Al-Qaeda and ISIL Relations

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) are two globally termed terrorist organisations in the 21st century. ISIL was initiated back in 2004 . The group is also known as Daesh in the Arabic Language . The detailed name for the group in Arabic is Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham . ISIS came in control of Fallujah, Mosul and Tikrit in Iraq in 2014 . Caliphate in this context means political and religious area ruled by a leader also known as a Caliph . Al-Qaeda came into formation back when the Soviet Union went on to invade Afghanistan in the late 1970s . The said organisations have been recognised under Islamist extremism and declared as major terrorist groups by the United Nations Security Council, European Union and several other International Security Councils.
Founders
See also: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden
ISIS was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2004 . Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a journalist of Jordanian background . Abu Musab al-Zarqawi worked with Osama bin Laden the founder of Al-Qaeda for a long time before starting his own organisation and self proclaimed Islamic State, ISIS . The first ISIS Caliphate, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was appointed in 2014. After becoming the Caliphate, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi became known as "Khalifa Ibrahim" . Al-Qaeda was formed by Osama bin Laden in 1988 . During the 1979 to 1989 Soviet-Afghan war period, when the Mujahideen waged war, Osama bin Laden was among them and also provided the Mujahideen fighters with alms .
Purpose and Strategy
See also: Jihad
ISIS and Al-Qaeda have similar purpose and strategy when it comes to why both the organisations were formed. The two organisations follow the ideology of Wahhabism and Salafist Jihadism. However, the organisations have different take on enemies and other fundamental factors . Al-Qaeda declared a religious, sacred war on the United States of America and Jewish community along with their allies . Two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York, one airplane attacked the Pentagon outside Washington and the last airplane hit a field located in Shanksville, Pennsylvania . Al-Qaeda was also responsible as confirmed by Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden for attacking two black hawk helicopters in the midst of Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in 1993 . In November 2015, ISIS carried out attacks on the streets Paris, in the form of bombing and shooting which killed 130 individuals . Al-Qaeda's website also included a section which motivated individuals to join Al-Qaeda in its mission to spread the self-proclaimed Islam . The videos and pictures are accessed by a large number of individuals including children and are responsible for terrorising individuals . In August 2014, ISIS posted its first video displaying violence when it uploaded the beheading of United States of America Journalist, James Foley on YouTube . The main way ISIS gets its funding is through capturing oil refineries, banks and other assets within its occupied territories <ref name":7" />. Another way ISIS gains the funding is through receiving ransom for kidnapping, extortion, taxes, stolen artefacts, help from foreign fighters and donations <ref name":7" />. Al-Qaeda as well as ISIS get a large sum of their funding through donations <ref name":5" />. There are a lot of charities in the Islamic religion, and only a few support the terrorist organisations but even that charities give huge sums to the organisations <ref name":5" />. They also get charities from influential state led and non-state led organisations. Since the religion of Islam preaches charity as a pious act, it is thus not difficult to get support from individuals in the name of religion <ref name":5" />. Moreover, the other sources of financing are via drug trade <ref name":5" />. According to the United States of America, the poppy crops grown in Afghanistan region account for eighty six percent of world's supply of Opium <ref name":5" />. It is believed that terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda gain highly through polly crops <ref name":5" />. Furthermore, these organisations also run front companies with legitimate businesses, which are their source of income <ref name":5" />. These businesses are said to include agriculture, construction and livestock <ref name":5" />. According to a New York Times Report of 2001, Osama bin Laden of Al-Qaeda owned and operated a string branches of honey shops all over the Middle East and Pakistan <ref name=":5" />.

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