al Itihaad al Islamiya

9.9

A Somali religious group that used violence and had links to al-Qaeda

proper noun

NSFW

: al Itihaad al Islamiya

The United Nations has condemned the actions of al Itihaad al Islamiya in Somalia.

Examples

In the 1990s, al Itihaad al Islamiya was considered one of the most dangerous organizations in East Africa.
Intelligence reports suggest al Itihaad al Islamiya has connections to other extremist groups in the region.
The group al Itihaad al Islamiya has been involved in several attacks.
Many reports link al Itihaad al Islamiya to al-Qaeda.
In the 1990s, al Itihaad al Islamiya was considered one of the most dangerous organizations in East Africa.
Intelligence reports suggest al Itihaad al Islamiya has connections to other extremist groups in the region.
The United Nations has condemned the actions of al Itihaad al Islamiya in Somalia.

Synonyms

al-Itihaad al-Islamiya

vsal Itihaad al Islamiya

NSFW

9.9

A violent group in Somalia that carries out terrorist attacks and has links to al-Qaeda

is the same group but presented under a different name form

AIAI

vsal Itihaad al Islamiya

NSFW

9.9

An armed Islamic group from Somalia that carries out terrorist attacks

is the full name rather than its abbreviated form

Surface Forms

al Itihaad al Islamiya main

Morphology

al + Itihaad + al + Islamiya

Although this is a proper name for a Somali militant group, the components are transparently analyzable: 'al' is the Arabic definite article 'the', 'Itihaad' corresponds to 'union'/'unity', and 'Islamiya' means 'Islamic'. A learner who knows these constituent meanings can readily infer the phrase as 'the Islamic Union', so the overall meaning is compositional.

Etymology

Al Itihaad al Islamiya literally means 'the Islamic Union' in Arabic, with al Itihaad meaning 'union' and al Islamiya meaning 'Islamic'. One popular explanation is that the name was chosen to show the group's aim to unite people under Islamic rule, so the name helps explain its political and religious purpose.