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Middle East | |||
Egyptâs Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya turns on militancy | |||
2003-10-19 | |||
Yeah, really. That's what it sez, anyway... With the publication of two new books, Egyptâs notorious Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, the group behind the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, has cemented an historic peaceful reformation and launched an assault on Islamic militancy throughout the region. The Egyptian government recently released another 1,000 members of the once-militant organization, which in 1997 killed 58 tourists at a 3,400-year old temple in Luxor. Over 2,000 members of the organization have recently been freed, including three of its top leaders.
Throughout the 20th century Egypt has been the birthplace of militant Islamic ideologies. The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in the 1920s in the Suez Canal town of Ismailiya, would soon spawn similar organizations throughout the Middle East. The Egyptian writer Sayyid Qutb, who was executed by the government in 1966, provided the ideological underpinnings of groups such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad. Two of the masterminds behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were Egyptian and bin Ladenâs top lieutenant Ayman Al Zawahiri, was a Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya recruit. Many hope that the reformed Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya can export peace, just as it, for years, exported violence. âThey have proven that they are capable of doing something, but this time hopefully in a different way and for a different purpose,â said Mohammed Abu Layla, a professor of Islamic Studies at Al-Azhar University.
These are the fifth and sixth books Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya has released. They released four books in January 2002 which were more theoretical than the two most recent books. Among those released from Egyptian prisons in the past two weeks, was Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya leader Karam Zohdi, who spent 22 years in jail for his role in the assassination of Sadat, and the subsequent uprising in the Egyptian city of Assiut. Those familiar with Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya expect Zohdi and other recently freed group leaders to play a public role in combating the ideology of violent Islamic extremism throughout the region. âMany of the regionâs violent organizations took their ideas from the Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya,â said Mohammed Salah who, as the Cairo bureau chief for Al-Hayat, has extensive experience with Islamists in Egypt. âNow they have a peaceful role to play and they have more credibility with the other (extremist) organizations.â | |||
Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
#1 lobotomies must've taken, huh? |
Posted by: Frank G 2003-10-19 6:12:23 PM |