Jihad/Related Articles

Parent topics

Islam [r]: Religion founded by Muhammad whose sacred book is the Qur'an (Koran). ^[e]
Sunni [r]: The main branch of Islam, which treats authority as following in the line of the first four "righteously guided" caliphs, as opposed to the Shi'ite dynastic line from the son-in-law of the Prophet ^[e]
- Caliphate [r]: An Islamic form of government in which one person acts as head of state, head of government and head of religion; also the jurisdiction of such a government. ^[e]
Shi'ite [r]: A significant branch of Islam, which generally treats authority as following in the dynastic line from Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet ^[e]
Sharia [r]: The Muslim system of law and rule of conduct inspired by the Qur'an, the Sunna, traditional law systems, and the Hadiths. ^[e]

Al-wala’ wa’l-bara’ [r]: A Muslim, primarily Salafist belief that the faithful should show exclusive allegiance to Allah and Islam, and repudiation of unbelief and unbelievers, not associating with non-Muslims ^[e]
Salafism [r]: A strict branch of Sunni Islam, dedicated to the restoration of the Caliphate, often by means of armed jihad ^[e]
Shirk [r]: An Arabic word literally meaning polytheism, but interpreted by some Salafist clerics, such as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, to include allegiance to any government, even ostensibly Islamist, which does not follow strict Sharia law. ^[e]
Takfir [r]: A Muslim, primarily Salafist practice of excommunication or shunning of non-observant Muslims; it may extend to killing them ^[e]

Al-Qaeda [r]: International islamist terrorist network. Responsible for the 9-11 attack and other terrorist attacks. ^[e]
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan [r]: A Central Asian jihadist movement, centered on the Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzistan, and Tajikistan meet; affiliated with the Taliban and al-Qaeda and may be based in Afghanistan ^[e]
Jaish-e-Mohammed [r]: A Pakistani jihadist group focused on Kashmir; formed with assistance of Inter-Services Intelligence; listed as a terrorist organization by the United States ^[e]
Jamaat al-Islamiyya [r]: An Egyptian jihadist organization, derived from the Muslim Brotherhood, which conducted terror operations primarily in Egypt in the 1990s; it has renounced violence but members have affiliated with al-Qaeda and other groups ^[e]
Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan [r]: A Muslim clerical party of Pakistan, currently condemning both the Taliban and U.S. attacks, and participating in the government ^[e]

Abdullah Azzam [r]: A Salafist legal scholar and jihadist, who formed the Services Office supporting the Afghanistan War (1978-92) with Osama bin Laden, one of the organizations that formed al-Qaeda ^[e]
Osama bin Laden [r]: Radical jihadist who, with Ayman al-Zawahiri, founded a group known as al-Qaeda, which is credited with a series of terrorist attacks. ^[e]
Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi [r]: A Salafist theologian with much influence on Jihad, currently in Jordan; some affiliation with al-Qaeda but not necessarily in full agreement with their approach ^[e]
Sayyid Qutb [r]: Born in 1906, radicalized in 1951, and executed in 1966, an influential theorist of Salafist revolutionary Islam; considered one of the two spiritual fathers of al-Qaeda and the mentor of Ayman al-Zawahiri ^[e]
Ibn Tamiyya [r]: A medieval Sunni Islamic theologian of the Hanbali school, who set the theoretical framework on which modern Salafism depends ^[e]
Abu Basir al-Tartusi [r]: A Syrian-born Salafist theologian, living in London, highly visible on the Internet and a prominent pro-jihad theoretician ^[e]
Ayman al-Zawahiri [r]: Generally considered the #2 leader of al-Qaeda, an Egyptian physician who was mentored, in a faction of the Muslim Brotherhood, by Sayyid Qutb ^[e]