What does the word Mujahedin mean?
mujahideen, Arabic mujāhidūn (“those engaged in jihad”), singular mujāhid, in its broadest sense, Muslims who fight on behalf of the faith or the Muslim community (ummah). Its Arabic singular, mujāhid, was not an uncommon personal name from the early Islamic period onward.
What is the difference between jihad and mujahideen?
Jihad means to struggle and Mujahid means struggler. The particular verb stem from which both the terms are derived means ‘to struggle’ or “to exert effort against”. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, mujahideen was used for various armed fighters who subscribed to militant Islamic ideologies.
What is the mujahideen in Afghanistan?
mujahideen, Arabic mujāhidūn, members of a number of guerrilla groups operating in Afghanistan during the Afghan War (1978–92) that opposed the invading Soviet forces and eventually toppled the Afghan communist government. The following is a discussion of these factions during the Afghan War and its aftermath.
Who was the first Mujahid of Islam?
Mujahid ibn Jabr
Mujahid ibn Jabr (Arabic: مُجَاهِدْ بِنْ جَبْر) (645–722 CE) was a Tabi’in and one of the major early Islamic scholars.
Why did US support mujahideen?
The United States viewed the conflict in Afghanistan as an integral Cold War struggle, and the CIA provided assistance to anti-Soviet mujahideen rebels through the Pakistani intelligence services in a program called Operation Cyclone.
Was Mujahideen a Pashtun?
The basic units of the mujahideen continued to reflect the highly decentralized nature of Afghan society and strong loci of competing Pashtun tribal groups, which had formed a union with other Afghan groups under intense American, Saudi Arabian and Pakistani pressure.
When was Russia fighting in Afghanistan?
December 25, 1979 – February 15, 1989
Soviet–Afghan War/Periods
Is jihad in Quran?
The word jihad appears frequently in the Quran with and without military connotations, often in the idiomatic expression “striving in the path of God (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)”. Islamic jurists and other ulama of the classical era understood the obligation of jihad predominantly in a military sense.
Did the US fund Osama bin Laden?
During the anti-Soviet war Bin Laden and his fighters received American and Saudi funding. Some analysts believe Bin Laden himself had security training from the CIA.
What does the name Mujahideen mean?
The word “mujahideen” comes from the same Arabic root as jihad , which means “struggle.”. Thus, a mujahid is someone who struggles or someone who fights.
What does Mujahedeen mean?
mu·ja·hi·deen or mu·ja·hi·din (mo͞o-jä′hĕ-dēn′) 1. One engaged in a jihad, especially as a guerrilla warrior. 2. One of the Muslim guerrilla warriors that resisted the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s with the support of the United States and Pakistan.
Who were the Mujahideen of Afghanistan?
Thus, a mujahid is someone who struggles or someone who fights. In the context of Afghanistan during the late 20th century, the mujahideen were Islamic warriors defending their country from the Soviet Union, which invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and fought a bloody war there for a decade.