| Main Entry: | Islamic Jihad |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | any of several Muslim extremist organizations in the Middle East and the war they wage against perceived threats to the Islamic religion |
| Etymology: | jihad from jahada 'to strive for a better way of life' |
| islamic jihad | |
noun | |
| 1. | a Shiite terrorist organization with strong ties to Iran; seeks to create an Iranian fundamentalist Islamic state in Lebanon; car bombs are the signature weapon |
| 2. | an Islamic extremist group active since the late 1970s; seeks to overthrow the Egyptian government and replace it with an Islamic state; works in small underground cells; "the original Jihad was responsible for the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981" [syn: al-Jihad] |