Majlis Shura al-Mujahideen fi al-Iraq Participant in the Iraq War
An alleged logo of the Mujahideen Shura Council, consisting of three hands holding aloft the black flag of jihad.INTRODUCTION
The Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC), (Arabic: مجلس شورى المجاهدين في العراق), was an umbrella organization of at least six Sunni Islamic[2] insurgent groups[3] taking part in the Iraqi insurgency against U.S. and coalition and Iraqi forces: Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (‘al-Qaeda in Iraq’),[3] Jaish al-Ta’ifa al-Mansurah, Katbiyan Ansar Al-Tawhid wal Sunnah, Saray al-Jihad Group, al-Ghuraba Brigades, and al-Ahwal Brigades.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq—part of the Mujahideen Shura Council—was in September 2006 believed by the United States to be “the most significant political force” in the Iraqi Al Anbar province.[4]
In mid-October 2006, a statement was released, stating that the Mujahideen Shura Council had been disbanded, and was replaced by the Islamic State of Iraq.
Formation and names
On January 15 2006, in a statement posted to the jihadist website Hanin Net, ‘al-Qaeda in Iraq’ (AQI, Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn) spokesman Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi announced the formation of the “Mujahideen Consultative Council” (“Majlis Shura al-Mujahideen fi al-Iraq”). It was formed to resist efforts by the American and Iraqi authorities to win over Sunni supporters of the insurgency. The stated purpose of the council was “Managing the struggle in the battle of confrontation to ward off the invading kafir (infidels) and their apostate stooges…Uniting the word of the mujahideen and closing their ranks…[and] determining a clear position toward developments and incidents so that people can see things clearly and the truth will not be confused with falsehood.”[citation needed]
It united AQI with five other insurgent groups opposed to U.S. and coalition and Iraqi forces.
