SUMMARY

Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War) is a Sunni militant group operating primarily in and originating from the Sinai Peninsula of eastern Egypt. The first word of the group’s name can be read either as ‘Unity’ or as ‘Monotheism’, both being related to the Islamic concept of the oneness of God, meaning that there exists no other god than Allah. The Tawhid wal Jihad group in Egypt should not be confused with the more famous group with the same name operating in Iraq (which later changed its name).

It is unclear when the group was formed, but it first sprang into action in 2004 in the southern Sinai Peninsula. The group was founded by Nasr Khamis Al-Mallahy and Khaild Al-Masa’id, both from the Sinai. The two began recruiting members from the impoverished areas of North Sinai with an Islamist agenda. Most members are believed to have been either Bedouins from the northern Sinai, or Palestinians.

There is no clear or reliable information on the exact ideology or political goals of the group, but some sources hold that the group adheres to the ideology of al-Qaeda, opposes Christian and Jewish ‘occupation’ of Islamic lands (implying links to the conflicts in Israel-Palestine and Iraq) and also opposes the secular government that rules the Egyptian state. Some analysts have also speculated about the group having a secessionist agenda for the Sinai Peninsula, since the group has mainly been made up of Bedouins, an impoverished and discriminated Egyptian minority that resides in the Sinai. The group has however not launched an armed insurrection, and instead only relied on bombing attacks on civilian targets.

The group allegedly has/had some form of operational links to the Palestinian groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It was claimed by Egyptian authorities that the group had received training from the aforementioned organisations, but others claimed that ties to Palestine might be based only on family and tribal relationships. Such family ties between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai are common.

The most prominent lead figures of the Tawhid wal Jihad are the founders; Nasr Khamis Al-Mallahy and Khaild Al-Masa’id. Al-Masa’id was killed by police in September 2005, as the police searched for the perpetrators of a bombing in the mountainous terrain of the northern Sinai. Al-Mallahy has also been killed by security forces, and since no new leader has stepped forward. It is widely believed that the group has been virtually decapitated since a sweeping wave of arrests in 2006.

Tawid wal Jihad has been involved in the one-sided category of UCDP organised violence.