Narrative
Narrative of the Organization's History
Narrative of the Organization's History
Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations
Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics
First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks
Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences
Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time in regional maps
The EIJ was a radical Salafi Islamist organization. Its early ideology was heavily influenced by the writings of Sayyid Qutb and the teachings of Sheikh Omar Abd al-Rahman, both of which emphasized the notion of Jihad against the secular Egyptian state. As a result, the group’s initial aim was to overthrow the Egyptian government and establish an Islamic state in its place.[48] In addition to its opposition to the government’s secular nature, the EIJ was particularly opposed to Sadat’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel. Similarly, to most Islamist groups in the region, the EIJ was firmly committed to the violent obliteration of the state of Israel.[49] Although the group had embraced violence as a means of achieving its goals from its inception, the group did not begin to embrace a Takfiri--the belief that all non-Sunnis are infidels--ideology until the late 1980s.[50]
The group was also vehemently anti-Western but preferred to focus its resources on attacking the near enemy, the Egyptian government, rather than targeting the West.[51] This, however, changed with the group’s growing association to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda in the 1990s. As the EIJ’s funding sources within Egypt began to dry up in the early 1990s, Zawahiri was forced to rely more heavily on bin Laden for money. As a result of this reliance, Zawahiri was forced to re-orient the EIJ towards AQ’s more global vision of Jihad against the West.[52] This shift ultimately culminated in the EIJ’s merger into AQ in 1998 and Zawahiri’s co-authorship of a 1998 fatwa proclaiming Jihad against all Westerners and Western interests in the Middle East.[53]
There are no recorded political activities for this group.
The EIJ’s most common mode of attack was high-level political assassinations. Among its most notable attacks were its 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and its 1995 attempted assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.[54] However, unlike al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, the other main militant Egyptian Islamist organization, the EIJ did not target low and middle-ranking security personnel or foreign tourists.[55] The EIJ also was known for its specialty training and strategic planning skills, which it likely acquired while fighting alongside the Mujahedeen in the Soviet-Afghan War in the late 1980s.[56] In addition to assassinations, the EIJ also carried out several high profile bombings, including of the bombing of the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad in 1995 and the attempted bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Albania in 1998.[57]
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
October 6, 1981: An EIJ member, Khaled al-Islambouli, opened fire on Sadat’s box while he reviewed a military parade in Cairo, killing the president and 11 others. (12 killed, 28 wounded)[58]
August 1993: The EIJ unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the Egyptian Minister of the Interior, Hassan al-Alfi, using a vehicle born improvised explosive device (VBIED). The bomb, however, did kill two others in the Minister’s car and marked the first time that Sunni militants utilized a suicide bomb, a technique originally used by Hezbollah in Lebanon. (2+ killed, unknown wounded)[59]
November 1993: The EIJ mounted an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Sikdi using a VBIED. The bomb exploded near a girls school in Cairo as the Minister drove past, killing a young girl and injuring 21 others. Sidki escaped uninjured. (1 killed, 21 wounded)[60]
June 26, 1995: In conjunction with al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya and the Sudanese intelligence services, the EIJ mounted an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak while he was on a state visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (no casualties)[61]
November 1995: The EIJ claimed responsibility for assassinating an Egyptian diplomat in Geneva. (1 killed, unknown wounded)[62]
November 19, 1995: The EIJ bombed the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad using a truck-born bomb, killing 17 and wounding over 60 people in the vicinity. (17 killed, 60+ wounded)[63]
1998: The EIJ unsuccessfully attempted to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Albania. (no casualties)[64]
Although the EIJ is thought to have commanded a moderate amount of support among Egyptian Islamists in the early 1980s, after its move to Afghanistan in 1986, most of the group’s ties to its original community in Egypt were severed.[67] As one observer noted, “the EIJ became a free-floating network without any real ties to its original society or to its surrounding society."[68]
The EIJ and al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya (GI/GIA), the other main militant Islamist organization operating in Egypt in the 1980s and 1990s, had a mostly cooperative relationship.[69] Both groups split from the Muslim Brotherhood after its renunciation of violence in the late 1970s and cooperated closely on the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981. However, after the crackdown that followed Sadat’s assassination, one branch of GI apologized for its involvement in Sadat’s murder and denounced the EIJ, Al Qaeda, and their use of violence to achieve their goals. Another portion of GI, however, appears to have remained militant and on good terms with the EIJ, and many of its members apparently fought alongside EIJ and AQ members in Afghanistan in the late 1980s. Although there is some evidence that the two groups were often at odds with one another during the early 1990s, GI and the EIJ cooperated with one another in an unsuccessful 1995 assassination attempt on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia.[70] Then in 1997, GI again publicly renounced the use of violence and opened dialogue with the Egyptian government; this effectively ended all cooperation between the EIJ and GI.[71]
The EIJ and Al Qaeda became allies in the early 1980s. Zawahiri and bin Laden first developed a close personal and professional relationship while fighting together in Afghanistan in the mid 1980s.[72] Around this time, many EIJ members became bin Laden’s primary advisors and confidantes.[73] As the EIJ’s funding sources in Egypt began to dry up, the group became increasingly reliant on bin Laden for funding and resources. As a result of this reliance, the EIJ was forced to shift its focus from overthrowing the Egyptian government towards AQ’s global vision of Jihad.[74] The EIJ officially merged into AQ in 1998 and its members became an integral part of many of AQ’s operations, including its 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York.[75] After bin Laden’s death in 2011, Zawahiri became the leader of AQ.[76]
Although the Egyptian government has claimed that the Iranian government funded and otherwise supported the EIJ, there is no evidence to prove this connection.[77] It is, however, clear that the EIJ received large amounts of support from the Sudanese government. Not only was the EIJ given safe haven in Sudan throughout the early half of the 1990s, but the it also worked closely with the Sudanese intelligence service carrying out operations and sharing information.[78]
[1] “Taher Helmi: Feats of Circumstance.” Al Ahram Weekly, 23 March 2005. Web. 3 Oct. 2015; “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014; Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015., “Taher Helmi: Feats of Circumstance.” Al Ahram Weekly, 23 March 2005. Web. 3 Oct. 2015.
[2] “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014; Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[3] “Al-Jihad al-Islami.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2015; “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015.
[4] Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[5] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015.
[6] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” START: Terrorist Organization Profiles, Date unknown. Web. 20 August 2015.
[7] Sageman, Marc. “Understanding Terror Networks.” University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.
[8] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” START: Terrorist Organization Profiles, Date unknown. Web. 20 August 2015; “Al-Jihad al-Islami.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
[9] Sageman, Marc. “Understanding Terror Networks.” University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004, p.147; Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006. pg. 122; “Al-Jihad al-Islami.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
[10] Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[11] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” START: Terrorist Organization Profiles, Date unknown. Web. 20 August 2015; “Al-Jihad al-Islami.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
[12] Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006.
[13] “Al-Jihad al-Islami.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2015; “Brief Biography of Ayman al-Zawahiri.” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Date unknown. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
[14] Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006. pg. 129.
[15] Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006.
[16] Orr, Tamra. Egyptian Islamic Jihad. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003; Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[17] Orr, Tamra. Egyptian Islamic Jihad. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003; Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[18] Musallam, Adnan. From Secularism to Jihad: Sayyid Qutb and the Foundations of Radical Islamism. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2005. “Ayman al-Zawahiri.” GlobalSecurity.org, Date unknown. Web. 1 Oct. 2015; Musallam, Adnan. From Secularism to Jihad: Sayyid Qutb and the Foundations of Radical Islamism. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2005.
[19] “Ayman al-Zawahiri.” GlobalSecurity.org, Date unknown. Web. 1 Oct. 2015; “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015.
[20] Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015; Vittori, Jodi. Terrorist Financing and Resourcing. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
[21] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015; Sageman, Marc. Understanding Terror Networks, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004, p.45
[22] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[23] Salah, Muhammad. “Bin Ladin Front Reportedly Brough CBW from E. Europe.” Al-Hayah, 20 April 1999. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
[24] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015; Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[25] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[26] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” BBC News, Investigating Terror Organizations, Date unknown. Web. 20 Aug. 2015; Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015; “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015; “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014
[27] al-Youm, al-Masry.“ Pro-Morsy alliance considers presidential elections boycott.” 31 March 2014. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
[28] “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014
[29] Sageman, Marc. “Understanding Terror Networks.” University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.
[30] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” START: Terrorist Organization Profiles, Date unknown. Web. 20 August 2015; “Al-Jihad al-Islami.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2015; Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006.
[31] Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006.
[32] “Al-Qaeda’s Remaining Leaders.” BBC News, 16 June 2015. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
[33] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015; “Al-Jihad al-Islami.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2015; “Brief Biography of Ayman al-Zawahiri.” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Date unknown. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
[34] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[35] “Al-Qaeda’s Remaining Leaders.” BBC News, 16 June 2015. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
[36] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[37] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015; Salah, Muhammad. “Bin Ladin Front Reportedly Brough CBW from E. Europe.” Al-Hayah, 20 April 1999. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
[38] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[39] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[40] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Intelligence Resource Program, Date unknown. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
[41] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” START: Terrorist Organization Profiles, Date unknown. Web. 20 August 2015.
[42] “Ayman al-Zawahiri.” CNN, Date unknown. Web. Oct. 12 2015; Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006.
[43] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Intelligence Resource Program, Date unknown. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
[44] “Ayman al-Zawahiri.” GlobalSecurity.org, Date unknown. Web. 1 Oct. 2015; “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015.
[45] Sageman, Marc. “Understanding Terror Networks.” University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004, p.147; Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006. pg. 122; “Al-Jihad al-Islami.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
[46] Orr, Tamra. Egyptian Islamic Jihad. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003; Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[47] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[48] Paz, Reuven. “The Global Jihad Brotherhood: Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.” 24 Sept. 2001. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
[49] Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015; “Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” START: Terrorist Organization Profiles, Date unknown. Web. 20 August 2015.
[50] Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006.
[51] Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[52] “Ayman al-Zawahiri.” GlobalSecurity.org, Date unknown. Web. 1 Oct. 2015; “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015.
[53] “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014
[54] “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014; Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[55] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” BBC News, Investigating Terror Organizations, Date unknown. Web. 20 Aug. 2015; “Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).
[56] Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[57] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Intelligence Resource Program, Date unknown. Web. 10 Oct. 2015; “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014
[58] “Taher Helmi: Feats of Circumstance.” Al Ahram Weekly, 23 March 2005. Web. 3 Oct. 2015; “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014; Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[59] “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014; Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006. pg. 186.
[60] “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014; Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006. pg. 186.
[61] Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[62] Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014; Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[63] “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014; Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[64] “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014; Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[65] “Statement of Reasons: Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” Parliament of Australia, 27 March 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2014
[66] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” START: Terrorist Organization Profiles, Date unknown. Web. 20 August 2015.
[67] “Ayman al-Zawahiri.” GlobalSecurity.org, Date unknown. Web. 1 Oct. 2015; “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015.
[68] Sageman, Marc. “Understanding Terror Networks.” University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.
[69] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ).” START: Terrorist Organization Profiles, Date unknown. Web. 20 August 2015.
[70] Fletcher, Molly. “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Council of Foreign Relations, 30 May 2008. Web. 20 August 2015.
[71] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015.
[72] “Al-Jihad al-Islami.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2015; “Brief Biography of Ayman al-Zawahiri.” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Date unknown. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
[73] Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006. pg. 129.
[74] “Ayman al-Zawahiri.” GlobalSecurity.org, Date unknown. Web. 1 Oct. 2015; “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015.
[75] Gebara, Khalil. “The End of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?” The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor 3(3), 9 February 2005. Web. 20 August 2015.
[76] “Brief Biography of Ayman al-Zawahiri.” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Date unknown. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
[77] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Intelligence Resource Program, Date unknown. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
[78] “Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” Encyclopedia of the Middle East, 2007. Web. 20 August 2015. Sageman, Marc. Understanding Terror Networks, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004, p.45; Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2006.