Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj

Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj (1954-1982) was an Egyptian radical Islamist and theorist. He led the Cairo branch of the Islamist group al-Jihad (also Tanzim al-Jihad) and made a significant contribution in elevating the role of jihad in radical Islam with his pamphlet The Neglected Obligation (also The Neglected Duty). He was executed in 1982 for his role in coordinating the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat the previous year.

Born in the Dolongat neighborhood of Beheira, Egypt, Faraj graduated in electrical engineering and worked as an administrator in Cairo University. Faraj began to develop the revolutionary group that would become al-Jihad in 1979. Faraj, an engaging speaker, recruited individuals who heard him preach jihad in mosques. Over the next two years these individuals recruited others and in this way Faraj came to be the overall leader of a loose group of around five revolutionary cells. These cells, one of which was led by Ayman al-Zawahiri retained a degree of independence but met regularly and had a joint strategy.

In late September 1981 Faraj held a meeting with other al-Jihad leaders to discuss a plot to assassinate Anwar Sadat. The idea had been proposed to him by Khalid Islambouli, a lieutenant in the Egyptian Army whom Faraj had invited to join al-Jihad when he was posted to Cairo six months before. Islambouli had learned that he was to be involved in a celebratory parade involving the President and saw an opportunity. Despite disagreements among the leaders, the plan went ahead. Sadat was killed on 6 October. Faraj was quickly arrested and was executed on 15 April 1982, along with Islambouli and three accomplices.

Mainstream Salafism argues that Muslims should aim to emulate the practices of the Prophet and his companions and believe that the failure to do so is responsible for the problems facing the Islamic World. Faraj argued that modern Muslims had specifically neglected jihad, which he placed after the five pillars as the most important aspect of Islam.

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