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Egypt: Ayman Zawahiri's Brother Leads Jihadi Protest Against Military
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According to Egypt's Al Ahram, "Major Egyptian Islamist parties and
groups—including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafist Calling and Al-Gamaa
Al-Islamiya—have issued calls for a Tahrir Square demonstration on Friday
under the banner of 'Saving the revolution.' … Several non-Islamist
revolutionary groups, meanwhile, have expressed their refusal to participate
in the event. These groups include the United Maspero Youth, the Egyptian
Brothers Independent group, and the Free Front for Peaceful Change."
To appreciate this dichotomy—what Islamists
are all about and why secularists want no part in Friday's march—consider who
is among the characters spearheading tomorrow's mass protests: none other
than Muhammad al-Zawahiri, the elder brother of al-Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahiri, and a seasoned terrorist in his own right. According to Youm 7,
Zawahiri appeared yesterday "at the head of hundreds of
protesters," including "dozens of jihadis," demonstrating in
front of Egypt's Military Council near Cairo. They waved banners that read,
"We are a people who do not give in—Victory or Death!" and chanted
"Jihad! Jihad! The [Military] Council must leave," all punctuated
by cries of Islam's primordial war-cry, "Allahu Akbar!"
Sheikh Muhammad Zawahiri also confirmed that
his followers of the notorious al-Gama al-Islamiya—the "Islamic Group,"
a terrorist organization famous for the 1997 Luxor Massacre, killing over 60
tourists—are going to be participating in this Friday's "million
man" march, stressing that they will not relent until the Military
Council hands over all power.
Zawahiri was only recently acquitted and released from prison, where, since 1998, he
was incarcerated "on charges of undergoing military training in Albania
and planning military operations in Egypt." Here's a video
of him just released from prison—to triumphant jihadi tunes; here's another video where,
surrounded by his followers, he praises jihad, calling all jihadis the
"truest of Muslims." Ironically, it was a military court that
acquitted him—he was arrested and imprisoned under ousted president Hosni
Mubarak—and now, predictably enough, he's out to overthrow the military in
order to transform Egypt into a Sharia state.
Like Ayman, his al-Qaeda brother, Muhammad
once thought that only violence and jihad could empower Islamists; now he as
well as countless other Islamists have learned that if they throw around some
"democratic" slogans, participate in elections, and engage in
peaceful protests, the world will ignore if not applaud them, even as their
thoroughly jihadi slogans belie their true intent.
Raymond
Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center
and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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