BEYOND SYRIA IRAQ

MUHAMED SABRY
army’s previous lack of familiarity with Area C has caused major difficulties
in pursuing gunmen because they are better aware of the terrain. In general,
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has used the geography of the Sinai Peninsula to considerable
advantage.
GROUP IDEOLOGY
The core driver for IS in Sinai is a spirit of revenge, which is closely linked with
Bedouin cultural feelings of neglect and oppression in their past dealings with
the Egyptian regime. Bedouin culture requires a sense of revenge, even if it
involves multiple generations. It is also very protective of land, homes, women,
and property. Whenever police storm Bedouin houses, it is considered a violation
of these sanctities, feeding back into the narrative of retaliation and revenge.
Muslim Brotherhood rule after the January revolution was considered the
golden era for jihadist groups in Sinai with regard to their ability to spread
and grow in both economic and armed strength. Religion-based extremist
ideologies have arrived through foreign fighters to add to the mixture, leading
to more violence in Sinai. As Egyptian authorities turned a blind eye to
Sinai, sharia courts spread.
FOREIGN FIGHTERS
Besides the majority local Bedouin contingent, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has
drawn foreign fighters. These men are primarily motivated by ideology rather
than revenge or economic issues. The Sinai smuggling networks have also
played a major role in their induction into the fighting force, however.
Foreign fighters come from a variety of geographical locations and backgrounds.
Africans, predominantly from Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea, make
up one of the most important contingents, although most originally arrived
in Sinai as part of a human trafficking network to smuggle them across the
Egypt-Israel border into Israel to look for jobs. Human trafficking is one of
the most important types of smuggling conducted in Sinai.
While some do find work in Israel, many never reach the country, instead
becoming targets for ransoming schemes. Individuals are shackled, tortured
with electric shocks, beaten, and burned to death in attempts to force their
parents to pay huge ransoms—as high as tens of thousands of dollars. Once
the kidnappers receive the ransom money, the victims are sold to others, and
the torture begins again. Others attempting to cross the border have died or
been captured by Egyptian security.
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