Jamaat al-Islamiyya

Jamaat al-Islamiyya., or Islamic Group, is among Egypt's oldest jihadist groups, although it has not claimed responsibility for attacks since the 1990s. Do not confuse it with Jemaah Islamiya, a Southeast Asian group. At this time, the more violent members appear to be affiliated with al-Qaeda and other groups.

Its origins are in the Muslim Brotherhood, from which it split, as a more radical faction, in the 1970s. In turn, some of its radicals have joined al-Qaeda and its leadership has renounced violence. In August 2006, Ayman al-Zawahiri claimed it merged with al-Qaeda, but that was denied by other leaders such as Mustafa Hamza, who agreed to a cease-fire in 1997. al-Zawahiri was more closely associated with Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which did join al-Qaeda. The Luxor attack was under a faction led by Rifa'i Ahmad.

It was involved in:
 * 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
 * 1992 assassination of Farag Foda, an Egyptian politicial and writer
 * 1992-1993 series of attacks against civilians
 * 1995 unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
 * 1997 ambush of tourists near the Egyptian Museum in Cairo killed nine German tourists and their driver;
 * 1997 attack on a resort in Luxor killed fifty-eight tourists and four Egyptians

Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the "blind sheikh", was convicted for approving the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which was led by Ramzi Yousef. Yousef is a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, but neither Yousef nor Mohammed were members of al-Qaeda at the time. This was an act of an extremist faction, as the group, when active, concentrated on Egypt. Rahman withdrew agreement for the cease-fire in 2000.

Many members were amnestied in 2003, including Karam Zuhdi, who expressed regret that he worked with Egyptian Islamic Jihad to kill Anwar Sadat.