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Mujahideen

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mujahideen fighters in Kunar Province of Afghanistan in 1987

Mujahideen (Arabic: مجاهدين mujāhidīn) is the plural of mujahid (Arabic: مجاهد mujāhid). Mujahid is the Arabic term for one engaged in jihad (Arabic: جهاد jihād; literally, "struggle"). This term was first used to describe guerrilla-type militant groups led by the Islamist Afghan fighters in the Soviet–Afghan War.

Militant groups

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Several organisations use the word in their name such as the Mujahadeen Brigades (Arabic: كتائب المجاهدين) in Palestine. They are the militant wing of the Mujahadeen Movement of Palestine (Arabic: حركة المجهيدين الفلسطين ).[1]

The word is also used by groups outside the Arabic speaking world in Central and West Asia. Such as in Iran, for example the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) (Persian: سازمان مجاهدین خلق ایران, romanized: Sâzmân-ye Mojâhedin-ye Khalğ-ye Irân). The most common names for this group in English sources are "People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran" (PMOI), Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) and Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO).[2] Some sources have used literal translations such as People's Struggler's[3][4][5] or People's Holy Warriors.[6][7][8]

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The English term jihadists is also related to the mujahideen.[9][10]

References

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  1. "Mujahideen Brigades". Mapping Palestinian Politics. European Council on Foreign Relations. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  2. "Mujahedin-E Khalq Organization (MEK Or MKO)". encyclopedia.com.
  3. Saikal, Amin (1980). The Rise and Fall of the Shah. Princeton University Press. p. xxii.
  4. Emery, Christian (2013). US Foreign Policy and the Iranian Revolution. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 60.
  5. Sazegara, Mohsen; Stephan, Maria J. Civilian Jihad. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 188.
  6. Hambly, Gavin R. G. The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 7. Cambridge University Press. p. 284.
  7. "Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK)". Conflict in the Modern Middle East: An Encyclopedia of Civil War, Revolutions, and Regime Change. ABC-CLIO. p. 208.
  8. Abedin, Mahan (2019). Iran Resurgent: The Rise and Rise of the Shia State. C. Hurst & Co. p. 60.
  9. Drugs, United States Congress Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and (2011). Evaluating the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, S. 2930: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, July 14, 2010. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 297. ISBN 9780160883064.
  10. Infantry. U.S. Army Infantry School. 2007. p. 45.