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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Jihad reject cease-fire
By Khaled Dawoud
Only two days after Egypt's largest militant Islamist organisation, Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya, announced its decision to stop all anti-government attacks, the underground Islamic Jihad said in a statement that it would continue the "struggle", mainly against the United States and Israel.
The Jihad statement, issued on the occasion of last week's Eid Al-Adha or feast of sacrifice, did not refer explicitly to Al-Gama'a's cease-fire announcement, but rejected any form of "truce". The statement said: "Any form of a truce is, in fact, a truce with America and Israel who are leading a new Crusaders' campaign, the endeavour to eradicate Islam and ensure victory for Israel."
The statement added that the United States was "occupying Muslim land and besieging our holy sites [an allusion to the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia] with its armies and navies." It urged Muslims "to stand as one in confronting the United States and Israel."
The Jihad statement came as no surprise to observers of militant groups. Leading Jihad members, who have been standing trial before a military court since the beginning of this year for ordering some of the most violent anti-government attacks in recent years, repeatedly told reporters from the dock that they reject the Al-Gama'a cease-fire call.
Ahmed El-Naggar, one of the leading Jihad defendants, told Al-Ahram Weekly during the opening session of the trial that the group did not approve of Al-Gama'a's latest position, which he described as Al-Gama'a's "own business".
In his statement to reporters El-Naggar also said that Jihad had decided in late 1995 to focus its efforts on fighting the United States and Israel rather than the Egyptian government. "The scope of our struggle is much wider than that. We are fighting the United States, which is providing all the tyrant regimes in the region with support," he declared.
Judgment on the 107 defendants, including 63 still at large, will be made on 10 April. Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for 35 defendants and life imprisonment for the rest. Defence lawyers have insisted throughout the trial that the case was politically motivated and part of a worldwide crackdown against suspected militants intended to please the United States.
Jihad leader Ayman El-Zawahri, who is believed to be living in Afghanistan, is known to be a close associate of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden. The two, along with four militant groups, announced in February 1998 the formation of the "International Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders".
Last August, after Albanian authorities announced the arrest of four key Jihad members including El-Naggar and another militant who had been sentenced to death in absentia, Jihad issued a statement warning of anti-US retaliation. A few days later, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed, causing the death of more than 250 people including 12 Americans.
The United States held bin Laden and Jihad responsible for the bombing and launched a worldwide crackdown on suspected Egyptian militants believed to be close to bin Laden, now dubbed "America's No 1 enemy".
A few days before the bombing of the two embassies, Al-Gama'a distanced itself from the so-called International Front, although Rifaie Ahmed Taha, believed to be Al-Gama'a's military commander, was one of the six signatories to the statement announcing the Front's establishment. This fuelled speculation that Jihad and bin Laden were responsible for the bombing of the US embassies.
The recent Jihad statement calls for the focusing of the struggle on the US.
"Our main struggle, in principle, is against the United States and Israel, who are seeking to eradicate Islam and turn Muslims into slaves. Thus, we reject any proposals for a reconciliation or a truce, despite all the pressures we are facing, including killings, abductions and imprisonment," the group said.
