Khalid Ahmed Showky El Islambouli ( ar, خالد أحمد شوقي الإسلامبولي, ) (15 January 1955 – 15 April 1982) was an Egyptian army officer who planned and participated in the
assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, during the annual
6th October
Events Pre-1600
*105 BC – Cimbrian War: Defeat at the Battle of Arausio accelerates the Marian reforms of the Roman army of the mid-Republic.
*69 BC – Third Mithridatic War: The military of the Roman Republic subdue Armenia.
*AD ...
victory parade on 6 October 1981. Islambouli stated that his primary motivation for the assassination was Sadat's signing of the
Camp David Accords with
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and Sadat's plan for a more progressive Egypt. Islambouli was tried before an Egyptian
court-martial, found guilty, and sentenced to death by
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
. Following his execution, he was declared a martyr by many radicals in the Islamic world, and became an inspirational symbol for radical Islamic movements as one of the first 'modern
martyrs of Islam'.
[The Islambouli Enigma](_blank)
, The Jamestown Foundation
The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission today is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, wh ...
Early years and career
Islambouli was born in
Minya Governorate
Minya Governorate ( ar, محافظة المنيا ') is one of the governorates of Upper Egypt. Its capital city, Minya, is located on the left bank of the Nile River.
Etymology
The name originates from the chief city of the governorate, origi ...
. His father was an Egyptian legal advisor and his mother, Khadira Ali Yusuf, was of
Turkish descent; as indicated by his surname which means from Istanbul.
After graduating from the
Egyptian Military Academy
The Egyptian Military Academy ( ar, الكلية الحربية) is the oldest and most prominent military academy in Egypt. Traditionally, graduates of the Military Academy are commissioned as officers in the Egyptian Army. However, they may se ...
, he was commissioned as an officer in the Artillery Forces of the Egyptian Army with the rank of
second lieutenant. Sometime after this appointment, Islambouli joined the proscribed
Egyptian Islamic Jihad
The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ, ar, الجهاد الإسلامي المصري), formerly called simply Islamic Jihad ( ar, الجهاد الإسلامي, links=no) and the Liberation Army for Holy Sites, originally referred to as al-Jihad, and ...
movement. Between 1976 and 1980, he served mostly as a staff officer or as fire direction officer for various artillery batteries, battalions and regiments. In March 1980, he got his first field command, an artillery platoon gun line in the 116th Field Artillery Brigade based in Cairo. His command included three 'active' field howitzers, a reserve field gun, five to six transport trucks, seven jeeps, signaling equipment, light infantry weapons such as assault rifles, medium machine guns, anti-tank rockets, light mortars, and sniper rifles for organic defence, and around 45 soldiers/conscripts, with a
second lieutenant and a
sergeant acting as second-in-command and third-in-command respectively. His role was to take firing missions and orders from the Battery HQ.
Assassination of Sadat
Islambouli and his platoon originally were not supposed to participate in the October parade, but they were chosen by the Military Intelligence, which was infiltrated by Islamist sympathizers under
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
Abbud al-Zumar
Aboud El Zomor ''(also ''Abboud el-Zumar'', ''Abbud el-Zumar'', ''Aboud el-Zomoor'', ''Abboud el-Zomor'', ''Abboud el-Zomor'', ''Abod Zoummar'' '', arz, عبود الزمر, Abbud el-Zummor, , born August 1948) is an Egyptian Islamist and fundam ...
, to replace a platoon from the 133rd Artillery Battalion which was excused from participation for apparently failing some routine tests and checks.
Once his platoon containing three heavy trucks towing
M-46 field artillery guns began to approach the President's platform, Islambouli, along with Junior Sergeant Abdelhameed Abdul Salaam, 31, Corporal Ata Tayel Hameeda Raheel, 21, and Corporal Hussein Abbas, 21,
[ al-Zayat, Montasser, "The Road to al-Qaeda", 2002] leapt from their truck and ran towards the stand while lobbing grenades toward where the President was standing with other Egyptian and foreign dignitaries.
Execution
Islambouli was captured immediately after the assassination. He and twenty-three conspirators, including eight military personnel, were tried before an Egyptian court-martial. Found guilty of murder, 27-year-old Islambouli and three other conspirators were executed by
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
on 15 April 1982.
[
]
Relatives
Islambouli's younger brother Mohammed Showqi Al-Islambouli came close to assassinating the Egyptian President and Sadat's successor Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.
Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in ...
on 22 June 1995 on the way from Addis Ababa International Airport to an African summit in the city. Showqi and his associates opened fire on the armour-plated limousine destroying most of the escort vehicles. However, Mubarak was saved by the skills of his chauffeur, who U-turned the damaged limousine and raced back to the airport where the presidential plane was waiting with running engines.
Legacy
Islambouli continues to serve as an inspirational symbol for Islamist terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
groups throughout the world. In 1982, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
issued a stamp in his honor, showing him shouting defiantly from behind bars.
Also they named a street in Tehran after him.
On 31 July 2004, "The al-Islambouli Brigades of al-Qaeda" claimed responsibility for an assassination attempt on Shaukat Aziz, then a candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Pakistan
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...
. On 24 August 2004, a Chechen group calling itself "The al Islambouli Brigades" issued a statement claiming responsibility for the bombing of two Russian passenger aircraft.[Statement from the Chechen "Al-Islambouli Brigades"](_blank)
, ''Global Terror Alert''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islambouli, Khalid
1955 births
1982 deaths
1981 murders in Egypt
20th-century executions by Egypt
Egyptian assassins
Egyptian Islamists
Egyptian Military Academy alumni
Egyptian people convicted of murder
Egyptian people of Turkish descent
Islamist assassins
Muslims with branch missing
People convicted of murder by Egypt
People executed by Egypt by firing squad
Executed Egyptian people
Executed assassins
Sunni Islamists
Anwar Sadat
Assassins of presidents
People from Minya Governorate