The Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Merger with Al-Qaeda

Essay from the year 2014 in the subject History - World History - Modern History, Boston University, course: Terrorism MET CJ 650, language: English, abstract: The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) is a very militant Islamic group that came about in the 1970's. This group was also recognized by the United Nations at the time as being affiliated with Al-Qaeda networks. This group's primary purpose initially was to instill a religious government in Egypt. However, after dealing with numerous arrests from world operatives, which mostly took place in Lebanon and Yemen; this group was said to eventually have completely merged with Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda networks in 2001. After merging with Al-Qaeda the group broadened its purpose. For the most part the group totally switched its focus towards complete opposition towards Western influence in the Muslim regions. This opposition also included any Arab governments that supported both the United States and Israel. The decision to merge with Al-Qaeda and the change in the groups' focus or its initial stated purpose since its inception did not sit well with all of its members and caused a rift within the organization.