Ok Jihad means holy war
what does Al Queda mean?
“The Base,” if I recall. Then again, I don’t speak Arabic. And jihad has some other translations too, I’m told.
al Qaida means “base” or “foundation” while jihad means, not “holy war,” but “struggle.” (Jihad can mean a lot of different things depending on context, but when it is used to mean warfare, it has been used to mean a defensive struggle against either aggression or incorrect beliefs since, at least, the eighth century.)
(We had a bit of a go-round on the subject of whether Does “Jihad” mean war? just last week.)
Did Bin Laden name this group Al Queda or is this some government coinage?
Jihad & Al Queda:
Is this meant to say: The Base of Struggle?
al Qaida was named internally (whether by in Laden or someone else, we don’t know). If you look at the first link in my earlier post, you’ll see several theories put forth as to its origin.