This word is derived from the word for jihad. One who performs jihad is a mujahid, the plural of which is mujahideen. These are people who defend themselves and their communities militarily when their ability to worship God has been denied them. Mujahideen must have truly pure intentions; if one is fighting to secure earthly possessions such as land, resources, goods, etc., then he does not have the approval of God and cannot achieve martyrdom. In modern times, the term has been used to refer to Afghanis who fought and defeated the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s.
a military force of Muslim guerilla warriors engaged in a jihad; "some call the mujahidin international warriors but others just call them terrorists"
a Muslim guerilla warrior engaged in a jihad
(Arabic, singular Mujahid) Islamic movement of various loosely-aligned opposition groups that drove out the Soviet army from Afghanistan in 1989, with the help of the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and China in the form of financing, arming and training. A mujahid is one engaged in jihad.
Those who participate in Jehad (Islamic Holy War) "Soldiers of Islam ".
Literally strugglers, the preferred spelling for the plural noun for those engaged in a jihad, or Muslim holy war.
Muslims who take up arms for a religious cause
Those who struggle. Although commonly associated with physical battles, mujahideen are also those engaged in personal struggles. Those who engage in jihad are known as mujahideen.
Mujahideen ( , , literally "strugglers") is a term for Muslims fighting in a war or involved in any other struggle.Oxford American Dictionary Mujahid, and its plural, mujahideen, come from the same Arabic root as jihad ("struggle"). The word is the plural form of , , which, literally translated from Arabic means "struggler". In Islamic scripture, the status of mujahid is inequal to qaid—one who does not join the jihad.