Muhammad al-Zawahiri

Muhammad Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 1952/1953 – 13 February 2024) was an Egyptian Islamist who was a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad and one of 14 people subjected to extraordinary rendition by the CIA prior to the 2001 war on terror. He was the younger brother of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Early life Muhammad Rabie al-Zawahiri was born in Dokki, Giza, Egypt around 1953.

A 1974 graduate of the engineering college at Cairo University, al-Zawahiri moved to Saudi Arabia and took work with a construction firm. but he was found not guilty of the charge. The further fate of al-Masri conflicts with Ismail's assessment, and it may be that "Hazaa" was actually Muhammad al-Zawahiri (or some other Returnee from Albania prisoner).

In April 2007, he and other Islamists pushed for a review of their sentences and sought commutation based on revising their previously-held beliefs in the necessity of terrorism. He was represented by lawyer Montasser el-Zayat.

Release In March 2011, he was released from prison in Egypt, but quickly re-arrested. He was subsequently re-tried in an Egyptian military court on terrorism charges and acquitted of all charges, and was released in March 2012.

In 2012 he established jihadist organization Al-Salafiya al-Jihadiya in the Sinai

In September 2012, Zawahiri offered to mediate a 10-year hudna between Islamists and the Western world, in return for which the United States and the West would stop intervening in Muslim lands, stop allegedly interfering in Muslim education, end the so-called "war on Islam", and release all Islamist prisoners.

In an interview which aired on Egypt's CBC TV on 4 October 2012 (as translated by MEMRI), Al-Zawahiri denied "belong[ing] to Al-Qaeda or any other organization" but stated that "ideologically speaking, I am in agreement with all these organizations. Our common denominator is the Islamic shari'a." Regarding Israel and Jews, Al-Zawahiri declared that "Fighting Israel, fighting the Jews is a religious duty incumbent upon all. The Egyptian government should have been fighting the Jewish enemy...This is a religious duty incumbent upon all Muslims."

Later activities Muhammad al-Zawahiri was involved in the organization of the 11 September 2012 protest at the United States embassy in Cairo.

On 18 January 2013, he organized a protest outside France's embassy in Cairo against French intervention in Mali. He described France's military actions as "threatening of the return of French colonialism on Arab and Islamic peoples" and stated that France was at war with Islam.

In August 2013, in the wake of the overthrow of President Morsi, Zawahiri was arrested. In April 2014 Zawahiri, with 67 others, was charged with forming a terrorist group and seeking to undermine security across Egypt. On 17 March 2016, Zawahiri was released from prison.

Death

Muhammad al-Zawahiri died on 13 February 2024, at the age of 71. His death was confirmed by pro-Al Qaeda clerics.