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Glite Dictionary
Ansar al-Islam

Ansar al-Islam

9.9
An armed Islamist group in northern Iraq linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban
  • proper noun
  • Literature
translation icon : Ansar al-Islam
  • The group Ansar al-Islam emerged in the late 1990s.

Examples

  • Several members of Ansar al-Islam reportedly had connections with al-Qaeda operatives.

  • The U.S. military linked an attack to Ansar al-Islam militants in the region.

  • Intelligence reports claimed that Ansar al-Islam received funding from Saddam Hussein's regime.

  • Many reports link Ansar al-Islam to al-Qaeda.

  • Intelligence reports claimed that Ansar al-Islam received funding from Saddam Hussein's regime.

  • The U.S. military linked an attack to Ansar al-Islam militants in the region.

  • Several members of Ansar al-Islam reportedly had connections with al-Qaeda operatives.

Synonyms

Ansar al Islam
vsAnsar al-Islam
  • Literature
9.9

An armed Islamist group that was active in Iraqi Kurdistan and carried out attacks

is currently active in northern Iraq rather than only known from the past

Surface Forms

Ansar al-Islam main

Morphology

Ansar + al-Islam

The components 'Ansar' (historically 'helpers' or 'supporters') combined with 'al-Islam' literally yield a compositional meaning like 'helpers/supporters of Islam', so a learner who knows the parts could infer a general referent. However, the specific sense as the proper name of a militant Islamist organization (and the political/militant connotations) is not predictable from the parts alone, and the Arabic definite article 'al-' may not be transparent to learners, so full meaning is only partially derivable.

Etymology

Ansar al-Islam comes from Arabic words: Ansar means 'helpers' and al-Islam means 'Islam'. The group chose this name to show they see themselves as 'defenders' or 'supporters' of Islam, which helps explain why it is the name of a militant Islamist group.