What is Egyptian Islamic Jihad?
Historically, EIJ advocated for the overthrow of the secular Egyptian government. Since 1993, however, it has not carried out an attack within Egypt’s borders, the State Department reports. Formerly known as the Society of Struggle, EIJ is a violent 1970s offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood that conducted a number of attacks on high-level Egyptian officials, including the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. EIJ also has targeted Israeli and U.S. facilities in Egypt and in the wider region. Like Jamaat al-Islamiyya—another 1970s militant outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood—members from EIJ fought alongside the Afghan mujahadeen in the 1980s war opposing Soviet occupation, as well as in Yemen’s long-running civil war. Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website. Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should
