Despite everything, with the inception of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, the stability of Sadat’s regime was shaken and his forces were very careful about the movement of the instigators, the occurrence of events and political activities on a nationwide basis. Nonetheless, a new incident used to happen daily and the violence and revenge of the people against Anwar Sadat used to escalate. After the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Ms. Zaynab al-Ghazali, the leader of the Muslim Women’s Association of Cairo – who was sentenced to twenty-five years in jail with hard labour for Islamic activities during the reign of Gamal Abdul-Nasser – sent a congratulatory message to the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (ra). Nevertheless, the Egyptian communications officials declined to mention that. After a while, this message reached Imam Khomeini (ra) through a University student that was sent to Iran. (Montazimi, 1979, page 49)
In such a tense situation, terrified by the Islamic groups, Sadat delivered a stern speech in early March 1979 and announced: “Religion and politics are two separate things and whoever wants to have religious activities should go to the mosque and whoever wants to have political activities should join the political groups.” This foolish speech from Sadat spiked up a wave of anger and hatred from the people. Following his speech, a lot of demonstrations were held against him. On March 6, 1979, a big demonstration was held on the campus of Cairo University. The demonstrators whose number surpassed 7,000 people, raised slogans in support of Iran’s Islamic Revolution while they rebuked the regime of Sadat.
Thereafter, the dean and vice-chancellor of the Faculty of Laws and Shaykh Abd al-Wahhab Faydh, the dean of the faculty of Islamic studies in Madinah al-Munawwarah University and a group of professors and lecturers joined the students in the demonstrations. During this time, Shaykh Salah Abu Ismail, a member of the national assembly gave a speech to a group of protesters. In his speech to the people, he said: “We are going to say here the things that we were not able to say under the dome of the National Assembly.” He then pointed out the incorrect and illogical speech of Sadat in regards to the separation of religion and politics. In his criticism of that speech, he said: “Whoever believes in this view, is either an infidel, ignorant, imbecile, mercenary and who by all means will still be an infidel who deserves to perish. (Montazimi, 1979, page 44)
Despite the fact that the parliament had enacted a law stating that the life sentence was the punishment for demonstrations, on March 7, 1979, the students in the Technical College, took to the streets in a crowd of two thousand people and raised slogans against Sadat as they supported Iran’s Islamic Revolution. According to the announcement by the Islamic Students Union, on March 15, 1979, in all the mosques after the Friday congregational prayer, people performed a two-unit mourning prayer for the martyrs in Iran. (Montazimi, 1979, page 47)
On March 18, in a secret declaration supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolution and condemning the treacherous dialogue of Egypt and Israel, the Progressive Party which was a left-wing party, but whose religious faction was so strong, strongly attacked Sadat and announced: “People will soon take their revenge against Sadat and his regime.”
In the following days after the demonstrations in Cairo, similar demonstrations were carried out in the cities of Alexandria, Mansourah, Tanta and Helwan against the speech of Sadat regarding the separation of religion from politics and the peace treaty of Egypt and Israel. (Montazimi, 1979, page 49)
While affirming Iran’s Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Association of Cairo published journals entitled ‘Lessons from the Iranian Revolution.’ The phrases of these declarations were as follows:
قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِکَ الْمُلْکِ تُؤْتِی الْمُلْکَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْکَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ ۖ بِیَدِکَ الْخَیْرُ ۖ إِنَّکَ عَلَىٰ کُلِّ شَیْءٍ قَدِیرٌ
Say, “Oh God, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honour whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent.” (The Noble Quran; 3:26) (Montazimi, 1979, page 50)
The inception of Iran’s Islamic Revolution happened in such a quick and extraordinary manner that shocked Western and Eastern imperialists. Likewise, it invalidated the imagination of the diplomatic and political circles of the time. Other than that, it made the people of the world follow up the stories and events of Iran on a moment-to-moment basis. This special and unique revolution requires extensive exploration. This is for the Islamic world to regain its solemnity and to strengthen its religious ties and take over the leadership and rule of the nations in the light of Islamic civilization and culture.
کُنْتُمْ خَیْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْکَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّه
You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in God. (The Noble Quran – 3:110) (Montazimi, 1979, page 54)
In June 1981, Egypt witnessed one of the biggest internal crises and sectarian sedition which began with the construction of a church in a Muslim populated area and in a very dubious way, the scope of this conflict intensified with the intervention of the government officials. After several men and women were killed in this tragedy, a lot of wealth was either looted or burnt; by taking advantage of the situation, the regime attacked the Islamic groups and accused them of this crime. This coordinated and organized measure for the sake of disrupting the unity of the Islamic groups turned into a widespread apprehension of the people that opposed the government whose number reached 1,635. The people arrested comprised different groups such as the students, newspaper journalists, politicians, intellectuals and religious leaders. (Montazimi, 1979, page 52)
‘Umar al-Tilmisani, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Dr. Halami al-Jazar, the leader of the Islamic Associations affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood in the Universities, Shaykh Ahmad al-Mahalawi, the Imam of the Friday congregational prayer at the al-Qaed Ibrahim Mosque in Alexandria and Muhammad-Husayn Haykal, a politician and a famous newspaper journalist and a number of other people were arrested and jailed. In addition to that, the regime attempted to identify Iran and the Soviet Union as the main orchestrators of the internal incidents in Egypt. During this time, Sadat did not like to be compared to the Shah and this matter always provoked him.
In respect to the criticism he got from Shaykh Ahmad al-Mahalawi in regards to his miserable life and that of his wife, Jehan Sadat, Sadat retorted: “At the moment, the person who is responsible for spreading these statements against us is enslaved like a dog in the jail.” Sadat severely humiliated the Islamic groups and likened the hijab of the Muslim girls to a moving tent. He also mocked the beard of the militant Muslims. The diplomacy of Sadat and his agents in the regime believed that depicting the dependency of the religious groups upon countries such as Iran would help to prepare a favourable ground for the regime to carry out a brutal suppression against them. (Tavakkoli, 2009, page 80).
During this time, Kamal Hasan Ali, the then Secretary of State of Egypt, and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a joined press conference, pinpointed the Republic of Iran as the chief instigator of the sectarian wrangles and religious conflicts in Egypt and the aim of Iran in these measures, was to disrupt the stability of the regime of Sadat. (Jomhuri-e Eslami Newspaper, October 12, 1981)
The Egyptian Islamists and the Assassination of Anwar Sadat
On October 6, 1981, on commemorating the eighth anniversary of the October victory over Israel, Anwar Sadat had dressed up in a formal uniform and was watching his military forces marching in front of the parade ground. The importance of commemorating this war for Sadat was as important as the nationalization of the Suez Canal for Nasser. It was due to this reason that the Islamic Community Organization (Jama’at al-Islamiyyah) also chose that symbolic day to take a serious step against the Egyptian government and strived to topple the Sadat regime. They thus carried out Sadat’s revolutionary execution in the most spectacular way possible.
While the military parade was going on, a military truck abruptly stopped and four people armed with automatic machine guns leapt from the truck. The armed men quickly took their aims and fired towards a specific direction and killed Sadat amid indescribable horror and anxiety. It was after that incident that this phrase of Khalid al-Islambuli became famous amongst the Egyptian people: “I am Khalid al-Islambuli. I have killed the Pharaoh of Egypt and I am not afraid of death.” His action was significant in two ways: firstly, the Islamic groups of Egypt finally managed to inflict a deadly blow against the regime and achieve success after two decades of unsuccessful confrontation and enduring unjust executions and pressures from the ruling regime. However, the second issue was that from the moment of the assassination of Sadat henceforth, the apprehension and suppression of revolutionary Muslims intensified greatly. This was to an extent that it led to the serious control of the movements and the establishment of a terror government and subsequently, the plan of an Islamic Revolution failed in that country. (Tavakkoli, 2009, page 75)
With a thorough and in-depth knowledge of the internal situation in Egypt, the conditions of the Muslim world and the international communities which had been transformed by the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and also knowing the obvious weaknesses of the former leaders such as Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb and Abdul-Qadir Awdah, the leaders of the Jama’at al-Islamiyyah decided to look for solutions. They were aware that it is only the Islamic government with its concrete establishment that is capable of being mentioned as a strong base.
Moreover, the failure of the leaders to implement their corrective thoughts was only due to their lack of success in effectuating an Islamic government in the country. The establishment of an Islamic government as the first step towards the creation of centrality and reform errors and deviations seemed a definite necessity. They had witnessed the root of political error and deviation in the Sunni doctrine in the sense that the inadequate rulers who were morally and politically corrupt were easily accepted by the people. This is a thing that can only be possible due to the fact that almost everybody pays allegiance to them in an automatic way.
Lieutenant Ahmad Shawki al-Islambuli who had become famous as an epitome to the Islamists in the 1980s due to his effectuation of the heroic operation in the revolutionary execution of Anwar Sadat, was martyred alongside his three military friends after this epic act. Under the leadership of Muhammad Salim al-Rahal, the Jihad organization joined the Jama’at al-Islamiyyah and these leaders decided to start planning for a revolution. The leader of the Jama’at al-Islamiyyah was adamant that by destroying the pyramid of power in Egypt and utilizing the military and political bases, the revolutionary power of the people of Egypt will be of help. This meant that naturally, the population would provide their support and eventually the conducive environment for the establishment of an Islamic system would be achieved. The internal affairs and conditions of Egypt during that time were in such a way that such a belief was well perceived, given that Sadat’s reputation for political and moral precedence within Egypt or internationally did not leave him with the slightest acceptance.
Signing the infamous Camp David Accords, and the peace treaty with oppressive Israel and also the visits to the occupied territories and giving a speech in the Knesset (The House of Representatives of Israel) had led to a disapproval of the Muslims against him and the complete isolation of Egypt from the Islamic Organization and the Arab Union. Apart from that, on one side, imposing humiliation on the Egyptian people due to the effects of the several political and military defeats by Israel and on the other side, selfishness and the corruption of the ruling class, had created the conditions which clearly depicted that Sadat was in the last days of his political life.
In the meanwhile, the anti-imperialism and guidance role of Iran’s Islamic Revolution as an epitome is something that could not be refuted. Abboud al-Zumar, who was responsible for playing the major role and planning the operation, later on, confessed to the significance of epitomizing Iran’s Islamic Revolution. During that time, the United States and Israel had also concluded that Sadat, a former Egyptian film and theatre actor, had greatly performed his political role and the presence of such a subordinate element alongside the occupied territories may force the people to retaliate against the establishment of an Islamic state. These imaginations led the Western leaders to gradually eliminate Sadat from the political scene and think of bringing someone else that will be much accepted by the people.
The reception of Hosni Mubarak by the Egyptians in his trip to Washington in the summer of 1981 also cemented the fact that the political age of Anwar Sadat had come to an end. Likewise, after the assassination of Sadat, it was reasonable that most of the political observers officially stated that these measures took place with the conspiracy of the United States. The reason behind that was to quell the anger of the Muslims and to prevent the Egyptians from being incited towards an Islamic revolution.
The leaders of the Jama’at al-Islamiyyah such as Abboud al-Zumar had predicted that if Sadat and the officials of the regime are assassinated, the hidden revolutionary power of the people shall be unleashed and by paying heed to the intense inclination of the people towards Islam and their general hatred towards Sadat, this will lead to the inception of the Islamic Revolution. This is specifically if they are following the events of Iran’s Islamic Revolution through the radio or television. The idea of the revolutionary execution of Sadat in the organization, was a matter that had been agreed upon, especially since the Mufti of the Jama’at al-Islamiyyah, Shaykh Omar Abdul-Rahman had given a religious decree (fatwa) declaring Sadat to be an infidel and a person that should be killed. (Haykal, 1981, page 373)
The leaders of the Jama’at al-Islamiyyah believed that the assassination of Sadat by the revolutionaries could free many people from fear and captivity and such a situation would be almost similar to the Iranian Revolution against the Shah. It had been planned that after the assassination of Sadat, plans should be made in regards to occupying the sensitive centers and overthrow the government and capture the Ministry of Defence, the General Staff of the Army, the Ministry of the Interior, the Security Service, the radio and television. The statement that had been prepared to be announced on the radio, was declaring the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in Egypt. All these had been influenced by Iran’s Islamic Revolution.
During the time that Khalid and his partners were busy carrying out their duties of the revolutionary execution of Sadat, on the eve of October 6, a very important and quick incident occurred; the apprehension of 180 military personnel and officers affiliated with the organization. These are people who had planned to carry out the objectives of the revolutionary after the assassination of Sadat. During that time, to prevent the reputation of the revolutionary activities of this country to be reflected all over the world, the Egyptian regime quickly kept the matter a secret. This measure thwarted the security forces from doing anything after the assassination of Sadat.
Under these circumstances, there was serious turmoil in the organization. The operation of Sadat’s assassination was named as the ‘zero hour’ and the leaders of the Jama’at al-Islamiyyah were also thinking that if the operations of Khalid and his partners materialize and end in success, then they will definitely be martyred and by this means, the secrets of the organization will remain hidden. In addition to this, they believed that if Sadat and a group of the officials of the regime get assassinated, then presumably, a general uprising will break out and the grounds for the revolution would be formed. It was due to this reason that they were still pleased with the continuation of the operation, even after the apprehension of this number of key members.
During this armed attack, Sadat and seven other people were killed and twenty-eight people were injured. Due to its exclusive support to the Israeli regime, the United States anticipated many issues in Egypt. Before the assassination of Sadat, they had already chosen Hosni Mubarak as the appropriate successor. This is because he was the best person that could have continued with Sadat’s goal of making peace with Israel. The coming into power of Hosni Mubarak had negative impacts upon the Islamic group. For the sake of attaining more prestige in the Western governments, he expanded the policy of open doors and intensified the fight against the Muslim groups. (Tavakkoli, 2009, page 83)
Conclusions:
The Islamic Awakening as a phenomenon influenced by the intellectual movement of the Islamic Republic in contemporary time has taken the form of a social and organizational movement. In addition to proving its existence and influence in the realm of political and security conflict, this movement is becoming an undisputed power on a global scale. Nonetheless, this move was never easy. On the contrary, the annoying and rival discourses have always sought to narrow the field for it. The awakening dialogues that had been initiated by Imam Khomeini (ra) were not a cross-sectional move. Rather, it was a historical move that will last forever in the course of history. Since Egypt had intellectuals like Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb, it was once the cradle of the awakening of Islam. After years of stagnation, with the spark of the revolution, Egypt regained consciousness and made changes in her society.
As an Arab country, Egypt was immensely influenced by Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Just as it has been mentioned, the Islamic movements in Egypt worked harder. Furthermore, by taking into consideration the favourable environment that had been brought about by the signature of the Camp David Accords by Anwar Sadat, the opposition against his regime greatly intensified. Nevertheless, alongside these obvious impacts that Iran’s Islamic Revolution brought upon the spirit of Islamism and respect for the Muslims of the world, including the Muslims in Egypt, analyzing the behaviour of the Egyptian government depicts that just like the other governments affiliated and dependent on the West within the Middle East region, it was visibly afraid of the Iranian Revolution and was trying to counter it. Although the efforts of the Egyptian Islamists were not successful due to Sadat’s authoritarian rule, they remained dormant fire under the ashes that resurfaced decades after the victory of the revolution and overthrew Mubarak’s tyrannical rule.
Archive of The Thought of the Islamic Revolution
leave your comments