Mujahidin

A Dictionary of Contemporary World History | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

Mujahidin (‘holy warriors’) A term used for a coalition of Islamic groups which formed in the early 1980s in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Aided by generous arms supplies from the USA (via Pakistan), their guerrilla warfare led to a withdrawal of the Soviet armed forces by February 1989. In 1992 the Communist government was finally overcome, but shortly after the establishment of an Islamic state, on 6 May 1992, the fragile coalition fell apart. Alliances between the different factions of the mujahidin were changing constantly while the country was in a state of anarchy. Out of this chaos emerged the Northern Alliance and the Taliban, which during the 1990s managed to bring most of the country under its control.

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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Mujahidin." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAN PALMOWSKI. "Mujahidin." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Mujahidin.html

JAN PALMOWSKI. "Mujahidin." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Mujahidin.html

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