The Radical Jam’iyat

Abstract

This chapter examines two types of radical, but not currently revolutionary, groups — the jam’iyat and the associations built around charismatic preachers. The jama’at have remained small and underground, and have suffered from severe repression. If radical fundamentalism is to revolutionize Egyptian society, the impetus will have to come from the organizations which reach a much wider audience on campuses, in neighborhoods, or around individual charismatic preachers. Many extremists engaged in terrorism were shaped and radicalized in the jam’iyat; al-Jihad began life as such a student organization.¹ Thus, understanding the ideology and behavior of the Jam’iyat is critical to assessing the role of religious fundamentalism in Egyptian society.