The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (Arabic: الجهاد الإسلامي المصري ) (EIJ), also called the Islamic Jihad ( الجهاد الإسلامي ) and "al-Jihad" and the Jihad Group, is an Egyptian Islamist group active since the late 1970s with origins in the Muslim Brotherhood. It suffered setbacks as a result of numerous arrests of operatives worldwide, most recently in Lebanon and Yemen. The organization's primary goals are to overthrow the Egyptian Government and replace it with an Islamic state and to attack United States and Israeli interests in Egypt and abroad. There are rumors that the IJO is nothing but a cover group for the Iranian Pasdaran. It is listed as a terrorist organisation by Russia [1] and others. Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Jihad, sometimes spelled Jahad, Jehad, Jihaad, Jiaad, Djihad, or Cihad, (Arabic: ‎ ) as an Islamic term, literally means struggle or holy war in the way of God or striving hard in Gods cause and is sometimes referred to as the sixth pillar of Islam, although it occupies no official status... Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. ... Template:A year The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The Muslim Brotherhood or The Muslim Brothers (Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimÅ«n, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان al-ikhwān, the Brotherhood) is a world-wide Sunni Islamist movement, which has spawned several religious and political organizations in the Middle East, dedicated to... Pasdaran str. ...

Activities

The organization specializes in armed attacks against high-level Egyptian Government personnel, including cabinet ministers, and car-bombings against official US and Egyptian facilities. The original Jihad was responsible for the attempted assassinations of Interior Minister Hassan al-Alfi in August 1993 and Prime Minister Atef Sedky in November 1993. Egyptian Jihad and rival armed group launched a wave of violence against Egypt's secular government in 1992, a campaign they only abandoned at the end of the decade. Nearly 1300 people died in the unrest, including policemen, and government officials. It is responsible for the Egyptian Embassy bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan in 1995; in 1998, a planned attack against the US Embassy in Albania was thwarted. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Islamabad (Urdu: اسلام آباد, abode of Islam), is the capital city of Pakistan, and is located in the Potohar Plateau in the northwest of the country. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one nation state present in another nation state to represent the sending state in the receiving State. ...

Leadership

Al-Sharif passed the Jihad leadership to Ayman al-Zawahri amid dissent within the movement in the mid 1980's. The al-Zawahri faction subsequently formed an alliance with Al-Qaeda leading over time to the effective merger of the two groups operations inside Afghanistan. Ayman al-Zawahiri (in Arabic, ايمن الظواهري) (born June 19, 1951) is a prominent member of the al-Qaeda group and formerly the head of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad paramilitary organization. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ...

Although al-Zawahri is frequently referred to as a 'lieutenant' or 'second in command' of Al Qaeda this description is misleading as it implies a hierarchical relationship. The modern Al Qaeda organization is the combination of Bin Laden's financial resources with al-Zawahri's ideological and operational leadership. Despite the effective merger of al-Zawahri and Bin Laden's groups in the Afghanistan area of operations there is evidence that suggests that at least part of the Islamic Jihad group continuing to operate in Egypt remains independent of Bin Laden's organization and reports to al-Zawahri personally.

Location/Area of Operation

The Egyptian Islamic Jihad operates in the Cairo area. It has a network outside Egypt, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom.

External Aid

The extent of its aid from outside of Egypt is not known. The Egyptian Government claims that both Iran and Osama bin Laden support the Islamic Jihad. It also may obtain some funding through various Islamic nongovernmental organizations, cover businesses, and criminal acts

See also

• Muslim Brotherhood
• Mujahedeen
• al-Qaeda
• Sayyid Qutb
• Hasan al-Banna
• Ayman al-Zawahiri
• Ali Mohammed
• Abu Ayyub al-Masri
• Islamism
• Pasdaran
• Jamaat-e-Islami
• Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi
• Abdullah Yusuf Azzam
• Khurshid Ahmad
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad
• Hani al-Sibai
• Islamist terrorism