The Al-Gama’at Al-Islamiyya, most commonly referred to as the Islamic Group (IG), is an Egyptian Sunni Islamist movement seeking the abolishment of the current secular Egyptian government for the creation of an Islamic state.[2] The organization began as a radical umbrella for militant student groups in Egypt and officially formed as a reaction to the Muslim Brotherhood’s renunciation violence in the 1970s. The group served as Egypt’s largest militant organization, attracting primarily college students or young unemployed graduates from urban areas of Egypt. The group maintains a presence both at home and abroad.[3] To gain support for their goal of establishing an Islamic regime the organization perpetrated multiple violent attacks against the Egyptian government from 1992 through 1998.[4]
In 1997 a cease-fire between the Egyptian government and IG caused a split within the organization: one faction led by Mustafa Hamza supported the cease-fire, and the other led by Rifa’i Taha Musa denounced it.[5] The latter faction retaliated against this peace initiative by launching the group’s largest known attack to date, the massacre at Luxor, in which the Temple of Hatshepsut was assaulted for 45 minutes leaving 71 people dead.[6] However, in March 2002, the majority of IG’s leadership in Egypt and abroad renounced the use of violence.[7] The group renounced violence altogether in 2003.[8]
In 2011 the organization reappeared in the media, forming its own political party known as the Building and Development Party. The party was successful enough to gain seats to the lower house of the Egyptian Parliament in the 2011-2012 elections.[9] View full narrative