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Glite Dictionary
Maktab al-Khidmat

Maktab al-Khidmat

9.9
An organization set up by Osama bin Laden in the 1980s to fund and recruit fighters for the Afghan war
  • noun
translation icon : Maktab al-Khidmat
  • Maktab al-Khidmat played a crucial role in organizing foreign fighters during the Soviet-Afghan war.

Examples

  • The creation of Maktab al-Khidmat marked the beginning of Osama bin Laden's involvement in global militancy.

  • Many recruits passed through Maktab al-Khidmat before its transformation into more radical organizations.

  • The Maktab al-Khidmat played a crucial role.

  • Many joined Maktab al-Khidmat for support.

  • Maktab al-Khidmat was established to support the Afghan resistance against Soviet forces in the 1980s.

  • After its founding, Maktab al-Khidmat became a key organization for recruiting mujahideen fighters.

  • The activities of Maktab al-Khidmat significantly contributed to the influx of international fighters in Afghanistan.

Synonyms

MAK
vsMaktab al-Khidmat
  • NSFW
2 9.9

A violent group started by Osama bin Laden to fund and recruit fighters in Afghanistan in the 1980s

does not mention a later split that created al-Qaeda
Maktab al-Khidamat
vsMaktab al-Khidmat
9.9

An organization that raised money and recruited foreign fighters for the Afghan war in the 1980s and helped start al-Qaeda

recruits fighters broadly rather than only foreigners in practice

Surface Forms

Maktab al-Khidmat singular

Morphology

Maktab + al-Khidmat

The phrase is compositional in Arabic: 'Maktab' means 'office' and 'al-Khidmat' means 'the services', so a learner who knows the constituents would get the literal sense 'Office of Services' and infer it names an organization. However, the specific historical referent — a militant group founded by Osama bin Laden to finance and recruit fighters — cannot be derived from the constituents alone, so the full meaning requires extra cultural/historical knowledge.

Etymology

Maktab al-Khidmat literally means the maktab 'office' of al-khidmat 'the services'. In the 1980s this 'office' helped send money, supplies and volunteers to fighters in Afghanistan, so the name came to mean 'a group that provided support to fighters'.