CAN AN EX-ASSASSIN BRING PEACE TO EGYPT?
EDITOR'S NOTE: A man in prison in Egypt for the assassination of Anwar Sadat just may become key to peace in Egypt and beyond, writes PNS Editor Franz Schurmann (fschurmann@pacificnews.org), an emeritus professor of history and sociology at U.C. Berkeley and the author of numerous books.
BY FRANZ SCHURMANN, PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE

A novel experiment for domestic and even world peace is happening in Egypt, where a prison inmate has stirred the Islamic world by citing the Quran and the Sunna (the sayings and doings of the prophet Mohammed) to argue that "killing Jews, Christians and Americans is wrong."
Egypt, an important player in several Middle Eastern and African peace processes, is considering releasing from prison Karam Zohdi, 50, a key figure in the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. In fact, Zohdi has already served his 25-year sentence, because under Egyptian law nine prison months are considered equal to a calendar year.
Unlike American presidential assassins, who were mostly loners, Zohdi was a member of the Egyptian Jama'a al-Islamiya, a militant Islamic group founded in 1978, the same year the Camp David peace accords were signed between Israel and Egypt. Zohdi escaped the death sentence that took the lives of five of his Jama'a comrades for assassinating Sadat. While in prison he earned two law degrees, one from Cairo University.
More important, while in prison he immersed himself in Islam's canonical book and concluded that what he did in 1981 was a grave sin. But what has stirred Muslims is that he has not renounced the teachings that underlie the most radical of Muslim fundamentalist beliefs. He still remains loyal to the strict Hanbali school of religious thought, one of four major Sunni denominations.
Zohdi says that killing Anwar Sadat and the policeman who died defending him was a "grave sin." He holds that some members of Jama'a al-Islamiya were misguided and created "fitna" (civil strife) by insisting on the use of violence. However, he still refers to the recent suicide bombers who killed several people in the Saudi capital Riyadh as "his brothers," even though they made a "horrible" mistake. After much study of Islamic texts, he says he is convinced that fighting fitna without hatred must be the goal of every Muslim. And, he says, that means combating "jinsiya," the notion that people can be killed or harmed based on race, creed or national affiliation, as in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Until Egyptian officials allowed him to be extensively interviewed by the London-based authoritative Arab daily As-Sharq al-Awsat, few people outside of Egypt knew Zohdi's name. The interviews revealed a highly learned Muslim. The many photo-ops showed him talking in a friendly way with prison officials, or walking along in a typical white Egyptian gallabiya, similar to a Roman toga.
Why was this middle-aged prisoner allowed to move suddenly from obscurity to celebrity in Egypt and the Muslim world?
It is widely known that anything of political importance in Egypt must go through President Hosni Mubarak, who succeeded the slain Sadat. Mubarak is now playing a key role as America's ally in the search for peace in Israel/Palestine and in war-torn but oil- and water-rich Sudan to Egypt's south.
Just beyond Egypt's borders with Palestine and Israel, fitna reigns. During the time when Gamal Abdul Nasser ruled in Egypt, Hassan Al-Banna, the founder of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, was hung. But Nasser wouldn't stop fundamentalist Islam in Egypt. Later, in the Camp David year of 1978, the Brotherhood would split into political groups that renounced violence and more radical ones that didn't. The Jama'a al-Islamiya, Zohdi's group, is an offshoot of the earlier, undivided Muslim Brotherhood, as is the powerful Palestinian Hamas.

What Mubarak fears most is that Middle Eastern fitna can easily overrun Egypt -- unless his nationalism can come to terms with a deeply rooted Islam.
Egyptian readers know what is behind the extensive, full-page, two-day coverage of Zohdi in As-Sharq al-Awsat. So do readers all over the Arabic world. They know that fitna only produces more fitna, which keeps on killing and degrading people -- as in Iraq today. Many are hopeful that President Mubarak can guide Egypt through its political and religious fault lines. It remains to be seen whether a former assassin's teachings will become a major force for peace in Egypt, the Middle East and beyond.

Egyptian Jama'a al-Islamiya

Other Names
Islamic Group (IG)
Gama'a al-Islamiyya
al-Gama'at
Islamic Gama'at
Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya
GI
Description
Egypt's largest militant group, active since the late 1970s; appears to be loosely organized. Has an external wing with a worldwide presence. The group issued a cease-fire in March 1999, but its spiritual leader, Shaykh Umar Abd al-Rahman, incarcerated in the United States, rescinded his support for the cease-fire in June 2000. The Gama'a has not conducted an attack inside Egypt since August 1998. Rifa'i Taha Musa-a hardline former senior member of the group-signed Usama Bin Ladin's February 1998 fatwa calling for attacks against US civilians. The IG since has publicly denied that it supports Bin Ladin and frequently differs with public statements made by Taha Musa. Taha Musa has in the last year sought to push the group toward a return to armed operations, but the group, which still is led by Mustafa Hamza, has yet to break the unilaterally declared cease-fire. In late 2000, Taha Musa appeared in an undated video with Bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri threatening retaliation against the United States for Abd al-Rahman's continued incarceration. The IG's primary goal is to overthrow the Egyptian Government and replace it with an Islamic state, but Taha Musa also may be interested in attacking US and Israeli interests.
Activities
Group specialized in armed attacks against Egyptian security and other government officials, Coptic Christians, and Egyptian opponents of Islamic extremism before the cease-fire. From 1993 until the cease-fire, al-Gama'a launched attacks on tourists in Egypt, most notably the attack in November 1997 at Luxor that killed 58 foreign tourists. Also claimed responsibility for the attempt in June 1995 to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Gama'a has never specifically attacked a US citizen or facility but has threatened US interests.
Strength
Unknown. At its peak the IG probably commanded several thousand hard-core members and a like number of sympathizers. The 1998 cease-fire and security crackdowns following the attack in Luxor in 1997 probably have resulted in a substantial decrease in the group's numbers.
Location/Area of Operation
Operates mainly in the Al-Minya, Asyu't, Qina, and Sohaj Governorates of southern Egypt. Also appears to have support in Cairo, Alexandria, and other urban locations, particularly among unemployed graduates and students. Has a worldwide presence, including Sudan, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Austria, and Yemen.
External Aid
Unknown. The Egyptian Government believes that Iran, Bin Ladin, and Afghan militant groups support the organization. Also may obtain some funding through various Islamic nongovernmental organizations.