Although terrorism is an endeavor that has wreaked havoc and promoted fear among members of the public from antiquity to contemporary times, the practice has hit an all-time high in the 21 st century. Even though the agenda of terrorist factions is to promote death and fear, the principal objectives of major terrorist groups tend to differ from one group to the other. In the Middle Eastern setup, the ideologies of the Islamic State are fast spreading. In the case of Muslim countries where the influence and the presence of the Islamic State are not as strong as it is in the Middle East, its rise has been used as a tool to radicalize the local populace. The encroachment and the surge of the Islamic State, especially in Iraq and Syria, prompted the President Obama administration to become more involved in the military sense. The bottom line is although all terrorist groups pose a direct threat to global peace, the aspirations of the individual groups tend to demonstrate a degree of divergence.
Although hypothetically Al Qaeda should be thrilled by the rise of an Islamic State that takes pride in beheading purported enemies, the group is threatened by the rapid growth of ISIS due to the contradiction in the goals of the two terrorist groups. The widening rift between the two factions can be evidenced by the fact that the leader of the Islamic State, Bakr al-Baghdadi, rejected the authority of Al Qaeda, and he went forward and declared a Caliphate. The move resulted in the split of the Jihadist movement, hence further straining the relationship between ISIS and Al Qaeda. Typically, the two groups are not only competing for the leadership of the jihadist movement but also its soul. In this regard, the two groups are entangled in a battle of might amongst themselves.
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Although Al Qaeda and ISIS are both terrorist groups, Al-Qaida poses a far-reaching threat to the security of the United States and Homeland Security as opposed to ISIS. While ISIS operates in the global spectrum to a given degree, the primary focus of the group is to pose a danger to the stability of the Middle East and the U.S interests overseas. The differences in the goals stem from the fact that the two groups constantly compete for affiliates. However, to be precise, Al Qaeda is striving to remain relevant after suffering immense blows from the United States security forces. Therefore, while Al Qaeda and its affiliates target the United States, the Islamic States is devoted to downsizing the influence of the United States in Syria, Iraq, and to a smaller degree in Libya as well as causing instability in the aforementioned states.
Other than the struggle for control and leadership of the Jihadist movement, the two groups differ on their chief enemies, tactics, and strategies. As a result, the threat of the groups to the United States and other non-Muslim nations vary as well. Even though the primary goal of Al Qaeda is to overthrow the “apostate” regime and replace it with a “true” Islamic leadership, the groups hugely target the United States, which it perceives as the orchestrator of the government problems in the Middle East. Conversely, ISIS does not subscribe to the far enemy ideology. Instead, the group focuses on the close enemy. In this regard, ISIS targets the “apostate” regimes in the Middle East more than it targets other countries that have a profound influence on the Islamic world.
In conclusion, the differences in strategies and goals between the two terrorist groups is a precursor for disputes and disunite in the Jihadist Movement.
