ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the ideological revision of two Islamist militants’ groups that used to operate in Egypt from the 1970s – the Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group/IG) and the Al-Jihad Al-Islami (EIJ). Key ideologues and members from both organisations, which were responsible for the terror attacks in Egypt in the 1980s and 1990s, including the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981, have, in recent years, undergone an ideological revisionism. The leaders of the organisations have taken steps to denounce violence and begun to promote a peaceful coexistence with the government. They have also repented and apologised for the past attacks, including those that led to the killing of many innocent civilians, such as tourists who visited Luxor and the beautiful beaches at the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The first part of the chapter provides an introduction to Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiyya and highlights its ideological revision and the rehabilitation process that some of its members have undergone, including its key leaders and ideologues. Part two explains the ideological revision of another group which has been operating in Egypt, the Al-Jihad Al-Islami or Islamic Jihad or Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Publications on the ideological revisions of the two organisations are also discussed. The chapter concludes by highlighting some of the major changes in the religious concepts of these groups.
