• Reports
  • September 6, 2006
  • 3 minutes read

A New Network for al- Qa’eda in Egypt but the Experts doubt the story

The Egyptian police are intensively and secretly investigating 70 members relating to a fundamentalist secret cell, who are accused of joining al- Qa’eda network and planning to travel to Iraq to join the Islamic resistance there.
Security and Islamic sources stated that they were detained in Alexandria between July and August. They justify the police’s suppression of this matter with the ongoing investigation in order to capture the rest of the cell or those who sympathize with it.
 
Some sources stated that the cadres of the cell were moved from Alexandria to the State Security Investigation (SSI) in Lathoghli in order to obtain the necessary information about what the Egyptian police consider the first branch of al- Qa’eda in Egypt .

The sources denied any intended violent actions inside Egypt , because they were planning to travel to Iraq to resist along with the Sunni Islamic resistance, with whom they communicated through the Internet.
 
The sources did not disclose whether the cell already has a relation with al- Qa’eda in Afghanistan or Iraq or not. The Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) is ready to receive the detainees within few days to investigate the accusations, such as forming a secret organization and the attempt to join foreign country’s forces, which are against the law.
The detainees are between 17 and 35 years old and mostly university students, as the sources said.

`Ali `Abdul- Fattah, an MB cadre in Alexandria , doubted that the Egyptian police has captured a network in Egypt relating to al- Qa’eda organization. It is really strange that the police release that matter in the same time in which the Islamic Group and the Jihad Group declared that they gave up violence. There are no violent groups in Egypt , especially in Alexandria , which is considered a main fertile place for the moderate Islamic trends, especially the MB. There may be some thoughts relating to the (Infidelizing and Migration Group), but they are very limited and beyond being an organization or relating to al- Qa’eda.

`Abdul- Fattah asserted that the Egyptian regime wants to use al- Qa’eda’s horrifying name to justify the constitutional amendments and the cancellation of articles 40 and 41, which are concerned with the public freedoms. The government wants to use this fallacious cell to pass new suppressive laws which are under preparation to be passed during the new session of the parliament.
 
Dr. Dia’ Rashwan, an expert in the Islamic Movements Affairs and a political researcher at al- Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said “this case aims at nothing but convincing the Egyptians of the necessity the continuous war against terrorism through more suppressive laws to restrict freedoms. It is clear that the Emergency Law doesn’t suffice the regime for restricting freedom. I think that this case is fabricated like the case of al- Ta’efatul Mansourah (the Victorious Group), and that there no branch for al- Qa’eda in Egypt , because the Egyptian environment is not compatible with its violent thought”.