations have been more violent or notorious than Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Both organizations seek to establish a global caliphate governed by their extremely strict Sharia Law, and seek to purify Islam by following their ideology of Salafism. Both groups, although they differ in practice, seek to rid Muslim lands of any Western influence, and free the muslim people from the West’s oppression, specifically targeting the United States. They see the United States and the West as a key threat to their ideology and way of life and firmly believe the oppression Muslims face can be

soil. Both organizations use these high profile attacks, along with media campaigns, to recruit potential fighters, spread propaganda and establish a global network of supporters. Additionally, both groups have a similar hierarchical structure, utilizing key leaders and a decentralized network of terrorist cells to plan and conduct attacks. Both organizations seem to follow a bureaucratic approach to terrorism, which makes the organization efficient, but poses a risk if key leaders are removed from power. In spite of their similarities, the groups are much different in practice. To start, while both organizations despise the West, Al-Qaeda is much more focused on defeating and removing Western influence from Muslim lands. They

Simply put, there is a generational gap between the two, with the Islamic State appealing much more to younger recruits through their use of social media platforms and promotion of battlefield success. They also emphasize the religious justification for their violence, which captures the attention of the world and young radicals. On the other hand, ALQ relies on older platforms, such as forums and websites, for recruitment. For the most part, they do not promote their political or military strategy, and mainly post about the perceived western oppression. Lastly, the two greatly disagree about establishing a caliphate. Al-Qaeda believes that they cannot establish a caliphate until muslim lands are free from western influence, while the Islamic State established a caliphate in 2014, even going as far to trace their current leaders lineage back to Muhammed. Their caliphate, while ultimately collapsing, had its own government, economy, and