The Road to Al-Qaeda: The Story of Bin Laden's Right-Hand Man
144
The Road to Al-Qaeda: The Story of Bin Laden's Right-Hand Man
144eBook
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Overview
The original version of this book sold widely across the Arabic world. Reproduced in translation here, with an extensive introduction from distinguished scholar Ibrahim Abu Rabi, it stands alone as an unrivalled account of the divisions within militant Islamist ideology. The author provides insight into the internal politics of Islamic Jihad, and the radicalisation of bin Laden's deputy; he examines Zawahiri's opposition to efforts by other militant Islamists to call a ceasefire with the Egyptian authorities; and he narrates the redirection of Zawahiri's activities towards the US and Israel.
As an insight into one of the key minds behind Al-Qaeda this book makes unparalleled and disturbing reading. It is an important document for anyone who seeks to understand how a minority extremist ideology came to have such an impact on world events.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781783716036 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Pluto Press |
| Publication date: | 01/20/2004 |
| Series: | Critical Studies on Islam |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 144 |
| File size: | 293 KB |
About the Author
Montasser al-Zayyat joined the Islamic movement in Egypt in 1974. He was arrested in the Jihad Case following the assassination of former President Anwar al-Sadat in 1982. After the trial, his activities as an Islamist shifted to defending Islamists in Egyptian courts. He adopted and promoted the peaceful approach to effecting change in Egypt, through reconciliation between Islamists and the Egyptian authorities.
Sara Nimis is the Mellon Globalization Forum Fellow. Her research and teaching deal with a broad range of contemporary topics, including Sufism (Islamic Mysticism), gender, sexuality and the body in Islam, Islamic environmental activism, the social and political history of Egypt, modernization and secularization in Egypt, Arabic language and literature and postcolonial literature.
Sara Nimis is the Mellon Globalization Forum Fellow. Her research and teaching deal with a broad range of contemporary topics, including Sufism (Islamic Mysticism), gender, sexuality and the body in Islam, Islamic environmental activism, the social and political history of Egypt, modernization and secularization in Egypt, Arabic language and literature and postcolonial literature.
Ahmed Fekry (the original translator) is a journalist on the Middle East Times and a graduate student at the American University in Cairo (AUC).
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
The Aristocrat as Fundamentalist
The first session of the Higher State Security Court that looked into the case known in the press as the "Great Jihad" case was held on December 4, 1982 in a huge hall that was established in the Nasr City Exhibition Center especially to hold the 302 accused Islamists. The hall was full of journalists looking to cover the great event that was shaking Egypt: the assassination of President Anwar al-Sadat. More importantly, they had all come to see those behind it. Ayman al-Zawahiri and Martyr 'Esam al-Qamari, had just returned from Sign al Qal'a, or the Citadel Prison. These two spoke of the torture that members of groups accused of assassinating the late president suffered in prison. Zawahiri held up, as an example of the ongoing torture taking place in the Citadel Prison during the months following the assassination of Sadat, the case of a young man held in solitary confinement in cell number three of an Egyptian prison often likened to the French Bastille. These prisons were similar, not only in their gloominess, but because of the treatment of political outcasts within their walls. The Citadel Prison, despite its location in the middle of Cairo, somehow alienates those inside from all aspects of normal life. Zawahiri himself had suffered several months of imprisonment within these walls before he was transferred at the beginning of the court proceedings regarding his case. Thus Zawahiri, with the support of 'Esam al-Qamari, called for the transfer of this young man: myself, Montasser al-Zayyat.
I have always remembered this incident and what Zawahiri did for me despite never having met me. When I met him in the Tora Prison afterwards, I expressed my gratitude for his support, which had relieved much of the pain of the torture and the cruel loneliness that I felt between the walls of the prison. At that time, I felt that my relationship with Zawahiri would witness significant developments, which was indeed the case. Still, I could not have imagined that the same man who had extended to me this anonymous generosity would one day find himself among the most wanted men in the world.
*
For many years, I found myself probing into his history, looking for incidents that might explain to me and to others hidden sides of his character; I sought events in his past that might disentangle the changes that he underwent. I was searching for the origins of the man whose decisions would eventually shape the new war of the twenty-first century.
Zawahiri was born into an aristocratic family in 1951 in the Cairo suburb of Maadi, which was and still is home to Cairo's most privileged. Zawahiri, who is the product of the renowned Zawahiri and 'Azzam families, was an avid reader. His family noticed his interest in reading, academic excellence and studiousness from a young age. Whenever he got tired of studying, he would not spend time with children his age to play or watch television, but rather read books on religion and Islamic jurisprudence as a pastime. Because of this studious introversion, no group of childhood friends are to be found to tell stories about this time of his life. Still, he was admired by his colleagues, both in school and in his neighborhood in Maadi.
Zawahiri recieved his preparatory and introductory school certificates from the Qawmiyya School. Then he completed his high school certificate in the Maadi School. During his childhood and early youth, he loved literature and poetry, which was rare for a child his age. Although the famous Maadi Sporting Club was so close to his house, he never joined it. He believed that sports, especially boxing and wrestling, were inhumane. For all of these reasons, people who knew him thought he was very tender and softhearted.
In fact, there was nothing weak about the personality of the child Zawahiri. On the contrary, he did not like any opinion to be imposed on him. He was happy to discuss any issue that was difficult for him to understand until it was made clear, but he did not argue for the sake of argument. He always listened politely, without giving anyone the chance to control him.
Despite his strong opinions, he has always been humble, never interested in seizing the limelight of leadership. For instance, although the period when he was studying at Cairo University was a time of great political activity in Egyptian universities, he did not run as a candidate for any of the student union elections throughout his academic career. It was also a period of da'wa. Still, Zawahiri did not aspire to be at the center of this religious enthusiasm. Humble as he was, Zawahiri decided not to lead the very jihadi movement that he founded in 1987, when he was in Peshawar in Pakistan. At its inception, he gave the leadership of the newly born movement to his friend Sayyid Imam 'Abdel 'Azeez.
Ayman al-Zawahiri was born into a religious Muslim family. Following the example of his family, he not only performed the prayers at the correct times, but did so in the mosque. He used to go to the Hussein Sedqi Mosque, which was close to where he lived. He always made sure that he performed the morning prayers [at sunrise] with a group in the mosque, even during the coldest winters. He attended several classes of Koran interpretation, fiqh [Islamic jurisprudence] and Koran recitation at the mosque. Zawahiri always attended a daily lecture delivered by Mostafa Kamel Wasfi, who was the vice-president of the State Council. Wasfi was also a leading scholar in the science of Al-Islam al-tanweery [meaning "enlightened Islam"].
Like his father, he loved reading and seeking knowledge, especially regarding the science of surgery. Like his mother, he observed his prayers, visited the mosque, and read avidly the Koran and other religious books. The books that Zawahiri read and the classes that he took at the mosque did not have a particularly political nature. The books were the same as those that an average Egyptian family might read.
The people who know Zawahiri said that the only relationship he had with a woman was with his wife 'Azza Ahmed Nuwair, who has a degree in philosophy from the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University. They fell in love and got married in 1979 at the Continental Hotel on Opera Square, which was one of the flashiest hotels at the time. However, it was a conservative Muslim wedding, where there was a hall for men and a separate one for women.
Looking into his aristocratic background, it is impossible to predict that one day he would lead a clandestine movement aimed at toppling the Egyptian regime. Nothing in his youthful good nature suggested that he was to become the second most wanted man in the world. Yet now he is on the run from the United States somewhere in the caves of Afghanistan.
*
Zawahiri joined the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University in the academic year 1968–69 and graduated in 1974, with a mark of gayyid giddan, the next highest mark possible. He then earned a Masters degree in surgery from Cairo University in 1978 and a PhD in surgery with distinction from a university in Pakistan, while he was living in Peshawar.
When he was arrested on October 23, 1981, it turned out that he had led a clandestine cell before the age of 16. When he was arrested the number of members had reached 13. The authorities discovered that he had led the cell and that he was responsible for the cultural side, which meant that he taught the members the ideological and Islamic framework that they should use in performing takfir [the declaration of a regime as infidel]. His criteria for judging political leadership were disseminated undercover between the members. He also coordinated with other jihadi groups.
Members of Zawahiri's group
Sayyid Imam 'Abdel 'Azeez, later known as Dr. Fadl or 'Abdel Qader 'Abdel 'Azeez when he moved to Afghanistan, was a close confidant of Zawahiri. He attended a number of decisive meetings with Zawahiri, such as that with 'Abbud al-Zomor after the assassination of Sadat on October 6, 1981, a meeting that was designed to convince Zomor to stop any further planned operations. 'Abdel 'Azeez left Egypt in 1985, the same year that Zawahiri left the country. In Peshawar, 'Abdel 'Azeez took over the leadership of the first Islamic Jihad, established in the jihad camps in 1987.
Ameen Yusef al-Domeiry was a pharmacist who participated in financing the cell from the revenues that his pharmacy generated. He also delivered some religious lessons.
The engineer Mohamed 'Abdel Raheem al-Sharqawi was in charge of recruiting members. He established a turnery workshop in the Gamaliyya district in Cairo to generate profits for the group, as well as using it in manufacturing weapons. The same workshop was used by 'Esam al-Qamari as a hideaway after he escaped from the Army in 1981.
Khaled Medhat al-Fiqi used his flat in Maadi as a warehouse for the group's weapons and ammunition. In 1988, he was accused of helping 'Esam al-Qamari, Khamis Muslim and Mohamed al-Aswani escape from the Tora Prison. He was also accused in 1999, along with Zawahiri's brother Mohamed al-Zawahiri, of planning jihadi operations in Egypt.
Khaled 'Abdel Samee' was arrested while walking along the Nile in Maadi immediately after Sadat was assassinated. In his possession, the authorities found a bag full of bombs, which was the first in the string of clues that eventually led them to Zawahiri.
Mohamed al-Zawahiri is a civil engineer, who was pushed by his brother Ayman to leave Egypt in 1981 to find financial resources for the cell. That year, when Sadat was assassinated, he was abroad working in a Gulf country. He was accused in absentia, but was later acquitted. In 1998, he was accused again in absentia in the case known in the media as the "Returnees from Albania" case, which I discuss on a number of occasions in this book. He was later sentenced to death and some press reports said the United Arab Emirates handed him over to Egypt in 2000, but the Egyptian authorities did not comment on this information, which has not been verified from an unbiased source.
'Esam al-Qamari was an officer in the Egyptian Armed Forces. He was the link between Zawahiri and another cell inside the Army. His role is discussed at greater length later in the book. Other members included Yusef 'Abdel Mageed, 'Esam Hendawi, Mostafa Kamel Mostafa, 'Abdel Hadi al-Tunsi and Nabeel al-Bora'i, who was the owner of a bookshop in Maadi.
Jihadi groups before the assassination of Sadat
The period that preceded the assassination of Sadat in 1981 witnessed a rapid growth in jihadi groups. Multiple factions were divided on which approaches were most ethical and which most effective in bringing about change. Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimeen or the Muslim Brotherhood succeeded in 1979 in recruiting active students in Lower Egypt, notable among whom were Dr. 'Abdel Moni'm Abu al-Fotuh, Dr. 'Esam al-'Eriyan and Dr. Ibrahim al-Za'farani. Several other groups besides Zawahiri's, described above, were functioning in this period:
The Gama'a al-Islamiyya [literally "Islamic Group"] was a jihadi organization made up of university students, especially from Upper Egyptian universities such as Menya, Beni Suef, Suhaj, Assyut, Qena, Aswan, as well as some faculties of Cairo University. The group was led by Karam Zohdi and included other well-known figures such as Osama Hafez, Salah Hashim, Tal'at Fou'ad Qassem, Nageh Ibrahim, 'Esam Derbalah, Refa'i Taha and Hamdi 'Abdel Rahman. Two Upper Egyptian leaders well known among Islamists in that region broke this Upper Egyptian unity by joining the Muslim Brotherhood, namely Mohiyee al-Deen 'Eisa and Abu al-'Ela Madi.
Mohamed 'Abdel Salam Farag's group was popular in Boulaq, Nahia and Kerdasa, the area where its founder and namesake lived. Farag himself was married to the sister of two of the most prominent Islamic Jihad figures, namely Yehia and Magdi Ghareeb Fayad. The Zomor family had a lot of power in the village of Nahia, one of the areas where Farag's group was popular. Both 'Abbud and Tariq al-Zomor lived there. Other parts of the Zomor family were based in Cairo suburbs such as 'Ein Shams, where Nabeel al-Maghrebi, Hussein 'Abbas and 'Abdel Hameed 'Abdel Salam lived, as well as in Lower Egypt governorates such as Beheira, where 'Ata Tayel Hameeda Raheel lived.
Mohamed Salem al-Rahal was a Palestinian–Jordanian studying at Al-Azhar University. He founded his own group, as well as having a prominent role in bringing together other jihadi groups. When the authorities found out about his activities, he was arrested and eventually deported in May, 1980. Salem al-Rahal was a close friend of mine. He used to visit me in my residence on Dobreih Street in Cairo, but we would also meet in other parts of the city. The last time I was supposed to meet him was in a mosque in Shubra in 1980. I went there at the designated time but he did not show up. I later learned that he had been deported. Kamal al-Sayyid Habeeb later replaced him in leading the group.
The assassination of Sadat
In 1979, Mohamed 'Abdel Salam Farag managed to unite several small jihadi groups under his leadership. In 1980, he made an agreement with Karam Zohdi, the leader of the Gama'a al-Islamiyya, to unite all of these jihadi groups with the Gama'a al-Islamiyya. The group resulting from this merger was led by Sheikh 'Omar 'Abdel Rahman, a professor at the Faculty of Osoul al-Deen [meaning "Fundamentals of Islam"] at the Assyut branch of Al-Azhar University. This coalition led directly to the assassination of Sadat on October 6, 1981, the same day that the Armed Forces were celebrating the October War victory. Following the assassination, a battle began in the governorate of Assyut between the Gama'a al-Islamiyya and the government authorities. This ended in the arrest of most of the members of the two groups. The authorities divided them into three categories.
The first category of detainees included those who actually implemented the assassination during the military parade. These were led by Khaled al-Islamboli, 'Abdel Hameed 'Abdel Salam, 'Ata Tayel Hameeda Raheel and Hussein 'Abbas. The list of accused members also included Mohamed 'Abdel Salam Farag who planned the operation, as well as Sheikh 'Omar 'Abdel Rahman and the rest of the members who knew of the assassination before it happened, and participated in it one way or another. The number of accused members in this category reached 24. They were tried for assassination, accessory to assassination, and incitement, before the military court presided over by Sameer Fadel. The court sentenced the first five members to death, while the rest of the accused were sentenced to life imprisonment. The court, however, acquitted Sheikh 'Omar 'Abdel Rahman, and Sayyid al-Salamuni, a professor at the Faculty of Education, 'Ein Shams University.
The fate of the second group of detainees was referred to the Higher State Security Court in what was called the Jihad case. The accused included 302 group members, led by Sheikh 'Omar 'Abdel Rahman, who is currently sentenced to life imprisonment in an American prison. The list of accused members included 'Abbud al-Zomor, an officer in the Military Intelligence. The most prominent leaders of this group from Upper Egypt were Karam Zohdi, Nageh Ibrahim, Fou'ad al-Dawalibi, Osama Hafez, Tal'at Fou'ad Qassem, Refa'i Taha, 'Ali al-Sherif and Hamdi 'Abdel Rahman. Leaders from Cairo and Lower Egypt included Ayman al-Zawahiri, Sayyid Imam 'Abdel 'Azeez, Tharwat Salah Shehata, Nabeel Na'eem 'Abdel Fatah, Ayman alDomeiri, Kamal al-Sayyid Habeeb and Refa'i Sorur. Other members were tried for leadership of the group that broke into the Security Administration Building in Assyut and the robbery of a number of jewelry shops in Naga' Hammady and Shubra al-Kheima on the morning of October 8, 1981, a couple of days after the assassination of Sadat.
None of this group was sentenced to death, but the prominent accused members were sentenced to harsh imprisonment, while the great majority were sentenced to three years in prison. These included Zawahiri, who was convicted of possession of a firearm. The remaining 170 accused members in this second category were acquitted. These comparatively light sentences given to those standing trial in the Jihad case revealed that the regime had decided to try to cool the tension between themselves and jihadi activists.
It was in this context that the third group would be tried. This group was made up of 178 members who were accused of subscribing to the jihadi ideology. At this time, I was at the top of the list of accused members. The list also included prominent figures from the Gama'a al-Islamiyya such as Mohamed Shawqi al-Islamboli and 'Abdel Akher Hammad, as well as prominent jihadi figures such as Magdi Salem and 'Adil 'Abdel Mageed.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Road to Al-Qaeda"
by .
Copyright © 2004 Montasser al-Zayyat.
Excerpted by permission of Pluto Press.
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Table of Contents
Preface by Ahmed Fekry and Sara NimisIntroduction by Ibrahim Abu-Rabi
Notes on the English language edition by Ahmed Fekry and Sara Nimis
1. The Aristocrat as Fundamentalist
2. Aftermath of Sadat's Assassination
3. Afghanistan: Land of Jihad
4. Changes in Zawahiri's Ideology
5. The Ceasefire Initiative of the Gama'a Al-Islamiyya
6. Islamists Pay for the Zawahiri's Mistakes
7. Executing a Boy and Killing a Prominent Group Leader
8. The Struggle Continues
Notes
Index