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{{Short description|Arabic term for people engaged in jihad ("struggle")}}
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'''Mujahideen''' ({{lang-ar|مجاهدين}}, ''{{ArabDIN|muǧāhidīn}}'', literally "strugglers") is a term for ]s fighting in a war or involved in any other struggle.<ref>Oxford American Dictionary</ref> Mujahid, and its plural, mujahideen, come from the same Arabic root as '']'' ("struggle"). The word is the plural form of {{lang|ar|مجاهد}}, ''{{ArabDIN|muǧāhid}}'', which, literally translated from Arabic means a "struggler". In Islamic scripture, the status of ''mujahid'' is unequal to ''qaid'', one who does not join the jihad.
{{Jihadism sidebar}}
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'''''Mujahideen''''', or '''''Mujahidin''''' ({{langx|ar|مُجَاهِدِين|mujāhidīn}}), is the plural form of '''''mujahid''''' ({{langx|ar|مُجَاهِد|mujāhid|strugglers or strivers, doers of jihād}}), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in '']'' ({{Literal translation|struggle or striving }}), interpreted in a ] of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the community ('']'').<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=mujahideen {{!}} Definition, Meaning, History, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/mujahideen-Islam|access-date=21 May 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Szczepanski, Kallie|date=17 September 2019|title=Who Were the Afghan Mujahideen?|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/the-mujahideen-of-afghanistan-195373|access-date=21 May 2021|website=ThoughtCo|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Definition of MUJAHIDEEN|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mujahideen|access-date=21 May 2021|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en}}</ref>


The widespread use of the word in English began with reference to the guerrilla-type militant groups led by the ] Afghan fighters in the ] (see ]). The term now extends to other ] groups in various countries.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=The United States and the Mujahideen {{!}} History of Western Civilization II|url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/the-united-states-and-the-mujahideen/|access-date=21 May 2021|website=courses.lumeznlearning.com}}</ref>
''Mujahideen'' is also ] as ''mujahedeen'', ''mujahedīn'', ''mujahidīn'', and ''mujaheddīn''.


==Etymology== ==Early history==
{{further|Islamic revival|Islamism|Mahdist War}}
Arabic words usually have ]s, which are triconsonantal (three-]) ]. The root of ''mujahidin'' is J-H-D (ج-ه-د), meaning "effort or sacrifice" ("Jihad" can mean to struggle and "Mujahideen" can mean struggler.) However, the particular ] of J-H-D from which both '']'' and ''mujahid'' are derived means "to exert effort against" or "to struggle". ''Mujahid'' is originally, therefore, "someone who struggles". The term has, even in Arabic, taken on meanings that are specifically religious, or specifically ] or ], or both.
In its roots, the ] word ''mujahideen'' refers to any person performing '']''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> In its ] meaning, ''jihad'' refers to an act that is spiritually comparable in reward to promoting Islam during the early 600s CE. These acts could be as simple as sharing a considerable amount of one's income with the poor.


===Modern Western definition===
Like the concept and title ], it has been used in formal titles of Muslim leaders who prided themselves on (and legitimated their conquests by) ], holy war in the name of establishing Islamic rule, even at very high political level: no lesser ruler than Sultan ], sixth Sovereign of the ] (1421–1451), had as full style '''Abu'l Hayrat, ], Khan of Khans, Grand Sultan of Anatolia and Rumelia, and of the Cities of Adrianople and Philippolis'', including the formal title "Sultan of mujahideen".
The term continued to be used throughout India for Muslim resistance to ].<ref name=":0" /> During the ], these holy warriors were said to accept any deserting Indian ]s and recruit them into their ranks. As time went by, the sect grew ever larger until it was not only conducting bandit raids but even controlling areas in Afghanistan.<ref>Farwell, Byron. ''Queen Victoria's Little Wars''. Pen & Sword Military Books. 2009. pp. 150–51.</ref>


The first known use of the word ''mujahideen'' to refer to insurgent Islamic extremism (what has neologically been called ]) was supposedly in the late 19th century, in 1887, by ] (1838–1911).<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=MUJAHID {{!}} Definition of MUJAHID by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of MUJAHID|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/mujahid|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521022923/https://www.lexico.com/definition/mujahid|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 May 2021|access-date=21 May 2021|website=Lexico Dictionaries {{!}} English|language=en}}</ref>
In English, the word is recorded since 1958, in a ]i context, adopted from ] and Arabic, as the plural of ''mujahid'' "one who fights in a ]", in modern use, for "Muslim ] ]."


In ] from 1916 to the 1930s, Islamic guerrillas were opponents of ] and ] and were referred to by the Soviets as ] ('bandits'). These groups called themselves ''mojahed'', describing themselves as standing for Islam.<ref>
In the late 20th century and early 21st century, the term "mujahideen" became the name of various armed fighters who subscribe to militant ] ideologies, although there is not always an explicit "holy" or "warrior" meaning of the word.
{{cite encyclopedia|year=2012|title=BASMACH|encyclopedia=Historical Dictionary of Kazakhstan|publisher=Scarecrow Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kWXSgG28y4IC|access-date=11 February 2014|last=Kassymova|first=Didar|page=47|isbn=9780810867826|quote=BASMACH A derogatory term used by Russian/Soviet authorities and researchers to designate the participants of the indigenous protest movements in Central Asia against the Russian and Soviet regimes from 1916 to the mid-1930s. The rebels referred to themselves as ''mojahed'', or 'participants of jihad,' a Muslim holy war against infidels, or non-Muslims.}}
</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Parenti | first=Christian | title=Tropic of chaos : climate change and the new geography of violence | publisher=Nation Books | publication-place=New York | date=2011 | isbn=978-1-56858-600-7 | oclc=435418573 | author-link=Christian Parenti}}</ref> Other proto-mujahideen include ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-620352/Usman-dan-Fodio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123082712/https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-620352/Usman-dan-Fodio |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 November 2007 |title=Usman dan Fodio (Fulani leader) |publisher=Britannica.com |access-date=20 February 2011 }}</ref> ],<ref>Kim Hodong, ''Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864–1877''. Stanford University Press (March 2004).</ref> and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/sdtoc.html |title=US Library of Congress, A Country Study: Sudan |publisher=Lcweb2.loc.gov |date=27 July 2010 |access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.american.edu/ted/ice/sudan.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001209170400/http://www.american.edu/ted/ice/sudan.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 December 2000 |title=Civil War in the Sudan: Resources or Religion? |publisher=American.edu |access-date=20 February 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-20649477.html |title=Slave trade in the Sudan in the nineteenth century and its suppression in the years 1877–80 |publisher=Encyclopedia.com |date=1 April 1998 |access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref>


==Afghanistan == ==Cold War era==
The name was most closely associated with the mujahideen in ],<ref name=":0" /> a coalition of guerrilla groups in Afghanistan that opposed the invading Soviet forces and eventually toppled the Afghan communist government during the ] (1978–92). Rival factions thereafter fell out among themselves, precipitating the rise of the ] and the opposing ].
] walks among Afghan fighters.]]
The best-known mujahideen were the various loosely-aligned ] opposition groups that initially fought against the incumbent pro-Marxist Afghan government. At the Afghan government's request, the Soviet Union became involved in the war. The mujahideen insurgency then fought against the Soviet troops during the ]. After the Soviet Union pulled out of the conflict in the late 1980s the mujahideen then fought against each other in the subsequent ].


===Afghanistan===
The mujahideen were significantly financed, armed, and trained by the ] ] (CIA) during the ] and ]s, ], the ], several ], ], and ] (during the ] ]). The Pakistani ] (ISI) was the interagent used in the majority of these activities to disguise the sources of support for the resistance.
{{Main|Afghan mujahideen}}
{{See also|Afghanistan conflict (1978–present)|Tehran Eight}}
] fighters passing around the ] border in 1985]]
] ] meeting with ] at the ] in 1983.]]
Arguably the best-known mujahideen outside the ] are the various, loosely aligned ] who initially rebelled against the government of the pro-Soviet ] (DRA) during the late 1970s. At the DRA's request, the ] brought forces into the country to aid the government in 1979. The mujahideen fought against Soviet and DRA troops during the ] (1979–1989). Afghanistan's resistance movement originated in chaos and, at first, regional ]s waged virtually all of its fighting locally. As warfare became more sophisticated, outside support and regional coordination grew. The basic units of mujahideen organization and action continued to reflect the highly decentralized nature of Afghan society and strong loci of competing mujahideen and ] ], particularly in isolated areas among the mountains.<ref name="loc1"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411090739/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+af0101|date=11 April 2017}}</ref> Eventually, the seven main mujahideen parties allied as the political bloc called ]. The parties were not under a single command and had ideological differences.


Many Muslims from other countries assisted the various mujahideen groups in Afghanistan. Some groups of these veterans became significant players in later conflicts in and around the Muslim world. ], originally from a wealthy family in ], was a prominent organizer and financier of an all-Arab Islamist group of foreign volunteers; his ] funnelled money, arms, and Muslim fighters from around the Muslim world into Afghanistan, with the assistance and support of the Saudi and Pakistani governments. These foreign fighters became known as "]" and their efforts were coordinated by ].
] praised them as "]s", and the 1988 '']'' portrayed them as heroic.


Although the mujahideen were aided by the ], ], ], ] and ], the mujahideen's primary source of funding was private donors and religious charities throughout the Muslim world—particularly in the Persian Gulf. ] recounts that "as little as 25% of the money for the Afghan jihad was actually supplied directly by states."<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Jason Burke|last=Burke|first=Jason|title=]|publisher=]|year=2004|isbn=9781850436669|page=59}}</ref>
A wealthy Saudi named ] was a prominent organizer and financier of an all Arab islamist group of foreign volunteers; his ] (MAK) ''(Office of Services)'' funnelled money, arms, and Muslim fighters from around the muslim world into Afghanistan, with the assistance and support of the Saudi and Pakistani governments<ref>; </ref>. In 1988, bin Laden broke away from the MAK.
].]]
Afghanistan's resistance movement was born in chaos, spread and triumphed chaotically, and did not find a way to govern differently. Virtually all of its war was waged locally by regional ]s. As warfare became more sophisticated, outside support and regional coordination grew. Even so, the basic units of mujahideen organization and action continued to reflect the highly segmented nature of Afghan society<ref name="loc1">(Retrieved Thursday 31, 2007) </ref>.


Mujahideen forces caused serious casualties to the Soviet forces, and made the war very costly for the Soviet Union. In 1989 the Soviet Union ] from Afghanistan. In February 1989 the seven Sunni mujahideen factions formed an Afghan Interim Government (AIG) in ], The Interim Government had been in exile in ] since 1988, led by ], as an attempt for a united front against the DRA. The AIG became a failure, partly because it could not solve the differences between the factions; partly because of limited public support as it excluded the Iran-backed Shia mujahideen factions, and the exclusion of supporters of ex-King ]; and the mujahideen's failure in the ] in March 1989.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgiiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT54|title=The Diplomatic Record 1989-1990|isbn=9781000315943|last1=Newsom|first1=David D.|date=11 July 2019|publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Refugees|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|title=Refworld {{!}} Human Rights Watch World Report 1989 - Afghanistan|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/467bb4855.html|access-date=8 May 2021|website=Refworld|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Afghan Interim Rule: Rocky Road |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1992/0513/13181.html |access-date=2023-09-02 |issn=0882-7729}}</ref><ref> CIA</ref>
In the course of the guerrilla war, leadership came to be distinctively associated with the title of "commander". It applied to independent leaders, eschewing identification with elaborate military ] associated with such ranks as general. As the war produced leaders of reputation, "commander" was conferred on leaders of fighting units of all sizes, signifying pride in independence, self-sufficiency, and distinct ties to local community. The title epitomized Afghan pride in their struggle against an overwhelmingly-powerful foe. Segmentation of power and religious leadership were the two values evoked by nomenclature generated in the war. Neither had been favored in ideology of the former Afghan state.


In 1992 the DRA's last president, ], was overthrown and most mujahideen factions signed the ]. The mujahideen could not establish a functional united government, and many of the larger mujahideen groups ] over power in ].
] estimates that after four years of war, there were at least 4,000 bases from which mujahideen units operated. Most of these were affiliated with the seven expatriate parties headquartered in ], which served as sources of supply and varying degrees of supervision. Significant commanders typically led 300 or more men, controlled several bases and dominated a district or a sub-division of a province. Hierarchies of organization above the bases were attempted. Their operations varied greatly in scope, the most ambitious being achieved by ] of the ] north of ]. He led at least 10,000 trained troops at the end of the Soviet war and had expanded his political control of ] dominated areas to Afghanistan's northeastern provinces under the Supervisory Council of the North<ref name="loc1"> </ref>.


After several years of devastating fighting, in a small ] village, a ] named ] organized a new armed movement with the backing of Pakistan. This movement became known as the ] ("students" in ]), referring to how most Taliban had grown up in refugee camps in Pakistan during the 1980s and were taught in the Saudi-backed ], religious schools known for teaching a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam.
Roy also describes regional, ethnic and sectarian variations in mujahideen organization. In the ] areas of the east, south and southwest, tribal structure, with its many rival sub-divisions, provided the basis for military organization and leadership. Mobilization could be readily linked to traditional fighting allegiances of the tribal ''lashkar'' (fighting force). In favorable circumstances such formations could quickly reach more than 10,000, as happened when large Soviet assaults were launched in the eastern provinces, or when the mujahideen besieged towns, such as ] in ] province. But in campaigns of the latter type the traditional explosions of manpower--customarily common immediately after the completion of harvest--proved obsolete when confronted by well dug-in defenders with modern weapons. Lashkar durability was notoriously short; few sieges succeeded<ref name="loc1"> </ref>.


=== Cyprus ===
Mujahideen mobilization in non-Pashtun regions faced very different obstacles. Prior to the invasion, few non-Pashtuns possessed firearms. Early in the war they were most readily available from army troops or ] who defected or were ambushed. The international arms market and foreign military support tended to reach the minority areas last.
Even before independence, the ] community maintained its own paramilitary force (the ], or TMT), trained and equipped by the ]. In 1967, this force was renamed the ''Mücahit'' ("Mujahideen"), and in 1975 the Mücahit was renamed the ]. In 1974, Turkey led a land invasion of ] with the aim of protecting the Turkish minority population after a Greek-inspired coup brought a threat of union of the island with Greece. Since then there has been no major fighting on Cyprus and the nation continues to be an independent country, though strongly linked with Turkey militarily and politically.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5UuFAAAAIAAJ|title=Cyprus, a country study|last1=Solsten|first1=Eric|last2=Division|first2=Library of Congress Federal Research|date=1993|publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress|isbn=978-0-8444-0752-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Durbilmez|first=Bayram|date=2013|title=Tarihî Gerçeklerin Âşik Edebiyatina Yansimasi Bağlaminda Türk Mukavemet Teşkilâti Ve Kibris Mücahitleri|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=532230|journal=Folklor/Edebiyat|language=tr|volume=19|issue=76|pages=173–193|issn=1300-7491}}</ref>


===Iran and Iraq===
In the northern regions, little military tradition had survived upon which to build an armed resistance. Mobilization mostly came from political leadership closely tied to ].
While more than one group in Iran has called itself mujahideen, the most famous is the ] (PMOI; ]: Mojāhedin-e Khalq), an Islamic organization that advocates for the overthrow of the leadership of the ].<ref name=":0" /> The group has taken part in multiple well-known conflicts in the region, and has been at odds with the conservative government of the ] since the ].


Another mujahideen was the Mujahedin-e Islam, an Islamic party led by Ayatollah ].<ref>
Roy convincingly contrasts the social leadership of religious figures in the ] and ] speaking regions of Afghanistan with that of the Pashtuns. Lacking a strong political representation in a state dominated by Pashtuns, minority communities commonly looked to pious learned or charismatically revered '']s'' (saints) for leadership. Extensive ] and ] networks were spread through the minority communities, readily available as foundations for leadership, organization, communication and indoctrination. These networks also provided for political mobilization, which led to some of the most effective of the resistance operations during the war<ref name="loc1"> </ref>.
{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xomrkluOynYC&q=Mujahedin-e+Islam+kashani&pg=PA339 |title=The Essential Middle East: A Comprehensive Guide by Dilip Hiro |isbn=9780786712694 |access-date=20 February 2011|last1=Hiro |first1=Dilip |year=2003 |publisher=Carroll & Graf }}
</ref> It formed part of the ] during the time of ]'s ], but broke away from Mosaddeq over his allegedly un-Islamic policies.<ref>Abrahamian, Ervand, ''Iran Between Two Revolutions'' by Ervand Abrahamian, Princeton University Press, 1982, pp. 276–77</ref>


===Myanmar (Burma)===
Many Muslims from other countries volunteered to assist various mujahideen groups in Afghanistan, and gained significant experience in guerrilla warfare. Some groups of these veterans have been significant factors in more recent conflicts in and around the Muslim world (e.g. ]).
From 1947 to 1961, local mujahideen fought against Burmese government soldiers in an attempt to have the ] in northern Arakan, Burma (present-day ], ]) secede from the country, so it could be annexed by ] (present-day ]).<ref name="yegar-1">{{cite book|last=Yegar|first=Moshe|title=Muslims of Burma|year=1972|publisher=Verlag Otto Harrassowitz|location=Wiesbaden|page=96}}</ref> During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the mujahideen lost most of their momentum and support, resulting in most of them surrendering to government forces.<ref name="yegar-yegar">{{cite book|last=Yegar|first=Moshe|title=Muslims of Burma|year=1972|pages=98–101}}</ref><ref name="pho-kan">{{cite book|author=Pho Kan Kaung|title=The Danger of Rohingya|date=May 1992|publisher=Myet Khin Thit Magazine No. 25|pages=87–103}}</ref>


In the 1990s, the well-armed ] was the main perpetrator of attacks on Burmese authorities positioned on the ].<ref name="B-report">This news-story was based on interview with Rohingyas and others in the Cox's Bazar area and at the Rohingya military camps in 1991: {{cite book|last=Lintner|first=Bertil|title=Tension Mounts in Arakan State|publisher=Jane's Defence Weekly |date=19 October 1991}}</ref>
The mujahideen won when the Soviet Union pulled troops out of Afghanistan in 1989, followed by the fall of the ] regime in 1992. However, the mujahideen did not establish a united government, many of the larger mujahideen groups began to fight each other, and they were in turn ousted from power by the radical splinter group known as the ] in 1996. After several years of this fighting, a village ] organized religious students into an armed movement, with the backing of Pakistan, who was being funded by the United States, which found the existing government to be too Russian-influenced, even following the ]. This movement became known as the ], meaning "students", and referring to the ]-backed religious schools known for producing extremism. With each success the Taliban had, their popularity and numbers grew.


===Philippines===
By 2001, the Taliban, with backing from the Pakistani ISI (military intelligence) and possibly even the regular Pakistan Army, had defeated most of the militias and controlled most of Afghanistan. The remaining militias were in the north-east of the country. The opposition allied themselves together and became known as the National Islamic United Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan &mdash; the United Front, or ]. In 2001 with U.S. and International military aid, they ousted the ] from power and formed a new government under ].
{{main|Islamic insurgency in the Philippines|Moro Islamic Liberation Front}}
In 1969, political tensions and open hostilities developed between the ] and ] rebel groups.<ref name="scribd.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/89147694/The-CenSEI-Report-Vol-2-No-13-April-2-8-2012#page=3 |title=The CenSEI Report (Vol. 2, No. 13) |date=April 2012 |website=Scribd.com |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> The ] (]) was established by ] professor Nur Misuari to condemn the ] and later became an aggressor against the government while the ] (]), a splinter group from the MNLF, was established to seek an Islamic state within the Philippines and is more radical and more aggressive. The conflict is ongoing{{When|date=August 2021}}; casualty statistics vary for the conflict, with conservative estimates of the ] indicating at least 6,015 people were killed in armed conflict between the Government of Philippines and ], BIFM, ], and ] factions between 1989 and 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=127&regionSelect=11-Oceania |title=Philippines |website=UCDP |access-date=4 September 2016 |archive-date=3 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603132459/http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=127&regionSelect=11-Oceania |url-status=dead }}</ref> ] is an Islamic separatist group in the southern ], formed in 1991. The group is known for its ]s of Western nationals and Filipinos, for which it has received several large ]-payments. Some Abu Sayyaf members have studied or worked in Saudi Arabia and developed relations with the mujahideen members while fighting and training in the war against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.<ref name="PacCom">{{cite web|url=http://www.pacom.mil/piupdates/abusayyafhist.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030219091507/http://www.pacom.mil/piupdates/abusayyafhist.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 February 2003|title= Abu Sayyaf History |work=Combating Terrorism in the Philippines |date=March 5, 2002 |publisher=U.S. Pacific Command }}</ref>


==1990s==
The Afghan mujahideen also participated in the ], aiding the Azeri forces in their war against the separatist ] ] forces.
The 1990s are a transitional period between the Mujahideen outfits forming part of the ]s between the ] superpowers and the emergence of contemporary jihadism in the wake of the US "]" and the "]".


] saw its formative period during this time, and jihadism formed part of the picture in regional conflicts of the 1990s, including the ], the ], the ], the ], etc.
==Bosnia-Herzegovina==


===Yugoslav Wars===
{{main|Bosnian Mujahideen}}
{{Main|Bosnian mujahideen|Bosnian War}}
During the Bosnian war 1992–1995, many foreign Muslims came to ] as mujahideen. Muslims around the world who shared mujahideen beliefs and respected the author of ] come to the aid of fellow Muslims. ], author of ] and in his younger days author of poem "To the Jihad" <ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZURL7ud3IwsC&pg=PA76 |title=SPIN |page=76 |date= November 1994|access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> was particularly happy about the presence of Mujahedeens in Bosnia and gave them full support.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33345618 |title=Bosnia: The cradle of modern jihadism? – BBC News |work=BBC News |date=2 July 2015 |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> El Mujahid members claimed that in Bosnia they only have respect for Alija Izetbegovic and the head of the Bosnian Army Third Corps, Sakib Mahmuljin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Articles/Detail/?id=92320 |title=Resources – Center for Security Studies &#124; ETH Zurich |language=de |website=Isn.ethz.ch |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R9x9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 |title=Bosnian Security After Dayton: New Perspectives |page=106 |date=27 September 2006 |isbn=9781134148721 |access-date=4 September 2016|last1=Innes |first1=Michael A. |publisher=Routledge }}</ref> The number of foreign Muslim volunteers in Bosnia was estimated at 4,000 in contemporary newspaper reports.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0110/msg00060.html |title=Bosnia Seen as Hospitable Base and Sanctuary for Terrorists |publisher=Nettime.org |access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref> Later research estimated the number to be about 400.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/specials/al_kaida/index.htm |title=Radio Free Europe (2007)- Vlado Azinović: Al-Kai'da u Bosni i Hercegovini – mit ili stvarna opasnost? |publisher=Slobodnaevropa.org |access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2017}} They came from various places such as ], ], ], ], ], ] and the ]; to quote the summary of the ] judgment:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/hadzihas/trialc/judgement/060315/hadz-sum060315.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060325154448/http://www.un.org/icty/hadzihas/trialc/judgement/060315/hadz-sum060315.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 March 2006 |title=Home &#124; International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |website=Un.org |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref>


The evidence shows that foreign volunteers arrived in central Bosnia in the second half of 1992 with the aim of helping Muslims. Mostly they came from ], the Near East and the Middle East. The foreign volunteers differed considerably from the local population, not only because of their physical appearance and the language they spoke, but also because of their fighting methods. The various foreign, Muslim volunteers were primarily organized into an umbrella detachment of the ], which was a brigade of the ], based in ]. This independent subdivision colloquially known as ''El-Mudžahid'', was composed exclusively of foreign nationals and not Bosnians (whereas the 7th Muslim Brigade was entirely made up of native Bosnians) and consisted of somewhere between 300 and 1,500 volunteers. ], Lieutenant Colonel of the ], appointed Mahmut Karalić (Commandant), Asim Koričić (Chief of Staff) and Amir Kubura (Assistant Chief for Operational and Curricula) to lead the group.
During the ], ] forces received financial and military aid from Islamic countries. This military aid was partially sent in the form of experienced mujahideen troops. Organized in special units (like ]), they were known for their bravery and highly experienced personnels mostly from the Soviet war in Afghanistan. A number of these mujahideen fighters stayed in Bosnia when the war ended. They attained Bosnian citizenship, and are now living in several villages throughout Bosnia, where life is organized after the Islamic laws.<ref name=HIDDEN-ARMY-OF-RADICAL-ISLAM>{{cite news
|title=The Hidden Army Of Radical Islam
|url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,91134-bosnia_p3705,00.html
|publisher=]
|accessdate=2007-02-04 }}</ref> It is known that those who remained are concentrated around the city of ] and in villages near ].


Some of the mujahideen funnelled arms and money into the country which Bosnia direly needed due to a ] restricting the import of weapons into all of the republics of the ]. Many of the mujahideen were extremely devout Muslims of the strict ] sect, which contrasted sharply with the relatively secular society of ]. This led to friction between the mujahideen and the Bosnians.
==Tajikistan==
A former Soviet republic, Tajikistan plunged into civil war almost as soon as it became independent from the ] in 1991. An Islamic party operates freely and according to its leader, Said Abdullah Nuri, it does not support any sort of holy war. The Tajiks have long fought a civil war themselves.


Foreign volunteers in Bosnia have been accused of committing ] during the conflict. The ICTY has never issued indictments against mujahideen fighters. Instead, the ICTY indicted some Bosnian Army commanders on the basis of superior criminal responsibility. The ICTY acquitted Amir Kubura and Enver Hadžihasanović of the Bosnian 3rd Corps of all charges related to the incidents involving mujahideen. Furthermore, the Appeals Chamber noted that the relationship between the 3rd Corps and the El Mujahedin detachment was not one of subordination but was instead close to overt hostility since the only way to control the detachment was to attack them as if they were a distinct enemy force.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2008/pr1240e.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617064942/http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2008/pr1240e.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 June 2008 |title=ICTY – Appeals Chamber – Hadzihasanović and Kubura case |publisher=Un.org |date=5 March 2007 |access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref>
Many have spent years fighting in mountains and most have had more than enough. Besides, most Tajiks are suspicious of the Taliban. They greatly admired ], the military leader of the anti-Taliban alliance who was assassinated by the regime.


The ICTY Trial Chamber convicted ], the former chief of the Bosnian Army General Staff. The ICTY found that Delic had effective control over the El Mujahid Detachment. He was sentenced to three years of imprisonment for his failure to prevent or punish the cruel treatment of twelve captured Serb soldiers by the Mujahideen. Delic remained in the Detention Unit while appellate proceedings continued.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=12636&kat=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222124933/http://www.sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=12636&kat=3|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 December 2008|title=SENSE Tribunal : ICTY|date=22 December 2008}}</ref>
==Kashmir==


Some individuals of the Bosnian Mujahideen, such as ], ], and ], gained particular prominence within Bosnia as well as international attention from various foreign governments. They were all North African volunteers with well established links to ] groups before and after the Bosnian War.
{{main|History of the Kashmir conflict}}


In 2015, former Human Rights Minister and Federation BiH Vice President Mirsad Kebo talked about numerous war crimes committed against Serbs by mujahideen in Bosnia and their links with current and past Muslim officials including former and current presidents of federation and presidents of parliament based on war diaries and other documented evidence. He gave evidence to the BiH federal prosecutor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nezavisne.com/novosti/bih/Mirsad-Kebo-Novi-dokazi-o-zlocinima-nad-Srbima/282906 |title=Mirsad Kebo: Novi dokazi o zločinima nad Srbima |website=Nezavisne.com |date=10 January 2015 |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.avim.org.tr/bulten/en/98694 |title=Bosniak Politician Evades Censure in War Crimes Row |website=www.avim.org.tr |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122040451/http://www.avim.org.tr/bulten/en/98694 |archive-date=22 November 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.srna.rs/novosti/271609/kebo-to-show-evidence-izetbegovic-brought-mujahideen-to-bosnia.htm |title=Kebo To Show Evidence Izetbegovic Brought Mujahideen To Bosnia &#124; Срна |website=Srna.rs |access-date=4 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510054417/http://www.srna.rs/novosti/271609/kebo-to-show-evidence-izetbegovic-brought-mujahideen-to-bosnia.htm |archive-date=10 May 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Denis Dzidic |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/ex-sda-official-claims-party-men-involved-in-war-crimes |title=Bosnian Party Accused of Harbouring War Criminals |date=13 January 2015 |publisher=Balkan Insight |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref>
In ] and the former ] of ] ] (disputed with India), militants opposing Indian rule are often known as ''mujahideen''.


===North Caucasus===
In 1947, the armed Mujahideen (Razakars), mostly ] supported by the Pakistani Army, tried to force the annexation of Kashmir by Pakistan, as part of the population desired. Pakistan claimed the fighters were independent mujahideen helping a local insurgency, while India claimed that the invaders were Pakistani irregulars supported by the Pakistani Army.
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2012}}
{{main|Insurgency in the North Caucasus}}
{{Further|Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya|Islamic International Brigade}}
The term ''mujahideen'' has often been used to refer to all separatist fighters in the case of the ] and ]s. In this article, it refers to the foreign, non-] fighters who joined the separatists' cause for the sake of ]. They are often called ] (helpers) in related literature dealing with this conflict to prevent confusion with the native fighters.


Foreign mujahideen have played a part in both Chechen wars. After the ] of the ] and the subsequent ], foreign fighters began entering the region and associating themselves with local rebels (most notably ]). Many of the foreign fighters were veterans of the ]. The mujahideen also made a significant financial contribution to the separatists' cause; with their access to the immense wealth of ] charities like ], they soon became an invaluable source of funds for the Chechen resistance, which had few resources of its own.
The ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, ] ] called upon help from India and the then Indian Prime minister ] airlifted Indian troops to the region and tried to drive off the insurgents.


Most of the mujahideen decided to remain in ] after the withdrawal of Russian forces. In 1999, foreign fighters played an important role in the ill-fated Chechen ] into ], where they suffered a decisive defeat and were forced to retreat back into Chechnya. The incursion provided the new Russian government with a pretext for intervention. Russian ground forces invaded Chechnya again in 1999.
The Kashmiri and Pakistani Mujahideen since then, with support from Pakistan's ] and Army (see ]), have been waging an armed campaign in Jammu and Kashmir. This resulted in India moving over half a million troops into Kashmir to suppress the insurgency and the ensuing violence has claimed more than 80,000 lives so far.
Several different militant groups have since taken root in Indian Kashmir. Most noticeable of these groups are ] (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Al-Umar Mujahideen (AuM) and Harkat ul-Mujahideen (HuM).<ref name=KASHMIR-MILITANT-EXTREMISTS-CFR>{{cite web
|title=Kashmir Militant Extremists
|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/9135/
|publisher=]
|date=]
|accessdate=2007-02-09}}</ref> A 1996 report by ] estimated the number of active militant extremists at 3,200.<ref name=HRW-VII-VIOLATION-MILITANT-ORGANIZATIONS>{{cite web
|title=VII. Violations by Militant Organizations
|url=http://www.gharib.demon.co.uk/reports/milvio.htm
|date=May 1996
|work=Human Rights Watch/Asia: India: India's Secret Army in Kashmir, New Patterns of Abuse Emerge in the Conflict
|publisher=]
|accessdate=2007-02-09 }}</ref>


The separatists were less successful in the Second Chechen War. Russian officials claimed that the separatists had been defeated as early as 2002. The Russians also succeeded in killing the most prominent mujahideen commanders, most notably ] and ].
===Waziristan (Pakistan)===


Although the region has since been far from stable, separatist activity has decreased, though some foreign fighters remain active in Chechnya. In the last months of 2007, the influence of foreign fighters became apparent again when ] proclaimed the ] being fought for by the ], a pan-Caucasian Islamic state of which Chechnya was to be a province. This move caused a rift in the resistance movement between those supporting the Emirate and those who were in favour of preserving the ].
{{main|2004-2006 Waziristan conflict}}


==Contemporary Jihadism==
Waziristan's new landmarks speak eloquently of the intensity of the conflict that still rages between Taliban and al-Qaeda militants and the Pakistani security forces.
{{further|Jihadism}}
The neologism '']'' may correspond to the original Arabic ''mujahedeen''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llhGT3RxzpoC&q=%22mujahideen%22+%22jihadists%22|title=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|last=Drugs|first=United States Congress Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and|date=2011|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|isbn=9780160883064|pages=297|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0fg6AQAAMAAJ&q=%22mujahideen%22+%22jihadists%22&pg=RA2-PA45|title=Infantry|date=2007|publisher=U.S. Army Infantry School|pages=45|language=en}}</ref>


===Indian subcontinent===
==Somalia ==
{{further|Kashmir conflict|War in North-West Pakistan|label1=Kashmir conflict (India and Pakistan)}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: ], Sharif Ahmed.]] -->
In ], an outfit calling itself the ] came to light in 2008 with multiple large scale terror attacks. On 26 November 2008, a group calling itself the ] claimed responsibility for a ] across ]. The ''Weekly Standard'' claimed, "Indian intelligence believes the Indian Mujahideen is a front group created by ] and the ] to confuse investigators and cover the tracks of the ], or SIMI, a radical Islamist movement with aim to establish Islamic rule over India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/11/indian_mujahideen_takes_credit.asp |title=Indian Mujahideen Takes Credit for Mumbai Attacks |publisher=The Weekly Standard |date=2008-11-26 |access-date=2010-07-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814044720/http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/11/indian_mujahideen_takes_credit.asp |archive-date=2009-08-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the Indian state of ], Kashmiri Muslim separatists opposing Indian rule are often known as ''mujahideen''. The members of the ] (within ]) in the south Indian state of ] is known as "Mujahids".<ref name="Bastions of The Believers: Madrasas and Islamic Education in India">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtkvCgAAQBAJ&q=Kerala+Nadvathul+Mujahideen |title=Bastions of The Believers: Madrasas and Islamic Education in India |last=Sikand |first=Yoginder |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2005 |isbn=9789352141067}}</ref>


Many militant groups have been involved in the war in North West Pakistan, most notably the ], ], and ]. These groups refer to themselves as the ''mujahideen'' in their war against the Pakistani military and the west. Several different militant groups have also taken root in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Most noticeable of these groups are ] (LeT), ] (JeM), ] (JKLF), ] and ] (HuM).<ref name=KASHMIR-MUAJHIDEEN-EXTREMISTS-CFR>{{cite web
The ] changed radically due to ]. Before their entry into the conflict in July, 2006, the struggle between the ] (ICU) and the warlord-based ] (ARPCT) and the fledgling ] (TFG) was an internal struggle between Islamic Somalis, particularly those who preferred a secular state to one ruled by ] law. Now faced with the presence of forces from the historically Christian kingdom of Ethiopia, the ICU began to frame the war as one of ], and called its citizens to rise in arms to throw the Ethiopians out of the country. This threat had been made as early as 2005<ref name=SOMALI-JIHAD-ON-FOREIGN-TROOPS> BBC</ref>.
|title = Kashmir Mujahideen Extremists
|url = http://www.cfr.org/publication/9135/
|publisher = ]
|date = 12 July 2006
|access-date = 9 February 2007
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070214103922/http://www.cfr.org/publication/9135/
|archive-date = 14 February 2007
}}</ref> A 1996 report by ] estimated the number of active mujahideen at 3,200.<ref name=HRW-VII-VIOLATION-MILITANT-ORGANIZATIONS>{{cite web
|title = VII. Violations by Militant Organizations
|url = http://www.gharib.demon.co.uk/reports/milvio.htm
|date = May 1996
|work = Human Rights Watch/Asia: India: India's Secret Army in Kashmir, New Patterns of Abuse Emerge in the Conflict
|publisher = ]
|access-date = 9 February 2007
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060220172042/http://www.gharib.demon.co.uk/reports/milvio.htm
|archive-date = 20 February 2006
}}</ref>


In ], the ] was an ] organisation that was officially banned by the ] in February 2005 after attacks on ]s. It struck back in mid-August when it ] at 300 locations throughout Bangladesh.<ref name="defenddemocracy.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_the_media/in_the_media_show.htm?doc_id=358521 |title=In the Media |website=www.defenddemocracy.org |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060405221840/http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_the_media/in_the_media_show.htm?doc_id=358521 |archive-date=5 April 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
On ], ], a Web-posted message purportedly written by ] urged Somalis to build an Islamic state in the country and warned western states that his ] network would fight against them if they intervened there.<ref name=BIN-LADEN-MESSAGE-IRAQ-SOMALIA> USA Today</ref> Foreign fighters began to arrive, though there were official denials of the presence of mujahideen in the country.
Even so, the threat of jihad was made openly and repeatedly in the months proceeding the ].<ref name=SOMALIS-VOW-HOLY-WAR-ON-ETHIOPIA> BBC</ref>


===Iraq and Syria===
On ], ], Islamists, for the first time, called upon international fighters to join their cause stating "We're saying our country is open to Muslims worldwide. Let them fight in Somalia and wage jihad, and God willing, attack Addis Ababa".<ref name=SOMALI-ISLAMISTS-URGE MUSLIM-FIGHTERS-TO-JOIN-JIHAD> Reuters</ref> The term ''mujahideen'' is now openly used by the ICU, such as in this quote: "Janakow said the international community remained silent as fighting rages in Somalia today, but promised that world governments will speak out 'when our Mujahideen (holy warriors) reach parts of Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa.'"<ref name=SOMALI-ISLAMISTS-ACCUSE-ETHIOPIA-OF-EXCESSIVE-FORCE> Garowe Online</ref>
====Iraqi insurgency====
{{main|Iraq War|Iraqi insurgency (Iraq War)}}
The term ''mujahideen'' is sometimes applied to fighters who joined the insurgency after the ].<ref name="meh">{{cite book|last=Ilahi|first=Mehboob|date=2018|title=Doctrine of Terror Saudi Salafi Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6w9xDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA277|publisher=FriesenPress|page=277|isbn=9781525526473}}</ref> Some groups also use the word ''mujahideen'' in their names, like ] and ].


Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq as part of the George W. Bush administration's post 9/11 foreign policy, many foreign Mujahideen joined several Sunni militant groups resisting the U.S. occupation of Iraq. A considerable part of the insurgents did not come from Iraq but instead from many other Arab countries, notably Jordan and Saudi Arabia.<ref name="meh" /> Among these recruits was ], a Jordanian national who would go on to assume the leadership of ] (AQI).
On ], Ethiopian Prime Minister ] was quoted saying up to 1,000 Islamist forces, mostly foreign nationals, had been killed in the fighting, "The only forces we are pursuing are Eritreans who are hiding behind the skirts of Somali women, and terrorist mujahideen."<ref name=> Reuters</ref>


====Syrian civil war====
==Iraq==
{{main|Syrian civil war|Islamic State in Iraq and Syria}}
Various Islamic groups, often referred to as mujahideen and jihadists, have participated in the ]. ]s, the sect to which Syrian President ] belongs, are considered to be heretics in Sunni Muslim circles. In this sense, radical Sunni ] organizations and their affiliates have been anti-Assad. Jihadist leaders and intelligence sources said foreign fighters had begun to enter Syria only in February 2012.<ref name = "ST Forn 1">{{cite news |last1= Macleod |first1= Hugh |last2= Flamand |first2= Annasofie |date= 13 May 2012 |title= Iraq-style chaos looms as foreign jihadists pour into Syria |url= http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/Middle_East/article1037397.ece |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121102041735/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/Middle_East/article1037397.ece |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2 November 2012 |newspaper= The Sunday Times |access-date= 30 June 2012 }}</ref> In May 2012, Syria's U.N. envoy Bashar Ja'afari declared that dozens of foreign fighters from Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Britain, France elsewhere had been captured or killed, and urged Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey to stop "their sponsorship of the armed rebellion".<ref>{{cite news|last=Yacoub |first=Khaled |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSBRE8470O020120509 |title=Syria rebels kill 7, bomb explodes near U.N. monitors |work=Reuters|date=9 May 2012|access-date=17 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18109167 |title= Syria's UN ambassador says two Britons killed in Idlib |work= BBC News |date= 17 May 2012 |access-date= 30 June 2012 }}</ref> Jihadist leaders and intelligence sources said foreign fighters had begun to enter Syria only in February 2012.<ref name = "ST Forn 1"/> In June, it was reported that hundreds of foreign fighters, many linked to al-Qaeda, had gone to Syria to fight against Assad.<ref name = "ST Forn 2">{{cite news |last= Jaber |first= Hala |date= 17 June 2012 |title= Jihadists pour into Syrian slaughter |url= http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/Middle_East/article1062478.ece |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120928095518/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/Middle_East/article1062478.ece |url-status= dead |archive-date= 28 September 2012 |newspaper= The Sunday Times |access-date= 30 June 2012 }}</ref> When asked if the United States would arm the opposition, Hillary Clinton expressed doubts that such weapons would be effective in the toppling of the Syrian government and may even fall into the hands of al-Qaeda or Hamas.<ref>{{cite web|last=Andrews|first=Wyatt|date=26 February 2012|title=Hillary Clinton: Assad regime dishonors Syria|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-assad-regime-dishonors-syria/|work=WorldWatch|publisher=CBSNews.com|access-date=24 June 2012|archive-date=28 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628013738/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-57385418-503543/hillary-clinton-assad-regime-dishonors-syria/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<!-- Unsourced image removed: ] members with ] and with the banner in the background]] -->


American officials assumed already in 2012 that ] (a.k.a. Al-Qaeda in Iraq) has conducted bomb attacks against Syrian government forces,<ref>{{cite news |last=Landay |first=Jonathan S. |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/02/16/139139/top-us-intelligence-officials.html |title=Top U.S. intelligence officials confirm al Qaida role in Syria |work=McClatchy Newspapers |access-date=22 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321210031/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/02/16/139139/top-us-intelligence-officials.html |archive-date=21 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Iraqi Foreign Minister ] said that ] members have gone to Syria, where the militants previously received support and weapons from the Syrian government in order to destabilize the US occupation of Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|last=Karam|first=Zeina|author-link=Zeina Karam|title=Iraq: Al-Qaeda migrates to Syria|newspaper=Associated Press|date=6 July 2012}}</ref> On 23 April, one of the leaders of ], Abdel Ghani Jawhar, was killed during the ], after he unintentionally blew himself up while making a bomb.<ref name=fatahalsislm>{{cite web|url=http://www.yalibnan.com/2012/04/23/lebanons-most-wanted-sunni-terrorist-blows-himself-up-in-syria/ |title=Lebanon's Most Wanted Sunni Terrorist Blows Himself Up in Syria |location=LB |publisher=Yalibnan.com |date=23 April 2012 |access-date=17 May 2012}}</ref> In July 2012, Iraq's foreign minister again warned that members of ] were seeking refuge in Syria and moving there to fight.<ref name = "influx">{{cite web |last1= Peel |first1= Michael |last2= Fielding-Smith |first2= Abigail |date= 5 July 2012 |title= Iraq warns over al-Qaeda flux to Syria |url= http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c776cfd6-c6bc-11e1-943a-00144feabdc0.html |publisher= FT.com |access-date= 7 July 2012 }}</ref>
The term ''mujahideen'' is sometimes applied by sympathizers and regional experts to the ] against the US-led allies whose invasion destroyed ]'s ] republic, and against the subsequent Iraqi regimes in need of allied military support, while the insurgents comprise a wide, incoherent spectrum of forces, with or without crucial Islamic ideology.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}


It is believed that al-Qaeda leader ] condemned Assad.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elizabeth A. |last=Kennedy |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/12/ayman-al-zawahri-al-qaeda_n_1271410.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214210859/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/12/ayman-al-zawahri-al-qaeda_n_1271410.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 February 2012 |title=Ayman al-Zawahri, Al-Qaeda Chief, Urges Muslims To Help Syrian Rebels |work=Huffington Post |access-date=22 February 2012 |date=12 February 2012 }}</ref>
A wide range of armed groups are operating in Iraq, feeding into violence which has prompted fears of civil war. Much insurgent and militia activity is shadowy and difficult to trace, but here is a guide to the main players.

===Sunni Mujahideen===
A section of the insurgency comprising former elements of Saddam Hussein's regime, ] supporters, former Iraqi soldiers and secular Sunnis is often referred to as "Sunni nationalists". Analysts believe that in the wake of the US-led invasion, some former regime figures provided the nascent insurgency with access to regime funds and weapons caches.

In September 2005, an Iraqi court convicted a nephew of the deposed leader of funding insurgents. Commentators have also blamed much of the violence on the decision by former US governor ] to disband the Iraqi army in 2003, without disarming it.US forces have faced their greatest challenges in areas of central Iraq - such as the city of Falluja - that had a strong tradition of military service.

Since late 2005, the US has said it is trying to drive a wedge between the more extreme Islamist groups and the more secular and moderate nationalists. Sunni insurgent groups were split over participation in elections in December 2005, although support from some boosted significant Sunni turnout and thus Sunni influence on the new government. But a report by Anthony Cordesman, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said even Sunni leaders who were participating in - rather than attacking - the political process, were forming their own forces to counter the existing Shia militias.

===Shia Mujahideen===

Some Iraqi political parties have armed wings, despite US pressure to disband militias.A growing trend of sectarian killings in Baghdad and other mixed Sunni and Shia areas of the country has prompted fears of civil war. Groups of corpses, typically with hands bound and gunshot wounds to the head, sometimes bearing signs of torture, have regularly been found. In some cases gunmen, sometimes dressed in the uniforms of government security forces, abduct victims or pull them from cars at checkpoints.There are widespread suspicions that militias linked to two key Shia parties are involved in targeting Sunnis. While the allegations have not been proven, these militias are becoming increasingly prominent as sectarian divisions grow.

The US ambassador to Iraq, ], has described such groups as "the infrastructure of civil war". Separately from the main militias, some Shia have also formed informal defence forces which provide security for local neighbourhoods, with armed guards carrying out patrols and manning roadblocks.

===Ansar al-Islam===

Ansar al-Islam or Supporters of Islam is a radical Kurdish Islamist that is supportive of Saddam Hussein's regime. This group is located in the pseudo-autonomous Northern Iraq. This group has ties with Taliban and al-Qaeda. It is the most radical group operating in the ] region.

The group was established in December 2001 after a merger between Jund al-Islam, led by Abu Abdallah al-Shafi'i and the Islamic Movement splinter group led by Mullah Krekar. Both leaders are believed to have served in ]. The group is based in Biyarah and surrounding areas near the border with Iran.

Ansar al-Islam recent activities include: razing of beauty salons, burning a schools for girls, and murdered women in the streets for refusing to wear the burqa. It has seized a Taliban-style enclave of 4,000 civilians and several villages near the Iranian border. It is also responsible for ambushing and killing of 42 Kurdish soldiers. Ansar al-Islam is in a state of war with the ] (PUK). It was responsible for the assassination in 2001 of a senior official of the ] (KDP), Franso Hariri, and for the attempted killing of Burhan Salih, head of the PUK-led Iraqi Kurdistan regional government. However, Ansar al-Islam is not in armed confrontation with the KDP.
A member of the ] in Lebanon admitted that his group had sent fighters to Syria. On 12 November 2018, the United States closed its financial system to an Iraqi named, Shibl Muhsin 'Ubayd Al-Zaydi and others over concerns that they were sending Iraqi fighters to Syria and financial support to other ] activities in the region.<ref>AFP Staff. (13 November 2018). "US targets Hezbollah Iraq network with new sanctions." Retrieved 16 November 2018.</ref>
According to some reports, the group has received $600,000 from al-Qaeda, and a delivery of weapons and Toyota Land Cruisers. There are also reports stating that Ansar al-Islam received $35,000 from the Mukhabarat branch of ], in addition to a considerable quantity of arms. The leader of Ansar al-Islam, ] is receiving financial and legal support from the Norwegian government, and is enjoying full freedom in Norway.


===Israel===
In early March 2003, the air attack pulverized the mountain base of Ansar al-Islam by US troops. US officials were triumphant last spring, even as the broader Iraq invasion was still underway, after a three-day assault. Gen. Tommy Franks declared that a "massive terrorist facility in northern Iraq" had been "attacked and destroyed" by a joint US-Kurdish operation. Lengthy interviews with several Ansar members in custody, and with officials and intelligence sources of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in northern Iraq, however, yield a more ambiguous picture. These sources describe a group now so diminished and demoralized that even true believers admit it is unlikely to be reborn according to its old template.Instead, they say, elements of the group have begun operating in smaller cells.
The ] (MSC) was designated as a ] (FTO) by the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/230728.htm |title=Terrorist Designation of the Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC) |website=State.gov |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref>


On 12 November 2018, the Department of State blacklisted the Al-Mujahidin Brigades (AMB) over its alleged ] associations, as well as Jawad Nasrallah, son of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah leader ], from using the United States financial system and further naming him a terrorist associated with evidence of his involvement in attacks against Israel in the ].<ref>Wroughton, Lesley & McKeef, Clive. (13 November 2018). "U.S. designates son of Hezbollah leader a terrorist." Retrieved 16 November 2018.</ref> It had been reported in Israel that the AMB was formerly linked to the ] rather than the ] organization.<ref>Staff. (6 March 2016). "Shin Bet nabs Palestinian suspected of recruiting terrorists in Cairo." Retrieved 16 November 2018.</ref>
The strength of this group estimated about 700 members.


===Africa===
==Nagorno-Karaback==
====Nigeria====
] has been active in ] since it was founded in 2001. It existed in other forms before 2001. Although it initially limited its operations to northeast Nigeria, it has since expanded to other parts of Nigeria, and to ], ] and ]. Boko Haram seeks to implement ] across Nigeria.


====Somalia====
The Afghan mujaheddin also participated in the ], aiding the Azeri forces in their war against ] ] forces that were seeking self-determination. They did not aid much and Nagorno-Karabakh forces gained de facto independence.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
{{main|Somali Civil War|Al-Shabaab (militant group)}}
]
The currently active jihadist groups in Somalia derive from the ] group active during the 1990s.


In July 2006, a Web-posted message purportedly written by Osama bin Laden urged Somalis to build an ] in the country and warned western states that his al-Qaeda network would fight against them if they intervened there.<ref name=BIN-LADEN-MESSAGE-IRAQ-SOMALIA>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-01-bin-laden-plans-message_x.htm |title=Bin Laden releases Web message on Iraq, Somalia |website=Usatoday.com |date=1 July 2006 |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> Foreign fighters began to arrive, though there were official denials of the presence of mujahideen in the country. Even so, the threat of jihad was made openly and repeatedly in the months preceding the ].<ref name=SOMALIS-VOW-HOLY-WAR-ON-ETHIOPIA>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6032907.stm |title=Africa &#124; Somalis vow holy war on Ethiopia |work=BBC News |date=9 October 2006 |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> On 23 December 2006, Islamists, for the first time, called upon international fighters to join their cause.<ref name="SOMALI-ISLAMISTS-URGE MUSLIM-FIGHTERS-TO-JOIN-JIHAD">{{cite web |url=http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-12-23T092033Z_01_L23670097_RTRUKOC_0_US-SOMALIA-CONFLICT-ISLAMIST.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-2 |title=Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News &#124; Reuters |website=Today.reuters.com |access-date=4 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216050529/http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne |archive-date=16 February 2007 }}</ref> The term ''mujahideen'' is now openly used by the ] against the Ethiopians and the TFG.
==Chechnya==


Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen is said to have non-Somali foreigners in its ranks, particularly among its leadership.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12815670 |title=The rise of the Shabab |publisher=Economist.com |date=18 December 2008 |access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref> Fighters from the Persian Gulf and international jihadists were called to join the holy war against the Somali government and its Ethiopian allies. Though Somali Islamists did not use suicide bombing tactics before, the foreign elements of al-Shabaab are blamed for several ]s.<ref name=SanDiegoUnionTribune/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/56098.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204055654/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/56098.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 February 2009 |title=Al- Shabaab led by "dozens of foreign jihadists, most from Arab nations" |publisher=Mcclatchydc.com |date=18 November 2008 |access-date=20 February 2011 }}</ref> Egypt has a longstanding policy of securing the ] flow by destabilizing Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kendie |first1=Daniel |title=Egypt and the Hydro-Politics of the Blue Nile River |journal=Northeast African Studies |date=1999 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=141–169 |id={{Project MUSE|23689}} |doi=10.1353/nas.2002.0002 |s2cid=144147850 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/natres/nile.htm |title=Nile River Politics: Who Receives Water? |publisher=Globalpolicy.org |date=10 August 2000 |access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref> Similarly, recent media reports said that Egyptian and Arab jihadists were the core members of Al-Shabaab, and were training Somalis in sophisticated weaponry and suicide bombing techniques.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/56098.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204055654/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/56098.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 February 2009 |title=Jihadists from Arab nations and Egyptians |publisher=Mcclatchydc.com |date=18 November 2008 |access-date=20 February 2011 }}</ref>
In the case of the ], the term Mujahideen has often been used to refer to all separatist fighters. In this article however, it will be used to refer to the foreign, non-Chechen fighters who joined the separatists’ cause for the sake of ]. In other literature dealing with this conflict they are often called ] (helpers) to prevent confusion with the native fighters.


==Chinese ban==
Foreign Mujahideen have played a part in both Chechen wars. After the ] of the ] and the subsequent ], foreign fighters started entering the region and allied themselves with local ] rebels (most notably ]<nowiki>)</nowiki>. Most of them were veterans of the ] and prior to the ]n invasion, they used their expertise to train the Chechen separatists. During the ] they were notorious and feared for their ‘hit and run’ ]. Ambushing military convoys and raiding bases, they inflicted severe casualties on the badly prepared ]. The Mujahideen also made a significant financial contribution to the separatists’ cause. With their access to the immense wealth of ] charities like ], they soon became an invaluable source of funds for the Chechen resistance, which had little resources of its own.
In April 2017, the ] prohibited parents from choosing the name ''Mujahid'' as the given name for a child. The list included more than two dozen names (including ]) and was targeted at the 10 million ] in the western region of ] as part of the ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Hernández |first=Javier C. |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2017/04/25/china-bans-muhammad-and-jihad-baby-names-heavily-muslim-region/x5NsvWcQZlnCVpUGAjbeTJ/story.html?s |title=China bans certain baby names in heavily Muslim region |work=] |publisher=New York Times News Service |date=25 April 2017 |access-date=26 April 2017 |archive-date=5 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805052709/https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2017/04/25/china-bans-muhammad-and-jihad-baby-names-heavily-muslim-region/x5NsvWcQZlnCVpUGAjbeTJ/story.html?s |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==See also==
After the withdrawal of Russian forces from ] most of the Mujahideen decided to remain in the country. In 1999, foreign Mujahideen would play an important role in the ill-fated Chechen ] into ], where they suffered a decisive defeat and where forced to retreat back into Chechnya. The incursion provided the new Russian government with a pretext for intervention and in December 1999 Russian ground forces invaded Chechnya again.
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]-(])
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==References==
In the ] the separatists were less successful. Faced with a better prepared and more determined Russian army, the Chechens were unable to hold their ground and in February 2000, Russian officials claimed the separatists had been defeated. The Russians also succeeded in eliminating the most prominent Mujahideen commanders (most notably ], ] and ]).
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=SanDiegoUnionTribune><!--
original UEL http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g7OaI4_kjeHA-o4UhlmP7vlWmrrwD9446F1O0 went 404, whole domain 404.
-->
{{cite news
|url = http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/world/20081029-0635-af-somalia.html
|title = Suicide bombs kill 22 in northern Somalia, UN hit
|work = ]
|author = Salad Duhul
|date = 29 October 2008
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160217144958/http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/world/20081029-0635-af-somalia.html
|archive-date = 17 February 2016
|url-status = dead
|access-date = 17 February 2016
}}</ref>
}}


Although the region has since been far from stable, separatist activity has decreased dramatically and although some foreign fighters are still active in Chechnya, interest seems to have shifted to other conflicts like the ], the ] and the ] in ].

==Hezbollah==

] - or the Party of God - is a powerful political and military organisation of Shia Muslims in Lebanon. It emerged with financial backing from ]
in the early 1980s and began a struggle to drive Israeli troops from ].

Hezbollah presents itself as a force of resistance for Lebanon and the region. In May 2000 this aim was achieved, thanks largely to the success of the party's military arm, the Islamic Resistance.

In return, the movement, which represents Lebanon's Shia Muslims - the country's single largest community - won the respect of many Lebanese. It now has an important presence in the Lebanese parliament and has built broad support by providing social services and health care. It also has an influential TV station, al-Manar but it still has a militia that refuses to demilitarise, despite UN resolution 1559, passed in 2004, which called for the disarming of militias as well as the withdrawal of foreign (i.e about 14,000 Syrian) forces from Lebanon.

As long ago as 2000, after Israel's withdrawal, Hezbollah was under pressure to integrate its forces into the ] and focus on its political and social operations. However, while it capitalised on its political gains, it continued to describe itself as a force of resistance not only for Lebanon, but for the region.

==Palestinian groups==
===HAMAS===

]

In January 2006, ] translated its widespread popularity among Palestinians into a dramatic win in the Parliamentary elections. Its new-found political status did not make it any less controversial, however. Branded a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and the EU, it is seen by its supporters as a legitimate fighting force defending Palestinians from a military occupation.

It is the largest Palestinian militant Islamist organisation, formed in 1987 at the beginning of the first intifada, or Palestinian uprising against Israel's occupation in the ] and ]. The group's short-term aim has been to drive Israeli forces from the occupied territories. To achieve this it has launched attacks on Israeli troops and settlers in the Palestinian territories and against civilians in Israel.

King Hussein was outraged by Israel's action and was only placated when Prime Minister ] released HAMAS's jailed spiritual leader and founder ]. While King Hussein tolerated Hamas's presence, his successor, King Abdullah II had the group's headquarters closed down and senior figures expelled to ].

===Islamic Jihad===

Islamic Jihad may be one of the best known names associated with Palestinian militancy, but it has always been a relatively small and shadowy organisation.

The group - made up of a handful of loosely affiliated factions divided up into cells - has traditionally concentrated on attacking Israel, eschewing the prominent social, welfare and political role taken on by other Islamist groups like Hamas or the Lebanon's Hezbollah. This is a reflection of Jihad's ideological stance which holds that the Arab-Israeli conflict will only be resolved through armed confrontation.Israel is considered - along with pro-Western, secular Arab regimes - as a manifestation of Western imperialism in the Islamic lands; going into battle against it is therefore the first step to fulfilling the goals of Islam.

Members of Islamic Jihad have claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks since the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000, ranging from armed infiltrations of Jewish settlements in occupied lands and ambushes to ] and ] on Israeli buses.

==Philippines==
===Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)===

Followers of Islam - called Moros or Moors by the Spanish - make up a sizeable population of the region.

The Moro National Liberation Front first appeared in the early 1970s, fighting for an independent Moro nation. The group signed a peace agreement with the ] Government in 1976, but this failed to stick. Another agreement, signed in 1996, gave predominantly Muslim areas a degree of self-rule, setting up the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The ARMM is composed of the mainland provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, and the island provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan. As part of the deal, the MNLF chairman and founder of the group, ], was installed as the new regional governor.But his rule ended in violence in November 2001, when he led a failed uprising. He is now in jail.Another MNLF leader, Parouk Hussin, took over as ARMM governor in 2002.

Parouk Hussin still retains a loyal support base, but the MNLF has become weaker over the years, and many factions have splintered from the main group. Nur Misuari still has a small band of followers, who remain actively opposed to the current situation.

In February 2005, supporters loyal to Misuari launched a series of attacks on army troops in Jolo, the largest of the Sulu islands. The trigger for the violence was thought to be the launch of a huge military operation to target the armed Muslim group Abu Sayyaf - which is alleged to have ties with the Misuari faction.

===Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)===

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is a more militant rebel group, which split from the MNLF in 1977. The MILF has a long-term aim of creating a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines, but analysts say the group may well settle for a certain degree of Muslim autonomy.

The MILF puts more emphasis on its Islamic roots than the MNLF. Many of its senior figures are clerics. Based in central Mindanao, the MILF has broad popular support in rural areas, where the lack of economic development has encouraged dissent. In 2000, the army under then-President Joseph Estrada launched a crackdown on the 12,500-strong group. The following January Mr Estrada was deposed amid popular protests, and his successor, Gloria Arroyo, revived talks.

The situation worsened in February 2003, when the Philippine military accused the MILF of harbouring members of the Pentagon kidnap gang, and launched a new offensive. The small but militant Pentagon gang, which both the US and the ] class as a terrorist group, had been accused of kidnapping foreigners. The MILF denied providing sanctuary to Pentagon members. It also denied being behind a bomb blast at Davao City airport in March 2003 which killed 21 people.

The police blamed the MILF for the blast, and filed multiple murder charges against the group's founder and then leader, Salamat Hashim.But as 2003 wore on, there were signs of a breakthrough in relations between Manila and the MILF. Shortly before his death from a heart attack in July, Salamat Hashim issued a statement renouncing terrorism and underlining the MILF's commitment to achieving a peace settlement.

A ceasefire was agreed, and both sides are currently trying to negotiate a peace deal.One factor which is complicating this process is the allegation that MILF has links with foreign terrorists -including ] , the South East Asian group blamed for the ] . The MILF denies the claims. Despite the truce, skirmishes continue between troops and MILF militants.

In January 2005, security personnel used helicopter gunships and heavy artillery to defend themselves against 200 MILF fighters.

===Abu Sayyaf===

Abu Sayyaf is the smallest and most radical of the Islamic separatist groups in the southern Philippines.

It is best-known for a series of kidnappings of Western nationals and Filipinos, for which it has received several large ransom payments. ] restarted negotiations with the MILF.In June 2002, US-trained Philippine commandos tried to rescue three hostages being held on Basilan island. Two of the hostages - one an American citizen - were killed in the resulting shootout. Abu Sayyaf's stated goal is an independent Islamic state in Mindanao and the Sulu islands, but the government views the rebels as little more than criminals, and refuses to hold any form of talks with them.

Abu Sayyaf - which means "Sword of God" in Arabic - split from the MNLF in 1991, under the leadership of ], who was killed in a clash with Philippine police in December 1998. His younger brother,], took over as leader, although he was killed by Philippines troops in September 2006.

Philippines troops also claimed to have killed another senior Abu Sayyaf leader, Abu Sulaiman, also known as Jainal Antal Sali, in January 2007.Nationwide support for Abu Sayyaf is limited, but analysts say many locals in its stronghold areas of Jolo and Basilan tolerate the rebels and even work for them, attracted by the prospect of receiving lucrative ransom payments.

Both the MNLF and MILF have condemned the Abu Sayyaf's activities, and the US has included the group in its list of "terrorist" organisations, saying it has links with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. US troops have been deployed to help the Philippine army stamp out the group, but the future extent of the American role remains unclear.

So far the US troops are restricted to a training and advisory position, as the Philippine constitution bans foreign troops from taking part in actual combat but the issue is a subject of ongoing debate between Manila and Washington. Sporadic fighting continues between Abu Sayyaf gunmen and Philippine troops, and the group has claimed responsibility for a series of bomb attacks in recent years.

In October 2004, six members of Abu Sayyaf were charged with murder and attempted murder over an attack the preceding February on a passenger ferry in Manila Bay.
More than 100 people were killed when a bomb went off on the Superferry 14 - making it the worst known terrorist attack in the Philippines.

Abu Sayyaf is thought to number fewer than 500 core fighters, but the group continues to present enough of a problem to lead the government to launch occasional major offensives in an effort to wipe the rebels

==Myanmar (Burma)==

A sizable number of mujahideen are present and concentrated in the province of ], ].<ref>[http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CJ10Df01.html THE ROVING EYE
Jihad; The ultimate thermonuclear bomb by Pepe Escobar] Oct 2001, Asia Times.</ref> They were much more active before the 1962 coup d'etat by General ]. ] carried out some military operations targeting them over a period of two decades. The prominent one was "]" which took place in 1978. As a result, many Muslims in the region fled to neighboring country ] as refugees. Nevertheless, the ] mujahideen are still active within the remote areas of Arakan.<ref> July-Sept 1996, Nida'ul Islam magazine.</ref> Their associations with Bangladeshi mujahideen were significant but they have extended their networks to the international level and countries such as ], ], etc during the recent years. They collect donations, and get religious military training outside of ].<ref>[http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CJ10Df01.html THE ROVING EYE
Jihad; The ultimate thermonuclear bomb by Pepe Escobar] Oct 2001, Asia Times.</ref>

== See also ==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

Persons:
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
Organisations:
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

== Notes and references ==
<div class="references-small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}} {{Wikiquote}}
{{War on Terror}}
{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 19:23, 10 January 2025

Arabic term for people engaged in jihad ("struggle") Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Mujahid (disambiguation) and Mujahideen (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Mujaddid.

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Mujahideen, or Mujahidin (Arabic: مُجَاهِدِين, romanizedmujāhidīn), is the plural form of mujahid (Arabic: مُجَاهِد, romanizedmujāhid, lit.'strugglers or strivers, doers of jihād'), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in jihad (lit. 'struggle or striving '), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the community (ummah).

The widespread use of the word in English began with reference to the guerrilla-type militant groups led by the Islamist Afghan fighters in the Soviet–Afghan War (see Afghan mujahideen). The term now extends to other jihadist groups in various countries.

Early history

Further information: Islamic revival, Islamism, and Mahdist War

In its roots, the Arabic word mujahideen refers to any person performing jihad. In its post-classical meaning, jihad refers to an act that is spiritually comparable in reward to promoting Islam during the early 600s CE. These acts could be as simple as sharing a considerable amount of one's income with the poor.

Modern Western definition

The term continued to be used throughout India for Muslim resistance to British colonial rule. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, these holy warriors were said to accept any deserting Indian sepoys and recruit them into their ranks. As time went by, the sect grew ever larger until it was not only conducting bandit raids but even controlling areas in Afghanistan.

The first known use of the word mujahideen to refer to insurgent Islamic extremism (what has neologically been called jihadism) was supposedly in the late 19th century, in 1887, by Thomas Patrick Hughes (1838–1911).

In Central Asia from 1916 to the 1930s, Islamic guerrillas were opponents of Tsarism and Bolshevism and were referred to by the Soviets as basmachi ('bandits'). These groups called themselves mojahed, describing themselves as standing for Islam. Other proto-mujahideen include Usman dan Fodio, Jahangir Khoja, and Muhammad Ahmed Al Mahdi.

Cold War era

The name was most closely associated with the mujahideen in Afghanistan, a coalition of guerrilla groups in Afghanistan that opposed the invading Soviet forces and eventually toppled the Afghan communist government during the Afghan War (1978–92). Rival factions thereafter fell out among themselves, precipitating the rise of the Taliban and the opposing Northern Alliance.

Afghanistan

Main article: Afghan mujahideen See also: Afghanistan conflict (1978–present) and Tehran Eight
Afghan mujahideen fighters passing around the Durand Line border in 1985
U.S. President Reagan meeting with Afghan mujahideen at the White House in 1983.

Arguably the best-known mujahideen outside the Islamic world are the various, loosely aligned Afghan opposition groups who initially rebelled against the government of the pro-Soviet Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) during the late 1970s. At the DRA's request, the Soviet Union brought forces into the country to aid the government in 1979. The mujahideen fought against Soviet and DRA troops during the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989). Afghanistan's resistance movement originated in chaos and, at first, regional warlords waged virtually all of its fighting locally. As warfare became more sophisticated, outside support and regional coordination grew. The basic units of mujahideen organization and action continued to reflect the highly decentralized nature of Afghan society and strong loci of competing mujahideen and Pashtun tribal groups, particularly in isolated areas among the mountains. Eventually, the seven main mujahideen parties allied as the political bloc called Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen. The parties were not under a single command and had ideological differences.

Many Muslims from other countries assisted the various mujahideen groups in Afghanistan. Some groups of these veterans became significant players in later conflicts in and around the Muslim world. Osama bin Laden, originally from a wealthy family in Saudi Arabia, was a prominent organizer and financier of an all-Arab Islamist group of foreign volunteers; his Maktab al-Khadamat funnelled money, arms, and Muslim fighters from around the Muslim world into Afghanistan, with the assistance and support of the Saudi and Pakistani governments. These foreign fighters became known as "Afghan Arabs" and their efforts were coordinated by Abdullah Yusuf Azzam.

Although the mujahideen were aided by the Pakistani, American, British, Chinese and Saudi governments, the mujahideen's primary source of funding was private donors and religious charities throughout the Muslim world—particularly in the Persian Gulf. Jason Burke recounts that "as little as 25% of the money for the Afghan jihad was actually supplied directly by states."

Mujahideen forces caused serious casualties to the Soviet forces, and made the war very costly for the Soviet Union. In 1989 the Soviet Union withdrew its forces from Afghanistan. In February 1989 the seven Sunni mujahideen factions formed an Afghan Interim Government (AIG) in Peshawar, The Interim Government had been in exile in Pakistan since 1988, led by Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, as an attempt for a united front against the DRA. The AIG became a failure, partly because it could not solve the differences between the factions; partly because of limited public support as it excluded the Iran-backed Shia mujahideen factions, and the exclusion of supporters of ex-King Mohammed Zahir Shah; and the mujahideen's failure in the Battle of Jalalabad in March 1989.

In 1992 the DRA's last president, Mohammad Najibullah, was overthrown and most mujahideen factions signed the Peshawar Accords. The mujahideen could not establish a functional united government, and many of the larger mujahideen groups began to fight each other over power in Kabul.

After several years of devastating fighting, in a small Pashtun village, a mullah named Mohammed Omar organized a new armed movement with the backing of Pakistan. This movement became known as the Taliban ("students" in Pashto), referring to how most Taliban had grown up in refugee camps in Pakistan during the 1980s and were taught in the Saudi-backed Wahhabi madrassas, religious schools known for teaching a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam.

Cyprus

Even before independence, the Turkish Cypriot community maintained its own paramilitary force (the Türk Mukavemet Teşkilatı, or TMT), trained and equipped by the Turkish Army. In 1967, this force was renamed the Mücahit ("Mujahideen"), and in 1975 the Mücahit was renamed the Turkish Cypriot Security Force. In 1974, Turkey led a land invasion of Northern Cyprus with the aim of protecting the Turkish minority population after a Greek-inspired coup brought a threat of union of the island with Greece. Since then there has been no major fighting on Cyprus and the nation continues to be an independent country, though strongly linked with Turkey militarily and politically.

Iran and Iraq

While more than one group in Iran has called itself mujahideen, the most famous is the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI; Persian: Mojāhedin-e Khalq), an Islamic organization that advocates for the overthrow of the leadership of the Iranian Republic. The group has taken part in multiple well-known conflicts in the region, and has been at odds with the conservative government of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Another mujahideen was the Mujahedin-e Islam, an Islamic party led by Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem Kashani. It formed part of the Iranian National Front during the time of Mohammed Mosaddeq's oil nationalization, but broke away from Mosaddeq over his allegedly un-Islamic policies.

Myanmar (Burma)

From 1947 to 1961, local mujahideen fought against Burmese government soldiers in an attempt to have the Mayu peninsula in northern Arakan, Burma (present-day Rakhine State, Myanmar) secede from the country, so it could be annexed by East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh). During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the mujahideen lost most of their momentum and support, resulting in most of them surrendering to government forces.

In the 1990s, the well-armed Rohingya Solidarity Organisation was the main perpetrator of attacks on Burmese authorities positioned on the Bangladesh–Myanmar border.

Philippines

Main articles: Islamic insurgency in the Philippines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front

In 1969, political tensions and open hostilities developed between the Government of the Philippines and jihadist rebel groups. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was established by University of the Philippines professor Nur Misuari to condemn the killings of more than 60 Filipino Muslims and later became an aggressor against the government while the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a splinter group from the MNLF, was established to seek an Islamic state within the Philippines and is more radical and more aggressive. The conflict is ongoing; casualty statistics vary for the conflict, with conservative estimates of the Uppsala Conflict Data Program indicating at least 6,015 people were killed in armed conflict between the Government of Philippines and ASG, BIFM, MILF, and MNLF factions between 1989 and 2012. Abu Sayyaf is an Islamic separatist group in the southern Philippines, formed in 1991. The group is known for its kidnappings of Western nationals and Filipinos, for which it has received several large ransom-payments. Some Abu Sayyaf members have studied or worked in Saudi Arabia and developed relations with the mujahideen members while fighting and training in the war against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

1990s

The 1990s are a transitional period between the Mujahideen outfits forming part of the proxy wars between the Cold War superpowers and the emergence of contemporary jihadism in the wake of the US "War on Terror" and the "Arab Spring".

Al-Qaeda saw its formative period during this time, and jihadism formed part of the picture in regional conflicts of the 1990s, including the Yugoslav Wars, the Somali Civil War, the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the First Chechen War, etc.

Yugoslav Wars

Main articles: Bosnian mujahideen and Bosnian War

During the Bosnian war 1992–1995, many foreign Muslims came to Bosnia as mujahideen. Muslims around the world who shared mujahideen beliefs and respected the author of Islamic Declaration come to the aid of fellow Muslims. Alija Izetbegovic, author of Islamic Declaration and in his younger days author of poem "To the Jihad" was particularly happy about the presence of Mujahedeens in Bosnia and gave them full support. El Mujahid members claimed that in Bosnia they only have respect for Alija Izetbegovic and the head of the Bosnian Army Third Corps, Sakib Mahmuljin. The number of foreign Muslim volunteers in Bosnia was estimated at 4,000 in contemporary newspaper reports. Later research estimated the number to be about 400. They came from various places such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and the Palestinian Territories; to quote the summary of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia judgment:

The evidence shows that foreign volunteers arrived in central Bosnia in the second half of 1992 with the aim of helping Muslims. Mostly they came from North Africa, the Near East and the Middle East. The foreign volunteers differed considerably from the local population, not only because of their physical appearance and the language they spoke, but also because of their fighting methods. The various foreign, Muslim volunteers were primarily organized into an umbrella detachment of the 7th Muslim Brigade, which was a brigade of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based in Zenica. This independent subdivision colloquially known as El-Mudžahid, was composed exclusively of foreign nationals and not Bosnians (whereas the 7th Muslim Brigade was entirely made up of native Bosnians) and consisted of somewhere between 300 and 1,500 volunteers. Enver Hadžihasanović, Lieutenant Colonel of the Bosnian Army's 3rd Corps, appointed Mahmut Karalić (Commandant), Asim Koričić (Chief of Staff) and Amir Kubura (Assistant Chief for Operational and Curricula) to lead the group.

Some of the mujahideen funnelled arms and money into the country which Bosnia direly needed due to a United Nations-sanctioned arms embargo restricting the import of weapons into all of the republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Many of the mujahideen were extremely devout Muslims of the strict Salafi sect, which contrasted sharply with the relatively secular society of Bosnian Muslims. This led to friction between the mujahideen and the Bosnians.

Foreign volunteers in Bosnia have been accused of committing war crimes during the conflict. The ICTY has never issued indictments against mujahideen fighters. Instead, the ICTY indicted some Bosnian Army commanders on the basis of superior criminal responsibility. The ICTY acquitted Amir Kubura and Enver Hadžihasanović of the Bosnian 3rd Corps of all charges related to the incidents involving mujahideen. Furthermore, the Appeals Chamber noted that the relationship between the 3rd Corps and the El Mujahedin detachment was not one of subordination but was instead close to overt hostility since the only way to control the detachment was to attack them as if they were a distinct enemy force.

The ICTY Trial Chamber convicted Rasim Delic, the former chief of the Bosnian Army General Staff. The ICTY found that Delic had effective control over the El Mujahid Detachment. He was sentenced to three years of imprisonment for his failure to prevent or punish the cruel treatment of twelve captured Serb soldiers by the Mujahideen. Delic remained in the Detention Unit while appellate proceedings continued.

Some individuals of the Bosnian Mujahideen, such as Abdelkader Mokhtari, Fateh Kamel, and Karim Said Atmani, gained particular prominence within Bosnia as well as international attention from various foreign governments. They were all North African volunteers with well established links to Islamic Fundamentalist groups before and after the Bosnian War.

In 2015, former Human Rights Minister and Federation BiH Vice President Mirsad Kebo talked about numerous war crimes committed against Serbs by mujahideen in Bosnia and their links with current and past Muslim officials including former and current presidents of federation and presidents of parliament based on war diaries and other documented evidence. He gave evidence to the BiH federal prosecutor.

North Caucasus

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Main article: Insurgency in the North Caucasus Further information: Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and Islamic International Brigade

The term mujahideen has often been used to refer to all separatist fighters in the case of the First and Second Chechen Wars. In this article, it refers to the foreign, non-Caucasian fighters who joined the separatists' cause for the sake of Jihad. They are often called Ansaar (helpers) in related literature dealing with this conflict to prevent confusion with the native fighters.

Foreign mujahideen have played a part in both Chechen wars. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent Chechen declaration of independence, foreign fighters began entering the region and associating themselves with local rebels (most notably Shamil Basayev). Many of the foreign fighters were veterans of the Soviet–Afghan War. The mujahideen also made a significant financial contribution to the separatists' cause; with their access to the immense wealth of Salafist charities like al-Haramein, they soon became an invaluable source of funds for the Chechen resistance, which had few resources of its own.

Most of the mujahideen decided to remain in Chechnya after the withdrawal of Russian forces. In 1999, foreign fighters played an important role in the ill-fated Chechen incursion into Dagestan, where they suffered a decisive defeat and were forced to retreat back into Chechnya. The incursion provided the new Russian government with a pretext for intervention. Russian ground forces invaded Chechnya again in 1999.

The separatists were less successful in the Second Chechen War. Russian officials claimed that the separatists had been defeated as early as 2002. The Russians also succeeded in killing the most prominent mujahideen commanders, most notably Ibn al-Khattab and Abu al-Walid.

Although the region has since been far from stable, separatist activity has decreased, though some foreign fighters remain active in Chechnya. In the last months of 2007, the influence of foreign fighters became apparent again when Dokka Umarov proclaimed the Caucasus Emirate being fought for by the Caucasian Mujahadeen, a pan-Caucasian Islamic state of which Chechnya was to be a province. This move caused a rift in the resistance movement between those supporting the Emirate and those who were in favour of preserving the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

Contemporary Jihadism

Further information: Jihadism

The neologism jihadists may correspond to the original Arabic mujahedeen.

Indian subcontinent

Further information: Kashmir conflict (India and Pakistan) and War in North-West Pakistan

In India, an outfit calling itself the Indian Mujahideen came to light in 2008 with multiple large scale terror attacks. On 26 November 2008, a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for a string of attacks across Mumbai. The Weekly Standard claimed, "Indian intelligence believes the Indian Mujahideen is a front group created by Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami to confuse investigators and cover the tracks of the Students Islamic Movement of India, or SIMI, a radical Islamist movement with aim to establish Islamic rule over India. In the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmiri Muslim separatists opposing Indian rule are often known as mujahideen. The members of the Salafi movement (within Sunni Islam) in the south Indian state of Kerala is known as "Mujahids".

Many militant groups have been involved in the war in North West Pakistan, most notably the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Al Qaeda, and ISIS Khorasan Province. These groups refer to themselves as the mujahideen in their war against the Pakistani military and the west. Several different militant groups have also taken root in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Most noticeable of these groups are Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Hizbul Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). A 1996 report by Human Rights Watch estimated the number of active mujahideen at 3,200.

In Bangladesh, the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen was an Islamist organisation that was officially banned by the government of Bangladesh in February 2005 after attacks on NGOs. It struck back in mid-August when it detonated 500 bombs at 300 locations throughout Bangladesh.

Iraq and Syria

Iraqi insurgency

Main articles: Iraq War and Iraqi insurgency (Iraq War)

The term mujahideen is sometimes applied to fighters who joined the insurgency after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Some groups also use the word mujahideen in their names, like Mujahideen Shura Council and Mujahideen Army.

Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq as part of the George W. Bush administration's post 9/11 foreign policy, many foreign Mujahideen joined several Sunni militant groups resisting the U.S. occupation of Iraq. A considerable part of the insurgents did not come from Iraq but instead from many other Arab countries, notably Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Among these recruits was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian national who would go on to assume the leadership of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).

Syrian civil war

Main articles: Syrian civil war and Islamic State in Iraq and Syria

Various Islamic groups, often referred to as mujahideen and jihadists, have participated in the Syrian civil war. Alawites, the sect to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs, are considered to be heretics in Sunni Muslim circles. In this sense, radical Sunni jihadist organizations and their affiliates have been anti-Assad. Jihadist leaders and intelligence sources said foreign fighters had begun to enter Syria only in February 2012. In May 2012, Syria's U.N. envoy Bashar Ja'afari declared that dozens of foreign fighters from Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Britain, France elsewhere had been captured or killed, and urged Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey to stop "their sponsorship of the armed rebellion". Jihadist leaders and intelligence sources said foreign fighters had begun to enter Syria only in February 2012. In June, it was reported that hundreds of foreign fighters, many linked to al-Qaeda, had gone to Syria to fight against Assad. When asked if the United States would arm the opposition, Hillary Clinton expressed doubts that such weapons would be effective in the toppling of the Syrian government and may even fall into the hands of al-Qaeda or Hamas.

American officials assumed already in 2012 that Qaidat al-Jihad (a.k.a. Al-Qaeda in Iraq) has conducted bomb attacks against Syrian government forces, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that al-Qaeda in Iraq members have gone to Syria, where the militants previously received support and weapons from the Syrian government in order to destabilize the US occupation of Iraq. On 23 April, one of the leaders of Fatah al-Islam, Abdel Ghani Jawhar, was killed during the Battle of Al-Qusayr, after he unintentionally blew himself up while making a bomb. In July 2012, Iraq's foreign minister again warned that members of al-Qaeda in Iraq were seeking refuge in Syria and moving there to fight.

It is believed that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri condemned Assad.

A member of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades in Lebanon admitted that his group had sent fighters to Syria. On 12 November 2018, the United States closed its financial system to an Iraqi named, Shibl Muhsin 'Ubayd Al-Zaydi and others over concerns that they were sending Iraqi fighters to Syria and financial support to other Hezbollah activities in the region.

Israel

The Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC) was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State.

On 12 November 2018, the Department of State blacklisted the Al-Mujahidin Brigades (AMB) over its alleged Hezbollah associations, as well as Jawad Nasrallah, son of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, from using the United States financial system and further naming him a terrorist associated with evidence of his involvement in attacks against Israel in the West Bank. It had been reported in Israel that the AMB was formerly linked to the Fatah rather than the Hamas organization.

Africa

Nigeria

Boko Haram has been active in Nigeria since it was founded in 2001. It existed in other forms before 2001. Although it initially limited its operations to northeast Nigeria, it has since expanded to other parts of Nigeria, and to Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Boko Haram seeks to implement sharia law across Nigeria.

Somalia

Main articles: Somali Civil War and Al-Shabaab (militant group)
Al-Shabaab militants made gains (2009–10) in guerrilla-style attacks

The currently active jihadist groups in Somalia derive from the Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya group active during the 1990s.

In July 2006, a Web-posted message purportedly written by Osama bin Laden urged Somalis to build an Islamic state in the country and warned western states that his al-Qaeda network would fight against them if they intervened there. Foreign fighters began to arrive, though there were official denials of the presence of mujahideen in the country. Even so, the threat of jihad was made openly and repeatedly in the months preceding the Battle of Baidoa. On 23 December 2006, Islamists, for the first time, called upon international fighters to join their cause. The term mujahideen is now openly used by the post-ICU resistance against the Ethiopians and the TFG.

Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen is said to have non-Somali foreigners in its ranks, particularly among its leadership. Fighters from the Persian Gulf and international jihadists were called to join the holy war against the Somali government and its Ethiopian allies. Though Somali Islamists did not use suicide bombing tactics before, the foreign elements of al-Shabaab are blamed for several suicide bombings. Egypt has a longstanding policy of securing the Nile River flow by destabilizing Ethiopia. Similarly, recent media reports said that Egyptian and Arab jihadists were the core members of Al-Shabaab, and were training Somalis in sophisticated weaponry and suicide bombing techniques.

Chinese ban

In April 2017, the government of China prohibited parents from choosing the name Mujahid as the given name for a child. The list included more than two dozen names (including Muhammad) and was targeted at the 10 million Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang as part of the persecution of Uyghurs in China.

See also

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