SUMMARY
In it struggle against the Government of Egypt Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya made use of both conventional fighting (i.e. attacks on the military, security forces and police) and attacks on unarmed civilians. Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya firmly believes that attacks on civilians and the use of violence in general is acceptable within its concept of jihad (holy war) against unbelievers, and that any means necessary may be used to overthrow the government. They find support for these notions in the belief that the secular Egyptian government and Egyptian society (especially Western influences and tourists) are in their present shapes takfir; the Islamic concept of someone or something being non-Muslim. This proscription of society allows al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya to attack security forces, but also those whose morals are not up to sharia standards (in the al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya context mostly foreign tourists), anyone who opposes the holy struggle and Coptic Christian inhabitants of Egypt. Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya views armed struggle along with active preaching as the only way to reach the restructuring of the Egyptian, and global, society.
Deadly al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya attacks on civilians are first recorded in UCDP data in 1992, although it is highly likely the group carried out attacks on civilians before this date. However, it was not until 1995 that more than 25 one-sided deaths could be clearly attributed to the group. This peak of al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya activity during the 1990’s was a direct result of the return from Afghanistan of well-trained members who had been fighting alongside the mujahideen against Soviet occupation. The group attracted worldwide attention in 1997, when it massacred 58 Western tourists at Luxor, a popular tourist venue in southern Egypt.
Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya commonly attacks three main types of civilian targets: civilians (Muslim or Christian) that are believed to be collaborating with the police or security forces, Coptic Christian businessmen (especially jewellers or dealers in gold) and Western tourists. Commonly Coptic Christian businessmen are also robbed during the attacks, so as to fund the movement’s activities. The group primarily makes use of firearms during its attacks, which are concentrated to the southern Upper Nile region of Egypt, specifically in the vicinities of Minya and Asyut (but also in other southern localities).
Since 1998, when al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya suffered a split between moderates and extremists, no one-sided violence has been recorded in the dyad, and militant activities appear to have ceased, with the last year of activity being 1997.
Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 1995, when the one-sided violence resulted in at least 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached in september that year when militants shot dead three civilians causing the total number of fatalities that year to reach 25.
