Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (Arabic for "the Islamic Group"; also transliterated Gamaat Islamiya, Jamaat al Islamiya, etc.) is radical Islamist Egyptian terrorist group dedicated to the overthrow of the Egyptian government and its replacement with an Islamic state. Arabic is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. ... Terrorism is a controversial term with multiple definitions. ... An Islamic republic is a form of government, known as a theocracy, advocated by some Muslim religious leaders in the Middle East and Africa. ...

The group claims the blind cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman as is its pre-eminent spiritual leader. He was accused of conspiring in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and the group has publicly threatened to retaliate against the United States for his conviction and life-sentence in a later conspiracy to bomb New York landmarks including the United Nations and FBI offices. Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman is a blind Egyptian Muslim cleric who at one time resided in New York City. ... 1993 is 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) Events Media:January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. ... The World Trade Center bombing was the February 26, 1993 attack in the garage of the New York City World Trade Center. ... The New York City landmark bomb plot was a planned sequel to the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing that would have inflicted hundreds of American casualties on American soil. ... The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ...

Attacks

Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya was responsible for:

• 17 November 1997 – Massacre at Deir el-Bahri, Luxor (62 dead)
• 28 April 1996 – Europa Hotel shooting, Cairo (18 dead)
• 19 November 1995 – Car bomb attack on the Egyptian embassy, Islamabad, Pakistan (16 dead)
• 26 June 1995 – attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
• 8 June 1992 – assassination of Farag Foda.

It was also responsible for a spate of tourist shootings (trains and cruise ships sprayed with bullets) in middle and lower Egypt during the early 1990s. Partly as a result of those attacks, cruise ships ceased sailing between Cairo and Luxor. November 17 is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... Categories: Ancient Egypt stubs | Ancient Egypt | Egypt | Geography of Egypt ... See also the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Statue of Ramses II Luxor is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... View of the modern citys skyline. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A car bomb is a bomb that is placed in a car or truck and is intended to be exploded while there. ... Faisal Mosque, located in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, was built in 1986. ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... assassin, see Assassin (disambiguation) Jack Ruby assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald in a very public manner. ... Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak (Arabic : محمد حسنى سيد مبارك ) commonly known as Hosni Mubarak, has been the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt since October 14, 1981. ... Addis Ababa (Amharic new flower) is the capital of Ethiopia. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr. Farag Foda (فرج فوده, 1946 - 8 June 1992) was an important Egyptian thinker, human rights activist, writer, and columnist. ... Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM... View of the modern citys skyline. ... See also the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Statue of Ramses II Luxor is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt. ...

History

Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya began as an umbrella organization for militant student groups, formed, like the Islamic Jihad, after the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood renounced violence in the 1970s. This article is about particular organizations known as Islamic Jihad. ... The Muslim Brotherhood, also called Muslim Brethren (Arabic: جميعة الإخوان المسلمين jamiat al-Ikhwan al-muslimin, literally Society of Muslim Brothers; often only الإخوان المسلمون, Ikhwan ul Muslimoon (Muslim Brothers) or simply الإخوان Ikhwan (the Brothers) is an Islamic organization with a political approach to Islam. ... Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution...

In its early days, the group was primarily active on university campuses, and was mainly composed of university students. Its membership has since become poorer, younger, and less well educated; its base of recruiting and support has moved away from universities to poor neighborhoods of cities, and to rural areas.

Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya may have been indirectly involved in the assassination of president Anwar Sadat in 1981 and was implicated in a failed attempt on president Hosni Mubarak in the 1990s. Anwar Sadat Mohamed Anwar el-Sadat – محمد أنورالسادات Arabic - ( December 25, 1918 – October 6, 1981) was an Egyptian politician and President from 1970 to 1981. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak (Arabic : محمد حسنى سيد مبارك ) commonly known as Hosni Mubarak, has been the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt since October 14, 1981. ... Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM...

The 1990s saw Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya spiral into increasingly irrational and ultimately self-defeating violence, from the murders and attempted murders of prominent writers and intellectuals, to the repeated targeting of tourists and foreigners, who are an important part of the Egyptian economy, and thus of the livelihoods of the people on whom the group depends upon for support.

The 1991 murder of the group's leader, Ala Mohieddin, presumably by security forces, led Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya to murder the speaker of parliament in retaliation. That, in turn, caused a major government crackdown, and the further radicalization of the group.

Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya militants carried out the November 17, 1997 attack at the Temple of Hatshepsut (Deir el-Bahri) in Luxor, in which a band of six men machine-gunned and hacked to death with knives 58000 foreign tourists and four Egyptians. The attack stunned Egyptian society, ruined the tourist industry for a number of years, and consequently sapped popular support for violent Islamism in Egypt. November 17 is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... Carved sphinx with face of Hatshepsut, Cairo Museum Maatkare Hatshepsut (c. ... Categories: Ancient Egypt stubs | Ancient Egypt | Egypt | Geography of Egypt ... See also the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Statue of Ramses II Luxor is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt. ...

While the combination of harsh government measures and self-defeating violence have not eliminated Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, they have reduced the group's profile in recent years.

External links

• Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (http://cns.miis.edu/research/wtc01/algamaa.htm) (CNS/MIIS)
• Article about Islamist resistance in Egypt (http://salamworldwide.com/ourworld12th.html)
• Article in the Economist about more recent developments (http://www.economist.com/printedition/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Story_ID=836058)

See: List of terrorist organizations ...