Mujahedeen Khalq
- proper noun
- /muːdʒəˈhiːdən kɑːlq/
- NSFW
- Many members of the Mujahedeen Khalq were evacuated from their camp in Iraq in recent years.
Examples
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Throughout the 1980s, the Mujahedeen Khalq conducted military operations aimed at overthrowing the Iranian government.
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The Mujahedeen Khalq has been involved in various conflicts with the Iranian government.
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The international community has had differing views on the status of the Mujahedeen Khalq.
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The Mujahedeen Khalq has been a significant force in Iranian politics.
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Many members of the Mujahedeen Khalq were exiled in Iraq.
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The Mujahedeen Khalq continues to organize protests against the Iranian regime from their new base.
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The Mujahedeen Khalq has received both support and condemnation from various international actors over the years.
Synonyms
A political group from Iran that opposes the government and uses violence
An Iranian political group from the 1960s that mixed Marxist and Islamic ideas and used violence
An Iranian political group that mixes left-wing and Islamic ideas and some countries call it a terrorist group
An Iranian political group that uses violence and is called a terrorist group by some countries
Surface Forms
Morphology
mujahedeen + Khalq
While the components 'mujahedeen' (fighters) and 'Khalq' could lead a learner who knows both words to infer a general meaning of 'people's fighters' or a militant group, the expression is a proper name referring to a specific Iranian opposition organisation with political and historical details that cannot be derived from the parts. Because the name yields a partial, generalizable sense but not the full, specific referent or political nuances, it is only partially predictable for B1 learners.
Etymology
Mujahedeen Khalq combines two words: Mujahedeen, meaning 'fighters' or 'those who struggle', and Khalq, a Persian word for 'the people'. So the name creates the image of 'the people's fighters', which explains why the group chose that label.