mujahideen

Mujahideen (singular mujahid; from Arabic jihad, "struggle" or "striving") is a term used to describe individuals or groups who engage in jihad, framed as armed struggle against opposition. In modern usage it has often referred to Islamist guerrilla movements resisting occupation or foreign influence.

The most well-known use is for the Afghan mujahideen, a loose coalition formed to resist the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979–1989). The movement included factions such as Hizb-i Islami and Jamiat-e Islami; they received support from the United States, Pakistan's ISI, Saudi Arabia, and other states, and conducted guerrilla warfare across rural and mountainous areas.

Following the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan experienced civil conflict among mujahideen factions. This fragmentation helped pave the way for the Taliban's rise in the mid-1990s. Some former mujahideen joined or supported the Taliban, while others opposed it or formed parallel factions.

Beyond Afghanistan, the term has been applied to fighters in other conflicts where Islamist and nationalist motives intersect, such as Chechnya in the 1990s, and to various insurgent groups in more recent years. In contemporary discourse, the label mujahideen is used differently across sources and regions; some describe such groups as freedom fighters, while others categorize them as insurgents or terrorists, depending on perspective and affiliation.