Running head: TERRORISM 1 TERRORISM 5 Terrorism Name Institutional affiliation Date 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 similar ...

1. Running head: TERRORISM
1
TERRORISM
5
Terrorism
Name
Institutional affiliation
Date
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

2. 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).

3. 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).

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.