Doctor Ayman Al-Zawahiri was born June 19, 1951 descendent from a deep-rooted wealthy Egyptian family, his grandfather is one the former Imams at the Al-Azhar mosque, and his other grandfather from his mother’s side, doctor Abdul Wahab Azzam had several significant posts. He was an eastern literature professor and the dean of the school of arts and the president of Cairo University, then he was the ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, at the same time he was considered one the greatest Sufis in Egypt where they named him the “diplomatic Sufi”, his father was doctor Mohammad Rabi’ Al-Zawahiri, a professor at the medical school Ain Shams University, one of the most famous doctors before he died in 1995.
Doctor Ayman Al-Zawahiri completed his elementary education at Egypt’s Al-Jadidah and Al-Moadi schools, which are located in a wealthy area, before enrolling in the Al-Qasr Al-ain Medical School at Cairo University, where he graduated in 1974 with honours. He then went on to earn his master’s degree in general surgery in 1978, after which he married a Cairo University literature graduate and had four daughters and one son.
Youth of Al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri was reportedly a bright young man. He was a scholar who enjoyed poetry and “hated” violent sports because he saw them as “inhumane.” Al-Zawahiri earned his medical degree from Cairo University in 1974 with a grade that is roughly equivalent to a “B” in the American grading scale: gayyid giddan. He then completed three years of surgical service in the Egyptian Army before opening a clinic in Maadi close to his parents. He also obtained a surgical master’s degree in 1978. In addition to French, he also spoke Arabic and English.
Al-Zawahiri as an Eye Surgeon
Ayman al-Zawahiri visited Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in 1981 and spent time there working in a Red Crescent clinic that cared for injured refugees.In 1993, al-Zawahiri travelled to the United States and spoke at a number of mosques in California using the alias Abdul Mu’iz to solicit donations for Afghan children who had been hurt by Soviet land mines. However, he only succeeded in raising $2000.
Al-Zawahiri as a Militant
Under Zawahiri’s direction, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad attacked the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, in 1995, but Bin Laden had disapproved to the attack. Pakistan, which was “the best route into Afghanistan,” was alienated by the bombing.
Al-Zawahiri provided guidance for Operation Silence, the siege of the Lal Masjid, which took place in July 2007. This was the first confirmed instance of Al-Zawahiri leading Islamic militants against the State of Pakistan and taking aggressive action against the Pakistani Government. Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz Ghazi, the Islamic militants in charge of the mosque and nearby madrasah, were found to be receiving letters from al-Zawahiri, according to the Pakistan Army troops and Special Service Group that took control of the Lal Masjid (“Red Mosque”) in Islamabad. 100 people died as a result of this conflict. But I don’t think that these allegation are true because there is no actual facts. People think that he might involved in attack because he was Egyptian.
Link With Organizations
Al-Zawahiri joined many Islamic Jihadist organizations. Some of them are listed below
- Egyptian Islamic Jihad
- Maktab al-Khadamat
Al-Qaeda
We are more concerned with the Al-Qaeda although Maktab al-Khadamat is the temporary organization founded by Osama in Peshawar to train the Mujahedeen.
Al-Zawahiri worked for al-Qaeda from the beginning and was a senior member of the organization’s shura council, according to information provided by a former al-Qaeda member. He was frequently referred to as Osama bin Laden’s “lieutenant,” despite the fact that bin Laden’s chosen biographer called him the “real brains” of al-Qaeda. Al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden jointly issued a fatwa titled “World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders” on February 23, 1998.
Al-Zawahiri as a Leader of Al-Qaeda
Bin Laden officially appointed al-Zawahiri as his deputy in late 2004. Al-Zawahiri had taken over as al-operational Qaeda’s and strategic commander, according to a report from the U.S. State Department on April 30, 2009, and Osama bin Laden was now merely the group’s symbolic leader. A senior U.S. intelligence official claimed that evidence acquired during the raid revealed that bin Laden was still actively involved in planning after his death in 2011: “The Abbottabad complex where bin Laden was assassinated served as the active command and control hub for al-Qaeda. He actively participated in al-operational Qaeda’s planning and tactical decision-making.”
Why Al-Zawahiri was important for Al-Qaeda
In the ten years following the death of Osama bin Laden, al-previous Qaeda’s leader, Zawahiri was essential to the organization’s survival. His charismatic presence and overarching strategic vision, which supported granting the various al-Qaeda franchises full tactical autonomy so they could pursue their respective local and regional agendas, kept the cause together. It’s been a success. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is still engaged in hostilities in Yemen; Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent has spread to Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, and Pakistan; and Hurras al-Din is still Al-stalking Qaeda’s horse in the Levant. In addition, al-Shabaab and Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) both have significant presences in East Africa and the Sahel, respectively. If Zawahiri hadn’t existed, none of this would have been conceivable.
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