Al-Mourabitoun was an African militant jihadist organization active from 2013 to 2017 that later merged into Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Through 2015 the opening said the group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Today the opening carries none of that designation, though the word survives 17 times in the body. A reader arriving now learns it sought to implement Sharia law and merged with other groups, and not that five governments and the UN designated it a terrorist organization.
Read line by line and written up by hand.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “terror” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 17.
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The opening as it read in 2015
Al-Mourabitoun ( al-Murābiṭūn ; "The Sentinels") is an African militant Jihadist organisation formed by a merger between Ahmed Telmissi's Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Mokhtar Belmokhtar's Masked Men Brigade.1Al-Mourabitoun is composed mostly of Tuaregs and Arabs from the northern Mali regions of Timbuktu , Kidal and Gao , but also includes Algerians, Tunisians and other nationalities. Its area of operations is in the north of Mali, near towns such as Tessalit and Ansongo . Although the group's establishment was announced by Belmokhtar, the group's leader was said to be a non-Algerian veteran of the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan and the 2002 battles against American forces in the same country, later identified by French Intelligence as an Egyptian known as Abubakr al-Nasri (al-Masri). Abubakr was reportedly killed by French Special forces in North Eastern Mali between 10 and 17 April 2014, as was senior commander Omar Ould Hamaha weeks earlier. The group is named after the Almoravids , a North African Islamic dynasty of the 11th and 12th centuries. The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. On 14 May 2015, Adnan Abu Walid Sahraoui released an audio message pledging the group's allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Belmokhtar issued a statement several days later rejecting this pledge and stating that it had not been approved beforehand, seeming to indicate a split in the group. "Al-Murabitun: North Africa's Jihadists Reach into History in Their Battle against European "Crusaders" " . "The List established and maintained by the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee with respect to individuals, groups, undertakings and other entities associated with Al-Qaida" .2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 668139603.
The opening as it stood in 2020 10 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Al-Mourabitoun ( ) was an African militant jihadist organisation formed by a merger between Ahmed Ould Amer, a.k.a.Ahmed al-Tilemsi's Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Mokhtar Belmokhtar 's Al-Mulathameen .On 4 December 2015, it joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).The group seeks to implement Sharia law in Mali, Algeria, southwestern Libya, and Niger.On 2 March 2017, al-Mourabitoun's cells in Mali , along with those of Ansar Dine , Macina Liberation Front and the Saharan branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb merged into Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin , the official branch of Al-Qaeda in Mali , after its leaders swore allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 943384804.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
2013–2017 African militant jihadist organisation For the Lebanese political party, see Al-Mourabitoun . Al-Mourabitoun ( ) was an African militant jihadist organisation formed by a merger between Ahmed Ould Amer, a.k.a. Ahmed al-Tilemsi's Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Mokhtar Belmokhtar 's Al-Mulathameen . On 4 December 2015, it joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The group seeks to implement Sharia law in Mali, Algeria, southwestern Libya, and Niger. On 2 March 2017, al-Mourabitoun's cells in Mali , along with those of Ansar Dine , Macina Liberation Front and the Saharan branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb merged into Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin , the official branch of Al-Qaeda in Mali , after its leaders swore allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1165607626.
The opening as it stood in 2025
2013–2017 Former African militant jihadist organization For the Lebanese political party, see Al-Mourabitoun .Al-Mourabitoun ( Arabic : المرابطون , romanized : al-Murābiṭūn , lit. ' The Sentinels ' ) was an African militant jihadist organization formed by a merger between Ahmed Ould Amer, a.k.a. Ahmed al-Tilemsi's Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa , and Mokhtar Belmokhtar 's Al-Mulathameen . On 4 December 2015, it joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The group sought to implement Sharia law in Mali, Algeria, southwestern Libya, and Niger. On 2 March 2017, al-Mourabitoun's cells in Mali , along with those of Ansar Dine , Macina Liberation Front and the Saharan branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb , merged into Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin , the official branch of Al-Qaeda in Mali , after its leaders swore allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1296269296. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
“terror” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 17. Read the current article and compare.
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2025
terror
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militant
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jihad
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2015 and 6 October 2023.
Then
african militant jihadist organisation formed by a merger between ahmed telmissi's movement for oneness and jih
Now
african militant jihadist organisation formed by a merger between ahmed ould amer
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.