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Glite Dictionary
Ansar al-Islam

Ansar al-Islam

1 9.9
An armed Islamist group in northern Iraq linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban
  • proper noun
  • Literature
: 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
3 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.