Al-Qaeda vs the IRA
Al-Qaeda and the Irish Republic Army or commonly called IRA are both militant organisations. Almost all the terrorist groups have many similarities and they are against the establishments. Though Al Qaeda and the Irish Republic Army have many similarities, they differ in many ways.
Al Qaeda is militant organisation that funds and orchestrates the activities of Islamic militants the world over. Al qaeda was born out of Afghan war and it consisted of Afghan war heroes. Osama bin laden is credited with the formation of Al Qaeda and it was formed around 1988.
On the other hand, Irish Republic Army or IRA is the most active militant group in Northern Ireland. The IRA descended from Irish Volunteers, an organisation that staged the Easter Rising in 1916.
While the IRA raised funds through extortion and robbery, Al qaeda traded in drugs.
The main goal of Al qaeda is to establish a Muslim world with imposing the rule of Sharia. They are anti-western and consider America as their prime enemy. On the other hand, IRA’s aim is to create an Irish republic. It also aims to weaken the British government’s commitment to administer Northern Ireland.
While Al qaeda’s activities are spread throughout the world, The IRA activities are restricted only to Ireland.
Al Qaeda is based on religion and the militants are very much obsessed with Quran. On the other hand, the Irish Republican Army are no religious. While the IRA has a clear agenda for freeing Ireland from British rules, the Al Qaeda does not have any fixed agenda.
Summary:
1. Al Qaeda is militant organisation that funds and orchestrates the activities of Islamic militants the world over. The Irish Republic Army or IRA is the most active militant group in Northern Ireland.
2. Al qaeda was born out of Afghan war. Osama bin laden is credited with the formation of Al Qaeda and it was formed around 1988. The IRA descended from Irish Volunteers, an organisation that staged the Easter Rising in 1916.
3. Al qaeda’s goal is to establish a Muslim world with imposing the rule of Sharia. They are anti-western and consider America as their prime enemy. On the other hand, IRA’s aim is to create an Irish republic. It also aims to weaken the British government’s commitment to administer Northern Ireland.
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“While the IRA raised funds through extortion and robbery, Al qaeda traded in drugs.”
The IRA has received – and almost certainly still does, to a lesser degree – massive funding from overseas, most notably from residents in the United States sympathetic to the IRA’s ambition of a united Ireland. They have also benefited from funding from Libya, although this source of munitions has now dried up.
“IRA’s aim is to create an Irish republic.”
Not quite – there is already a Republic of Ireland. The IRA wish to unite both the existent Republic and Northern Ireland into one Republican state.
“It also aims to weaken the British government’s commitment to administer Northern Ireland.”
A bit of an understatement, to say the least. The IRA wish for a total withdrawal of the British administration and for Northern Ireland to no longer exist as a political entity.
“The IRA activities are restricted only to Ireland”
Whilst today’s IRA is massively weakened to that of only a couple of decades ago there is still the very real threat that they will resume terrorist attacks in Britain, as they used to during the course of the Troubles. Further, the IRA have murdered people on the European continent.
“…the Irish Republican Army are no religious”
Whilst this may be ostensibly true there is a strong religious dichotomy in Ireland, even if – as some suspect – religious affiliation is utilised more as a badge of identity then anything else. IRA leaders have often justified their campaign on the grounds of protecting Northern Ireland’s ‘Catholic community’, a distinction that is still often the case today.
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The Provisional IRA ‘s aim was not to establish an Irish Republic, since the Repiublic exists already, it was to reintegrate the national territory, or else get political control of the six counties.
The IRA did not use it’s members as suicide bombers.
The IRA gave warnings so as to evacuate areas subject to their bombs.
The IRA used sophisticated electronic devices, remote control, 6 month timers in bombings.
The IRA has been succesful in gaining power in N Ireland through it’s political wing Sinn Fein.
Al Qaeda does not use the above methods, unlike the IRA, it has not been succesful in achieving it’s goals .
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The difference between the IRA and Al-Qaeda is precisely nothing. Oh yes,sorry,there is one difference. The IRA are all white anglo saxons and Catholics,Al-Qaeda are predominantly Arabic and Muslims.Despite the claims by BobbySands( above), the IRA killed over 3 thousand people using ‘technologically advanced’ methods such as nail bombs,pipe bombs,arson and random shootings,generally aimed at the Irish public at large (pubs,train stations,shopping strips etc).Bombing campaigns were carried out in England and the IRA’s activities in Columbia are well documented so to say the IRA’s activities were localized to Ireland is factually incorrect and ignorant. Most funding for the IRA comes from within the USA and there have been several U.S Senate Inquiries into IRA activities which have concluded the IRA is still active in terrorist activities and has branched out into organized crime and still predominantly funded from within the USA.As recently as July 2010 the IRA were planting and detonating car bombs in Ireland. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/14/northern-ireland-car-bomb_n_536842.html
The IRA are still active which only serves to prove the so-called ‘War on Terror’ is selective to say the least.If there really was a war on ALL terrorist groups there would be U.S troops in Belfast.
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The I.R.A are known in Ireland as freedom fighters, thats what I gathered on my travels there, the Irish have fought against the British/English for going on 850 years, we British (ancestors, sorry Paddy) enslaved, raped, pillaged and murdered the millions Irish, the different been the I.R.A killed a few thousand people most were supposedly legitimate targets whilst the British/English murdered millions of innocent men, women and children in Ireland, the difference been the I.R.A is outlawed in Ireland whilst the British/England government sanctioned the killing or what they call in Ireland the “Irish Holocaust” our British army still operate and occupy in the North of Ireland, sad to say us British are a warmonger nation the difference is Ireland is a neutral country. lets get that straight here my fellow country men, its time to heal.
Al qaeda are a group started up by Osama Bin Ladan or maybe our British intelligence forces set them up, they have long curly beards hate the British, Americas and anyone else they fancy, there causes are who knows perhaps as time goes by they will get more sophisticated in political ideals.
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This is a poorly written article, and could easily mislead many people
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