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Mujahideen, or Mujahidin (mujāhidīn), is the plural form of mujahid (mujāhid), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in jihad (struggle or striving [for justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc.]), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the community (ummah). The widespread use of the word in English began with reference to the guerrilla-type militant groups led by the Islamist Afghan fighters in the Soviet–Afghan War (see Afghan mujahideen). The term now extends to other jihadist groups in various countries such as Myanmar (Burma), Cyprus, and the Philippines. In its roots, the Arabic word mujahideen refers to any person performing jihad. In its post-classical meaning, jihad refers to an act that is spiritually comparable in reward to promoting Islam during the early 600s CE. These acts could be as simple as sharing a considerable amount of one's income with the poor. The term continued to be used throughout India for Muslim resistance to British colonial rule. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, these holy warriors were said to accept any deserting Indian sepoys and recruit them into their ranks. As time went by, the sect grew ever larger until it was not only conducting bandit raids but even controlling areas in Afghanistan. The first known use of the word mujahideen to refer to insurgent Islamic extremism (what has neologically been called jihadism was supposedly in the late 19th century, in 1887, by Thomas Patrick Hughes (1838–1911). In Central Asia from 1916 to the 1930s, Islamic guerrillas were opponents of Tsarism and Bolshevism and were called referred to by the Soviets as basmachi ('bandits'). These groups called themselves mojahed, describing themselves as standing for Islam. Other proto-mujahideen include Usman dan Fodio, Jahangir Khoja, and Muhammad Ahmed Al Mahdi. The modern phenomenon of jihadism that presents jihad (offensive or defensive) as the casus belli for insurgencies, guerrilla warfare, and international terrorism, originated in the 20th century and draws on early-to-mid-20th century.

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