The Meaning Of Al-Qaeda

Spoons asks an interesting question about the usage of the term al-Qaeda. He notes that The New York Times often uses just the phrase “Qaeda” when referring to the group. While this may seem odd, the pedants of The New York Times are right in this case. (Apparently the editors at the Times are better grammar checkers than fact checkers…)

In Arabic, the definite article is translated as “al-” – or in Arabic lettering “ال” (more on Arabic articles here). So, if we want to say “the book” in Arabic it would be al-qitabu/ الكتاب. However, if we wanted to say a book, it would merely be qitabun/كتاب.

The phrase al-Qaeda (sorry, but I don’t know the Arabic lettering for this word – anyone know offhand?) means in literal translation “the base”, or more accurately “the Foundation” (Asimov fans take note – although bin Laden is no Hari Seldon). The word comes from the same etymology as the word for the Dome of the Rock in Jersualem – al-Quds or “the rock”. It’s also believed by some that the name al-Qaeda comes from the Arabic phrase for database, qaedat bayanat, as al-Qaeda was originally based on a database of foreign mujihadeen that fought the Russians in Afghanistan under bin Laden.

Now, on to why “Qaeda” is the correct of way of saying things in certain cases. Take the phrase “Qaeda terrorists attacked New York”, keeping in mind that “Qaeda” means “Founation”. It sounds much better to say “Foundation terrorists attacked New York” rather than “The Foundation terrorists attacked New York.” Therefore, it’s technically correct to leave off the “al-” in al-Qaeda unless you’d normally have a definite article in the English.

So, there’s your Arabic language lesson for the day… next time, why saying “Hezbollah” rather than Hizb’Allah is wrong…