CAIRO Ñ Egypt has launched a drive to foil an attempt to revive a
major Islamic insurgency group.
Egyptian authorities have arrested dozens of suspected members of the
Gamiat Islamiya. The Gamiat has been banned for more than a decade amid its
attacks on scores of Egyptian civilian and military targets.
The Gamiat has not carried out a major attack in Egypt since 1997 when
69 people, most of them tourists, were mowed down by Islamic insurgency
gunmen in Luxor. The attack sparked massive condemnation of the Gamiat in
Egypt and the insurgency group announced an unconditional ceasefire.
So far, officials said 37 suspected Gamiat members have been arrested
and remanded in custody.
An official Egyptian statement said the detainees have been charged with
planning to recruit for Gamiat. The statement said the defendants
distributed what was termed subversive leaflets, Middle East Newsline reported.
Since then, elements of the Gamiat have sought to reconcile with the
regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Authorities have allowed
Egyptian state-owned newspapers to interview imprisoned Gamiat leaders who
call for a reformation of the group and an end to violence.
Assuming the unassumable
Those who believe that an unplanned, random "Big Bang" explosion of unknown matter caused the formation of the numberless bodies of the cosmos have more faith that fanatics. They also conveniently ignore some obvious points of information:
Read on . . .
Officials said Islamic insurgents have embarked on an effort to form a
new Gamiat organization without ties to the current leadership in prison.
They said those arrested were not known to have been linked to the group.
Interior Minister Habib Adly said Egypt has released nearly 2,000
members of the Gamiat. Adly said all of those released had demonstrated
repentance.
The terms for the release, he said, were that the Gamiat members
renounce violence and demonstrate a willingness to abandon the philosophy of
holy war. So far, the minister said, none of the released insurgents has
returned
to their previous activities.
"Those who have been released are practising normal lives and
openly declaring their rejection of violence," Adly said in an interview
with the state-owned Egyptian weekly Al Mussawar.
