Taliban vs Al Qaeda

Taliban and al qaeda, the two terrorist organisations born out of Islamic roots, seem to be almost one and the same. Though the two talk of an Islamic world, there are much differences between the two.

While Mullah Mohammed Omar, who was an extremely enigmatic person, founded Taliban, the credit for al qaeda goes to Osama bin laden.

Al Qaeda consists of Sunni Muslims who practise Wahabism, which is considered to be the most extreme form of Islam. The al qaeda wants to establish Islamic rule and that all governments should be replaced by Islamic leaders.

The Taliban at first consisted of religious students who were very much conservative. They believed more in Sharia (Islamic law). The Taliban, dominated by people with Pashtun identity, controlled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Though ousted from power in 2001, they have embarked again, spreading terrorism around the world.

Coming to the etymology, both taliban and al qaeda are Arabic. The meaning of al qaeda is “base”. Taliban means talib that means “student.”

The origin of al qaeda can be traced to the writings of Sayyid Qutb, an Islamic thinker. The basic ideology of al qaeda is to establish an Islamic state, with focus on Sharia. They want to get rid of socialism and nationalism, which they consider as non-Muslim concepts. The Talibans’ extremist ideology is only an innovative form of Islam in combination with Pashtun tribal codes with Deobandi interpretations.

While the Taliban are restricted to a particular region, the al qaeda has no boundaries.

Coming to the origin Taliban, two stories have been told. One story is that Mullah Omar and his students were agitated after the rape and murder of boys and girls of a family who were travelling to Kandahar. Another version is that Pakistan based truck shipping mafia had sought the support of Taliban to clear the road across Afghan to Central Asian Republics of bandits.

Al qaeda is considered to have formed in 1988 after a meeting between Osama bin Laden, leaders of Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Abdullah Azzam.

Summary:
1. Mullah Mohammed Omar founded Taliban and the credit for al qaeda goes to Osama bin laden.
2. Al Qaeda consists of Sunni Muslims who practise Wahabism, which is considered to be the most extreme and violent form of Islam). The Taliban, dominated by people with Pashtun identity.
3. Al Qaeda means “the base” or “the foundation”. Taliban means talib that means “student.”