Mohamed Abu Samra is the current secretary-general of the Islamic Party, [1] which is the political arm of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. [2] Abu Samra stated in an interview in April 2013 that the Muslim Brotherhood was not successful in applying Sharia and that he supported the changing of the government. [3] However, in an interview with Cairo Al-Akhbar, he called for a revolt if President Mohamed Morsi was deposed. [4] As of September 2013 he was calling for peaceful protests and disavowed the actions of jihadist groups in the Sinai. [5] He called on Egyptian judges to adhere to the law by stopping their strike that occurred in 2012. [6] Abu Samra said that he would be opposed towards returning Israeli Jews of Egyptian descent to Egypt in response to a comment made by Essam el-Erian, a member of the Freedom and Justice Party and an adviser to then president Mohamed Morsi; he also stated that according to Sharia law, Jews deserve to be fought and killed by Muslims. [7]
The Society of the Muslim Brothers, better known as the Muslim Brotherhood, is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings spread far beyond Egypt, influencing today various Islamist movements from charitable organizations to political parties.
Liberalism in Egypt or Egyptian liberalism is a political ideology that traces its beginnings to the 19th century.
The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamic organization that was founded in Ismailia, Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in March 1928 as an Islamist religious, political, and social movement. The group spread to other Muslim countries but has its largest, or one of its largest, organizations in Egypt, where for many years it has been the largest, best-organized, and most disciplined political opposition force, despite a succession of government crackdowns in 1948, 1954, 1965 after plots, or alleged plots, of assassination and overthrow were uncovered. Following the 2011 Revolution the group was legalized, and in April 2011 it launched a civic political party called the Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt) to contest elections, including the 2012 presidential election when its candidate Mohamed Morsi became Egypt's first democratically elected president. One year later, however, following massive demonstrations, Morsi was overthrown by the military and arrested. As of 2014, the organization has been declared a terrorist group by Russia, Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and is once again suffering a severe crackdown.
Abu Basir al-Tartusi is the assumed name of Abd-al Mun'em Mustafa Halima, a Syrian cleric and jihadist theoretician. He has been described as one of the "primary Salafi opinion-makers guiding the jihadi movement."
Muhammad Rabee al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian Islamist who was a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad and one of 14 people subjected to extraordinary rendition by the CIA prior to the 2001 War on Terror. He is the younger brother of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Safwat Hegazi is an Egyptian imam and television preacher who is on the list of "Individuals banned from the UK for stirring up hatred". A supporter of Mohamed Morsi, he was arrested after the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.
Omar Shafik Hammami, also known by the pseudonym Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, was an American citizen who was a member and leader in the Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabaab. A federal warrant for his arrest was issued in 2007. In November 2012, the FBI added Hammami to its Most Wanted Terrorists list.
Presidential elections were held in Egypt in 2012, with the first round on 23 and 24 May 2012 and the second on 16 and 17 June, the first democratic presidential election in Egyptian history. The Muslim Brotherhood declared early 18 June 2012, that its candidate, Mohamed Morsi, won Egypt's presidential election, which would be the first victory of an Islamist as head of state in the Arab world. It was the second presidential election in Egypt's history with more than one candidate, following the 2005 election, and the first presidential election after the 2011 Egyptian revolution which ousted president Hosni Mubarak, during the Arab Spring. However, Morsi's presidency was brief and short-lived, and he later faced massive protests for and against his rule, only to be ousted in a military coup in July that year.
Mohammed Badie is the eighth Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni Islamist religious, political, and social movement, with adherents estimated to number between 2 and 2.5 million. Founded by Hassan al-Banna in 1928, the group spread to other Muslim countries but has its largest organization in Egypt, despite government crackdowns in 1948, 1954, 1965 and 2013, after plots, or alleged plots, of assassination and overthrow were uncovered.
Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-Ayyat was an Egyptian politician, engineer, and professor who served as the fifth president of Egypt, from 2012 to 2013, when General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed him from office in a coup d'état after protests in June. An Islamist affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood organization, Morsi led the Freedom and Justice Party from 2011 to 2012.
The Islamic Party is an Islamist political party in Egypt. The name of the party was changed in approximately December 2012. The main leaders of the group are Mohamed Abu Samra and Kamal Habib. The party is backed by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad group. Most of the founders of the party are former members of the organization. Many members of the party have court rulings that bar them from running for elected office.
The 2012–2013 Egyptian protests were part of the crisis in Egypt including the June 2013 protests, the July 2013 coup d'état, and part of the post-coup unrest. They saw varying opposition against three contiguous heads of state; namely, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Muslim Brotherhood, and the de facto ruling Egyptian Armed Forces.
The Anti-Coup Alliance is a coalition in Egypt formed to reverse the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi. The coalition is made up of approximately 40 Islamist parties and groups.
Protests against the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état erupted in July 2013. Immediately following the removal of President Mohamed Morsi by the Egyptian Armed Forces on 3 July 2013 amid demonstrations against Morsi's rule, many protesters amassed near the Rabia Al-Adawiya Mosque to call for Morsi's return to power and condemn the military, while others demonstrated in support of the military and interim government. Deadly clashes such as Rabaa massacre continued for several days, with three particularly bloody incidents being described by officials as "massacres" perpetrated by security forces. During the month of Ramadan, prime minister Hazem al-Beblawy threatened to disperse the ongoing Pro-Morsi sit-ins in Rabaa al-Adaweya square and al-Nahda square. The government crackdown of these protests occurred in a violent dispersal on 14 August 2013. In mid-August, the violence directed by the army towards the protesters escalated, with hundreds killed, and the government declaring a month-long nighttime curfew.
The Freedom and Justice Party is an Egyptian Islamist political party. The ex-president of the party, Mohamed Morsi, won the 2012 presidential election, and in the 2011 parliamentary election it won more seats than any other party. It is nominally independent, but has strong links to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, the largest political group in Egypt. The party was banned and dissolved in 2014; however, it continues to function underground.
Mohamed Ibrahim Moustafa, often referred to simply as Mohamed Ibrahim was the Minister of Interior of Egypt, from January 2013 until March 2015.
Nabeel Naeem Abdul Fattah is the founder of the Democratic Jihad Party as well as a contributor to Asharq Al-Awsat. He was also the leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad from 1988 until 1992.
The Moderate Front is an alliance composed of former jihadis, ex-members of the Muslim Brotherhood and ex-al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya members. The leader of the alliance is Sabra al-Qasemy al-Wasateyya, who was a former member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. The alliance was founded after the 30 June ouster of Mohamed Morsi and subsequent attacks on civilians. The coalition has supported Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for president in the Egyptian 2014 presidential election. The Muslim Brotherhood has been criticized by the group for its calling for protests on the anniversary of the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes; the members of the alliance want the Brotherhood to turn away from violence. One of the members of the organization, Amr Emara, is also the coordinator of the Dissident Brotherhood Youth Alliance. The leader of the Democratic Jihad Party is currently a member of the front.
Al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, or AQSP, is an Egyptian militant jihadist organization possibly formed by a merger between al-Qaeda operatives in Sinai and Ansar al Jihad. It was Al-Qaeda's branch in the Sinai peninsula, and is composed of many Al-Qaeda factions in the area. AQSP made international headlines in November 2014 when the organization pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in a nine-minute audio speech released on Twitter.