New secrets about Sadat assassination revealed, did he have a chance to survive?

Abdulrahman Saqr

A fatwa that was issued by Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, branding late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat as “infidel”, led to the assassination of Egypt’s third president.

Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat served from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981 by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad during the annual victory parade in Cairo.

As President, Sadat led Egypt in the war of 1973 to regain Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt.

Some al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya members, however, claim they participated in the 1973 war, despite that their leaders affirmed not taking part at the war because they were university students at the time.

The terrorist organization issued a file on participation at the war; an ex-jihadist and one of the founders of Jama’a Islamiyya, Nageh Ibrahim, wrote several articles that claim the group’s role in the war.

Nageh claimed through his articles that his cousin was awarded the Order of the Sinai Star, a two-degree military order that is considered Egypt’s highest military honor.

Also, Abbud al-Zumar, an Islamist who served three decades in prison for his role in the assassination of Sadat, claimed taking part in wars in 1973 and 1967.

Fouad Dawalibi, one of the founders of Jamaa Islamiya, said the group was hesitant to assassinate Sadat after meeting with Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj, leader of the Cairo branch of Tanzim al-Jihad, who convinced them and presented his pamphlet, “The Neglected Duty.”

“The first meeting to plan Sadat’s assassination included head of the group’s policy-making council, Karam Zuhdi, and three members of the council, namely Assem Abdel-Maged, Osama Hafez and me,” Dawalibi told The Reference. “The meeting took place at Khaled Al-Islambouli’s – the army officer who assassinated Sadat – apartment, as he suggested the idea to kill Sadat, especially that he is taking part at the parade.”

He also revealed the rest of the council, namely Nageh Ibrahim, Essam Derbala, Hamdy Abdulrahman and Ali al-Sharif, were summoned for a quick meeting inside a car on Oct. 5 to confirm the operation.

Both the first and second groups, according to Dawalibi, met again and agreed to cancel the assassination because they realized it would do more harm than good, especially to the group’s interests.

He pointed out that Hafez did not inform Zuhdi about the latest updates in time, and that Zuhdi had already tasked Abdel-Maged and Dawalibi with going to Cairo to inform Islambouli with the updates, however, they arrived in Cairo as Sadat was already assassinated.

Secret British documents revealed that Sadat intended to relinquish power but he was assassinated before he could do so.

A report sent by the British ambassador in Cairo Sir Michael Weir in 1981 that the BBC has obtained states that Sadat was very serious about his desire to resign.

The British ambassador sent his report 23 days after Sadat’s assassination and stated that he met the late Egyptian president five months before he died.

According to Dawalibi, the group feared that Sadat would eliminate them, especially after they demanded him to step down and reconsider some issues like relations with Israel.

Another Shura council member Nageh Ibrahim falsified the BBC’s reports as he said it is not reasonable for a popular hero like Sadat to resign this easily. He also said in an interview with The Reference the group did not demand Sadat to step down, as it did not seek to rule, but to spread the “sharia”, until it allied with Tanzim al-Jihad, which changed everything.