Volume Oneintelfiles.egoplex.com/INTELWIRE-Sourcebook-Islamic-Extremism-in-… · academic setting. They provide a never-before-seen window into how the U.S. understood the burgeoning

ISLAMIC

EXTREMISM

IN EGYPT Volume One

A sourcebook for researchers

State Department cables describing the history and structure

of the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad, Takfir Wal Hijra,

the Islamic Group and other extremist movements

J.M. Berger, Editor

INTELWIRE PRESS

© 2007, J.M. BERGER

INTELWIRE http://www.intelwire.com

http://www.intelwire.com

Introduction ii

THE

ISLAMIC EXTREMISM IN EGYPT

SOURCEBOOK

Al Qaeda sprang from a tangled web of extremist movements in Egypt during the

1980s. Its predecessor and related groups include the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian

Islamic Jihad, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman's Islamic Group and Takfir Wal Hijra.

The history and beliefs of these groups are outlined here in a series of informational

State Department cables designed to provide an introduction and overview to the arcane

political scene in Egypt. The cables span nearly 20 years of Egyptian politics, through

May 2001, just months before the September 11 attacks changed the face of the world.

These documents are sometimes tantalizing, sometimes incomplete, but always

fascinating. Most of the cables here are long, in-depth explorations, suitable for use in an

academic setting. They provide a never-before-seen window into how the U.S.

understood the burgeoning Islamic fundamentalist movement in Egypt, a movement that

would soon spread its influence around the world. They also provide a great deal of detail

of history and intelligence rarely accessible to Western readers.

Additional volumes will follow.

--- J.M. Berger



Introduction iii

Table of Contents

10/2/1982 -- ISLAM IN EGYPT, PART ONE ......................................................................... 1

("The Growth and Challenge of Islamic Fundamentalism and Extremism.")

10/3/1982 -- ISLAM IN EGYPT, PART TWO ........................................................................ 20

("The Islamic Establishment and its Competitors.")

6/29/1983 -- MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD (MB): NOW YOU SEE IT..................................... 49

("Now You See It, Now You Don't.")

4/17/1984 -- EGYPTIANS DISCUSS DOMESTIC POLITICS ............................................... 76

("... and the U.S. 'image' in Egypt.")

9/27/1988 -- ALEXANDRIA'S SECOND-ECHELON SHEIKHS ........................................... 85

(Includes extensive and detailed discussion of Islamic revivalist sheikhs in Alexandria,

their beliefs and their political machinations.)

2/25/1987 -- ISLAMIC TRILOGY PART II: RIGHT WING IN ALEXANDRIA .................... 128

("Leaders and mosques of the Islamic Right in Alexandria," "identifies some of the

principal spiritual and (potentially) political leaders in thi s city and the main 'radica'l

mosques.)

3/8/1989 -- GUIDE TO THE GAMA'AT (IV): MILITANT ISLAMIC GROUPS .................... 144

(An excerpt from a longer guide to the Islamic extremist groups active in Egypt in 1989.

This period is obviously of great interest to the war on terrorism.)

4/25/1989 -- SUMMARY OF CONVERSATIONS, 'THE ISLAMIC GROUP' ........................ 168

(An April 25, 1989 cable from the Cairo embassy describes several meetings between

unidentified "embassy officers" and a self-proclaimed member of al-Gama'a al-

Islamiyya. The meetings described in this cable, and the following, take place one year

before the radical sheikh entered the United States on a visa approved by a CIA agent.)

5/3/1989 -- CONVERSATIONS WITH A MEMBER OF 'THE ISLAMIC GROUP'................ 177

(This meeting is a follow-up to the previous series of meetings.)

5/3/1994-- ISLAMIC EXTREMIST CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY.................................. 186

(An unusual story of a former member of Takfir Wal Hijra who converted to Christianity

and revealed many of the group's beliefs and secret tactics.)

7/31/2000 -- EGYPT'S POLITICAL OPPOSITION IN CRISIS ............................................... 201

("Egypt's opposition parties and informal groups are at their weakest point since Sadat

re-established a multi-party system in 1977." By 2005, the Muslim Brotherhood was

enjoying a strong resurgence, winning a historic number of seats in the Egyptian

parliament. Several other parties are discussed.)

5/31/2001 -- EGYPT'S MUSLIM BROTHERS, HISTORY AND STRUCTURE..................... 219

(Outlines the MB's political standing and history, including its founding.)



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Documents

Volume Oneintelfiles.egoplex.com/INTELWIRE-Sourcebook-Islamic-Extremism-in-… · academic setting. They provide a never-before-seen window into how the U.S. understood the burgeoning