Terrorism in Egypt

Targets of terrorism in Egypt have included government officials, police, tourists and the Christian minority. Many attacks have been linked to Islamic extremism, and terrorism increased in the 1990s when the Islamist movement al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya targeted high-level political leaders and killed hundreds in its pursuit of implementing traditional Sharia law in Egypt.

Ayman Al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor and leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad group, is believed to be behind the operations of al Qaeda. Four out of 30 people on the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation "most wanted" terrorist list are Egyptian.

In 1943 the Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood is thought to have established "a `secret apparatus`" i.e. "a separate organization for paramilitary activity under the direct authority" the Brethren's head, Sheikh Hassan al-Banna." The Brotherhood were a very large and active organization at that time. In 1948 the group is thought to have assassinated appellate judge Ahmad Khazendar in retaliation for his passing a "severe sentence" against another member of the Brotherhood.

After the 1948 victory of the Jewish state of Israel over Muslim Arab armies the group is believed to have set fire to homes of Jews in Cairo in June 1948 in retaliation. In July two large department stores in Cairo owned by Jews were also burned. A couple of months later police captured documents and plans of the `secret apparatus. 32 of its leaders were arrested and its offices were raided. and shortly thereafter Prime Minister Mahmud Fami Naqrashi ordered the dissolution of the Brotherhood.

On 28 December 1948, Prime Minister Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha was shot and assassinated by Abdel Meguid Ahmed Hassan, a veterinary student and member of the Brotherhood. The country was shocked and traditionalist clergy condemned the act. The Grand Mufti, Imam of Azhar mosque and the Council of Ulema all condemned the perpetrators as kuffar.

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