Terrorist groups pretending to stand for Islam (3)-Ansar Bait el-Maqdes (Champions of Jerusalem): Fighting the Egyptian Army takes precedence over fighting Israel
Founders
Palestinian Hisham As-Saadani is thought to be the source of ideological inspiration to the Ansar Bait el-Maqdes’ members. He had trained in Jordan and Iraq under the Jordanian terror leader Mosaab Al-Zarqawi before returning to Gaza where he was assassinated by Israel in 2013.
Amongst the other prominent figures who contributed to the formation of Ansar Bait el-Maqdes are Momtaz Dagjmash, the Commander of the Gaza-based Jaysh el-Islam and Abdul Latif Moussa, the leader of the Jihadist group Jund Ansar Allah.
Who are they? What are their numbers?
The Ansar Bait el-Maqdes group has roughly 2000 members who are from Gaza, along with Egyptians from the Tawhid and Jihad Group, which was established in 2001 in Sinai and conducted terrorist operations against tourists in Sinai in 2003 and 2004.
Ideology
Prior to the ousting of the Egyptian President Mohammad Moursi, the group’s name was ‘the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem’. After Moursi had been ousted, the name was changed to ‘Champions of Jerusalem’- English for Ansar Bait el-Maqdes-, which is indicative of the significance of the Palestinian cause in the ideology of this group and their belief that the said cause is an Islamic one.
In addition to the rifle, which signifies the importance of fighting, Ansar Bait el-Maqdes holds the Holy Quran and its verse “And fight them until there is no fitnah and [until] the religion, all of it, is for Allah” as a justification for their activity.
Contrary to the mistaken yet widespread belief about a connection between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Ansar Bait el-Maqdes, members of the latter criticize the Muslim Brotherhood for failing to enforce God’s Law on earth, the ultimate goal of Ansar Bait el-Maqdes. They believe that the Muslim Brotherhood has also failed to dissolve Egypt’s agreements with Israel and to lift the siege on Gaza when their member, Mohammad Moursi, was elected President. However, there are some who maintain that the clear escalation in the operations of Ansar Bait el-Maqdes after the ousting of Moursi proves the existence of a connection between the two, but neither group confirms this claim.
Ansar Bait el-Maqdes regards the current Egyptian President, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, as an apostate tyrant who must be fought along with the Egyptian Army supporting him. For them, combating the Egyptian Army comes before combating Israel. Since the day the army waged war against the group’s members, battling the army has been a top priority for Ansar Bait el-Maqdes in order to ‘protect the gas and oil resources of the Muslims, which those in power are planning to hand over to Israel.’
Although it holds the ideologies and beliefs of Al-Qaeda, Ansar Bait el-Maqdes operates as an independent group and believes fighting the Jews is one of the primary goals which elevates the word of God and promotes the rule by the Quran.
Ansar Bait el-Maqdes refuses democracy on the grounds that it incites disbelief and polytheism. The group believes it is not permissible to share power or law enactment with God. It maintains that the constitutions are all man-made and can never replace the divine Law of God, i.e. the Holy Quran. It believes the current situation can only be resolved by the sword and jihad shall not aim to seize land but to spread Islam and establish an Islamic caliphate after finishing off tyranny and occupation.
On November 10, 2014, the Ansar Bait el-Maqdes group declared that it has joined Al-Baghdadi’s Islamic State and changed its name to ‘Sinai Province’.
Attacks
The group claimed responsibility for several military operations, some of which are labeled as ‘terrorist’.
- Bombing the pipelines that carry gas from Egypt to Israel
- Assassination attempt on Egypt’s Minister of Interior Mohammad Ibrahim in Cairo
- Bombing the security directorate in Daqahliya and leaving 16 people dead
- Attacking a police station near the Karam Abou Salem crossing, killing 16 officers and soldiers who were having their Iftar during Ramadan.
- Attacking two buses that were transporting soldiers back to their base in Rafah near Gaza, killing 25.
- Car bombings at a security post in Karm el-Qwadis, killing 35 soldiers and officers from the Egyptian army.
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