Islamic extremism in 20th-century Egypt
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Islamic extremism in Egypt caused terrorism and controversy in the country in the 20th century and continues to be a main issue in the 21st century Egyptian society. Egypt has a long history of radical and extreme sects of Islam with roots dating back to around 660 CE. Islamic extremism opposes "democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs".[1] These extreme beliefs led to radical actions across the Middle East. The main conflict between Islamic extremists and the government officials throughout history stems from two major issues: "the formation of the modern nation-state and the political and cultural debate over its ideological direction".[2]
Origins
Islamic extremism has its roots in a sect of Islam called Kharijism, which came about around 600 CE when the third and fourth caliphs were murdered during the first civil war.[3] The Kharijites no longer exist today, and it did not continue as a sect of Islam, but their beliefs laid the early groundwork for much of what Islamic extremists believe today. During the time of their existence the name was understood as anyone who rebelled against the caliph or their appointer ruler, but overtime the name came to denote anyone of Islamist beliefs, or “religiously motivated militants.”[4] Much like the Islamic extremists today, the Kharijites “gave themselves the right to judge who is a true believer of Islam and who is not.”[5] Also the Kharijites would eventually split into various sects, “whose common denominator was their claim that believers had to denounce” any Muslim leader who did not follow the Quran.[6] The ideals of Kharijism would continue to exist in the more modern sects that were formed, but the sect itself would not continue to exist like the Sunni or Shia.[7]
20th century
The Society of Muslim Brothers
During the 20th century, Egypt experienced several waves of revolutions to regain control of their nation from colonial rulers as to create a modern nation-state. Much of Egypt was Muslim at the time although there were significant numbers of Jews and Christians as well, but many of the political revolutions that Egypt experienced were centered on religions and how they related to politics. “The result was an ideological conflict over the direction of the Egyptian nation, over who had the legitimate authority to determine the direction,” and “by the 1930s a pattern of radical politics had taken hold across the Middle East.”
Nasser's influence
Nasser and his party took control of Egypt in July 1953, and he quickly set out to destroy the largest branch of the Muslim Brothers.[11] By the end of 1954, Nasser’s goals to “mobilize civic society” to create modern, independent Egypt, had ended the lives of several leaders of the Brotherhood while arresting or forcing the others into underground hiding.[12] For Nasser, “Islam could and should be politicized, as long as it remained subordinate to the state’s political purpose.”[13] Hoping that their political actions would be absolute, Nasser and Sadat would face the Islamist militants several more times in the coming decades.
Sayyid Qutb and Signposts
While detained in the Nasser regime’s concentration camps, the remaining members of the Muslim Brothers discussed and strategized new plans to take revenge on the secular enemy regime and Islamiscist thought was reconstructed.
Shukri Mustafa
The next major influencer of Islamic extremism in Egyptian history is
After Nasser’s death from health issues, Anwar Sadat took rule over Egypt, and released the prisoner’s from the concentration camps in 1971, as to try to make peace with the Islamic extremists. Then in 1973, after a conflict with the authorities, Mustafa and some of his followers took refuge in the landscape of the Minya region, “enacting the pure model that Mustafa had idealized in prison.”[23] However, in 1977, the group kidnapped[Sheikh Muhammad Hussein al-Dhahabi as a hostage in an attempt to free their brothers, but al-Dhahabi was killed resulting in Mustafa’s arrest and execution.[24]
The Takfir group
The Takfir group were among the many Islamic extremists that followed in the Kharijite ways, but “the sincerity as Muslims has overshadowed their rationality.”[25] These groups were so concerned with the faults of the Muslim society in Egypt that they took extreme measures in attempt to change the way the modern society functioned. This tension of identifying as both modern and Muslim, has been a source of conflict since the days of colonialism. Kenney states, "The problem is that Muslims have lost their “cultural identity,” immersing themselves in the ways of the West; and as a result, they have become weak and divided. The young have lived through this cultural decay, and they have also witnessed the harsh manner in which Muslim activists have been treated in the recent past. Thus their natural instinct is to chance the situation and to seek revenge."[26]
The Takfir group did not begin as a violent sect, but because of the violence shown to them, they reacted with the same harshness, which creates this never-ending conflict of religious extremism versus the secular state. Sadat’s government took a democratic position and was willing to negotiate with the Islamic extremist groups, but the religious extremists continued to act out against the government.[27] After the government suppressed the Takfir, the group dissolved, and the members would then join other Islamist groups, some of which would cause major uprisings in the future.
Salih Sirriya
Salih Sirriya was born in Ijzim, near Haifa, in 1933 where he would later join the Islamic Liberation Party and be introduced to the Islamist theories.[28] Several years later after traveling the Middle East, he settled in Cairo where the Muslim Brotherhood sparked his interest.[29] “Unlike Shukri, Sirriya created no counter-society and organized no hijra to Cairo’s furnished flats.”.[30] Even though they disagreed with the jahiliyya society under Sadat, Sirriya and his followers remained in Cairo living normal lives planning a coup d’e’tat.[31] On April 18, 1974 Sirriya had organized a student ambush at the Military Academy in Heliopolis to hijack the armory and assassinate Sadat.[32] The plan failed and Sirriya was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death along with another organizer.[33]
Jama'at Islamiyya
Another similar group that involved students was Jama’at Islamiyya, an Islamist student association that became a powerful force on university campuses during the relatively calm time before the war of 1973.[34] The group held the majority of the positions in the Student Union, and was soon seen as a threat to the regime for their influence amongst other youth.[35] “In the absence of an alternative vanguard ideology, these groups attracted a growing following,” and campuses became filled with religious literature and activity.[36]
Islamic extremism in the media
Al-Da'wa
After Sadat’s release of the Islamicist prisoners, old members of the Brotherhood asked for state recognition of their group, and although Sadat never agreed to their requests he did grant them the privilege to publish a monthly magazine, Al-Da'wa.[37] The magazine was first published in 1976 and ran until September 1981.[38] Al-Da'wa became a vehicle for the Islamicist movement to reach the general public, and it allowed them to express their intentions and goals on a variety of subjects including social, political, economic, and religious issues.[39] Finally, Al-Da'wa was not the sole piece of Islamicist press, but the magazine was popular enough amongst this community that it could serve as a sounding board to judge reactions of the current activities.[40] Al-Da'wa is just another example where the “desire to distinguish the just struggle against interfactional strift, ”but it also gave “unreserved support” to the members of the Brotherhood.[41]
Sheik Kishk
Islamicist thought also made an appearance through a different form of media, the radio. A man named Abd al-Hamid Kishk, better known as Sheik Kishk, was responsible for recorded sermons that began appearing around 1972.[42] Kishk was a religion student and became a leader of prayer, or imam, in government mosques in 1961, but he was arrested by the government in 1966 based on his suspected involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood.[43] He was released two years later after and continued to preach at the Ministry of Awqaf, a government ministry in charge of religious endowments.[44] Kishk’s sermons became so popular that extra buildings had to be constructed for his Friday sermons, and they began recording his sermons to be publicly aired on the radio in 1972.[45] After about a decade of popularity amongst the Egyptian people, he was arrested again in 1981, and many of his tapes were banned.[46] Kishk was released in 1982, after the assassination of Sadat, and the new regime has given him access to the media yet again.[47]
Al-Jihad
On 6 October 1981, President Anwar Sadat was assassinated during a military parade by
Mohammed Abdul-Salam Farag
One of the main figures in the Jihad, was
Although Farag, and
The end of the century
After the assassination of Sadat, moving into the last decade of the century, al-Jihad remained the most prominent Islamic extremist group in Egypt, and was now harkening back to the ideals of their previous military commander, Lt. Col.
Under Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak took over control of the regime after Sadat, and while the first four years of his presidency experienced a relatively low number of violent attacks from radical groups, terrorism continued to increase and the early 1990s became the bloodiest years of the century.[68] Much of the movement of the Muslim Brotherhood was non-violent and occurred within the social welfare infrastructures where they found supporters in the people who were socially and economically disadvantaged.[69] As the tension rose between the religious and the secular sectors of Egyptian society the movements and acts once again became violent amongst some many of the newer radical groups, and with each attack the regime responded with more severity than the last, which only fueled the radical groups rage against the oppression.[70] The new groups that had developed in the 1990s were branches of the prominent groups in the previous two decades, including al-Jihad, and were composed of a much younger, less educated, rural demographic.[71]
Also the 1990s led to an increase in attacks against political figures, including assassination attempts directed towards the chairman of the parliament, Dr. Rif’ at Mahgoub in 1990, the Egyptian minister of information, Safwat al-Sharif in 1993, and the Egyptian Prime Minister, Atef Sidki also in 1993.[72] Despite that many of these attacks were targeted towards figures of power, the Egyptian public feared the wrath of these radical groups. Because “extremists exhibit a decided [and collective] tendency toward bigotry, intolerance, compulsive excessiveness in personal piety, the [extreme] judgment of others,” the decisions and actions of these radical groups “deprives all people of the right to safety and protection, and instead sanctions their killing and the confiscation of their lives and property.” [73]
Legacy
Despite the large numbers of followers and support for these groups, they still remain a minority in Egyptian society.
References
- ^ Casciani, Dominic (10 June 2014). "How do you define Islamist extremism?". BBC News. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 56.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 4.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 4,5
- ^ Jabbour, Nabeel. The Rumbling Volcano: Islamic Fundamentalism in Egypt. Pasadena: Mandate Press, 1993. Print. pg 41.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 58.
- ^ Jabbour, Nabeel. The Rumbling Volcano: Islamic Fundamentalism in Egypt. Pasadena: Mandate Press, 1993. Print. pg 31.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 59, 60
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 22.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 61.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 26.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 26.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 69.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 27.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 28,29.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 35.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 31.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 37.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 53.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 74.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 127.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 127.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 127.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 78.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 131.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 131.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 134.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 93.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg93.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 93.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 93.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 94.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 94.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 129.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 129.
- ^ Sivan, Emmanuel, and Menachem Friedman. Religious Radicalism and Politics in the Middle East. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990. Print. pg 143.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 103.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 103.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 103.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 103, 104.
- ^ Sivan, Emmanuel, and Menachem Friedman. Religious Radicalism and Politics in the Middle East. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990. Print. pg 110.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 175.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 175.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 175.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 175.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 176.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 176.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 134.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 193.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 135.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 3.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 3.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 3.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 2,3.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Print. pg 192.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 3.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 135.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 3.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 56.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 3.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 7.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 7.
- ^ Sivan, Emmanuel, and Menachem Friedman. Religious Radicalism and Politics in the Middle East. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990. Print. pg 71.
- ^ Sivan, Emmanuel, and Menachem Friedman. Religious Radicalism and Politics in the Middle East. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990. Print. pg 71.
- ^ Tal, Nachman. Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. Print. pg 80.
- ^ Tal, Nachman. Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. Print. pg 80.
- ^ Tal, Nachman. Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. Print. pg 80.
- ^ Tal, Nachman. Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. Print. pg 81.
- ^ Tal, Nachman. Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. Print. pg 85.
- ^ Tal, Nachman. Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. Print. pg 85.
- ^ Tal, Nachman. Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. Print. pg 85.
- ^ Tal, Nachman. Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. Print. pg 95.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 170.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 7.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 8.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 8.
- ^ Zeidan, David. "Radical Islam in Egypt: A Comparison of Two Groups." Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3.3 (1999): n. page. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/zeidan.pdf Archived 2007-04-22 at the Wayback Machine>. pg 8.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 183.
- ^ Kenney, Jeffery T. Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. pg 1846.