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Al Jihad
(aka Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Al-Jihad,
Al-Islami Al-Jihad, Islamic Jihad, Jihad Group)
Organization and Leadership
Al Jihad is a Cairo-based terrorist organization
considered a key component of Osama bin Laden's Al
Qaeda network.
Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri emerged as the group's leader in the wake
of factional conflicts in the late 1980s. A child of privilege like
bin Laden, Zawahiri's grandparents included an ambassador and a
prominent Muslim cleric. The 1977 peace accord between Egypt and
Israel radicalized Zawahiri, and he served three years in prison
for his role in the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat.
After his release from prison in 1986, Zawahiri became bin Laden's
personal physician and chief ideologue in Afghanistan. It is believed
that he was instrumental in turning bin Laden's attention toward
global jihad, and he is now considered to be the second most powerful
member of the Al Qaida network.
Shaykh Omar Abdel Rahman, jailed in the U.S. for his role in the
earlier attempts to bomb New York landmarks , is considered the
spiritual leader of both Al-Islam and its sister organization, Al-Gama'a
al-Islamiyya.
The U.S. State Departments 2000 terrorism report estimates the
Al-Islam's hardcore membership at several hundred. The group is
based in Cairo, but has expanded its network to Yemen, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Sudan, Lebanon, United Kingdom, and now the U.S.
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