Al Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) have become the two major and most discussed terrorist organizations of the 21st century, not only among Islamic ones, but compared to all kinds of terrorist groups. In addition, although Islamic terrorism constitutes not even the half of terrorist activities that occur worldwide, it has become the biggest threat to national and international security in the public mind. This essay aims to compare both organizations on some particular points. It first analyses how ISIS’s ideology and aims differ from Al Qaeda’s. The second part compares the respective methods of the two organizations, in particular their use of violence, while the third part compares their communication strategies and analyses how ISIS and Al Qaeda use their media to compete openly against one another. …show more content…
Al Qaeda was created by Osama bin Laden in 1988 . Its name, ‘Al Qaeda Al Askariya’, which means ‘the military base’, reveals that the organization was conceived as a military group, initially formed to fight the Soviet-Afghan war , before it became a ‘militant group’ that went to attack the United States of America and the West more generally. Its network developed beyond Afghanistan during the 1990s, and its dangerousness and willingness to terrorize the West were tragically experienced with the 9/11 attacks . From then, the group became known as a “quintessential religious terrorist group”, although it has always had secular and political motivations as well . Following the death of bin Laden in 2011, his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri became the new leader of the organization