al-Taliah al-Salafiyah al-Mujahediyah Ansar al-Sharia (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Fighting Salafist Vanguard – Partisans of Islamic Law), better known by the name Ansar al-Sharia (Egypt), is a radical Islamist group that operates in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Background

Following the Egyptian revolution in 2011, many imprisoned members of Egypt's Jihadist movements were released from prison, and there was an easing of restraints on free speech. This allowed radical followers of

Salafist Jihadism Salafi jihadism or jihadist-Salafism is a transnational, hybrid religious-political ideology based on the Sunni sect of Islamism, seeking to establish a global caliphate, characterized by the advocacy for "physical" (military) jihadist and Sa ...

to resume their activities, garner support and recruit followers. Amongst those released from prison was Ahmad Ashoush, aka Abu Nizar. In 1989, Ashoush participated in the Jihad in Afghanistan, where he became a close friend of Mohammed Atef, who would later become the military chief of Al Qaeda, and became acquainted with Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri. In 1991 he returned to Egypt with a group of other Egyptians, founding the jihadi group

Vanguards of Conquest The Vanguards of Conquest (''Talaa'al al-Fateh'') is a terrorist organization that was originally founded in 1993 as a branch of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad operating in Somalia but became a separate faction that eventually folded back into the grou ...

, but was arrested in 1993 along with 150 of his followers and remained imprisoned until the revolution. Ashoush founded Ansar al-Sharia in November 2012. The same name has been used by Salafist Jihadist groups created in Yemen, Tunisia, Libya and elsewhere. The group releases statements through its media branch, al-Bayyan Media Foundation. In July 2013, in the wake of the

2013 Egyptian coup d'état The 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat took place on 3 July 2013. Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led a coalition to remove the democratically elected President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, from power and suspended the Egyptian constitu ...

, a representative of a group of Salafist jihadists in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...

announced the formation of a group called ''Ansar al-Sharia in Egypt''. At the time of this announcement, it was unclear what, if any connection there is with Ashoush's group. In the following weeks, all of the key members of Ansar al-Sharia were either arrested, joined the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis faction in the

Sinai insurgency The Sinai insurgency is an ongoing insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, that was commenced by Islamist militants against Egyptian security forces, which have also included attacks on civilians. The insurgency began during the Egyptian ...

, or fled to Syria to take part in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In March 2014, another group called ''Kataeb Ansar al Sharia fi Ard al Kinanah'', Brigades of Ansar al Sharia in the Land of Egypt, announced its formation and claimed responsibility for a series of shootings of Egyptian security personnel.

Ideology

In its founding statement, the group outlines its goals including: implementation of sharia, the re-establishment of the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

, supporting the mujahideen and liberating Muslim lands from occupation. In December 2012, the head of the Egyptian Federation of Human Rights requested the arrest of members of Ansar al-Sharia, after they posted online a list of prominent Egyptian personalities who should be assassinated should the state fail.

Relation to other groups

Ashoush, in 2012, claimed to be honored to be a part of al-Qaeda. Thus, he claimed that his group is part of a broader Al-Qaeda network in the region by stating this.

References

{{Authority control Jihadist groups in Egypt Organisations of the Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014) Salafi Jihadist groups Qutbist organisations