February 3, 2010
I have been reading on my commute to work recently and I am nearly done Three Cups of Tea. It is a non-fiction novel that details the founder of the Central Asian Institute; which is an organization that has built schools in the rural areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson, the Director of the CAI, was in that part of the world on 9/11 and had his fair share of dealing with the Taliban. Although, he also mentions Al Qaeda which had me very confused, I don't know the difference between the two groups. So, today's question is: what is the difference between Al Qaeda and the Taliban?
A: Both Al Qaeda and the Taliban, originated in areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan and both operate under fundamental Islamic ideals, but that is where the similarities end. The Taliban is an authoritarian-religious government that ruled Afghanistan between 1996-2001. The Taliban have a localized agenda and sought to create a pure Islamic state. Much of the Taliban leadership is comprised of local Afghanis that were educated in religious boarding schools called madrassas. Under the Taliban, who interpreted Islamic law, Afghanis were forbidden to access any media and suppressed women's freedom including education for girls.
Al Qaeda is a militant group that operate with under a globalized anti-imperialist movement with Islam as its ideology. Many of Al Qaeda's members are highly specialized, university educated, who were drawn from all over the Islamic world. Al Qaeda has been branded an international terrorist organization by the UN Security Council as they are known to use suicide bombing and coordinated bombing to achieve its objectives.
Sources:
http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1054493.html
http://www.tressugar.com/979598
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