Al Qaeda”s Jihadism – ISIL’s Jihadism: The Making and Remaking of a Modern Ideology

Mr. William Baniff discusses the differences in both legitimacy and operations of Al Qaeda versus Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). When looking at the number of terrorist attacks over the last three years, none of the attacks were from Al Qaeda whereas ISIL is responsible for nearly half of the lethal attacks. Mr. Baniff says that Al Qaeda’s tactics are no longer effective particularly compared to ISIL’s tactics. Al Qaeda focuses on Western intervention while ISIL uses evidence of uncompromising interpretation of Islamic law through its actions. This inspires more people to join their jihadist movement and he warns will eventually force Al Qaeda to adapt.