By Ahmed Moussa The fallout of last November's Luxor massacre, in which 58 tourists and four Egyptians were killed, continues unabated. The jailed leaders of Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya reacted by issuing a call for a unilateral cease-fire, and Gama'a leaders abroad are taking measures to prohibit the killing of civilians, particularly tourists, women and children, by members of Islamist groups. There are also reports that a new six-man leadership has been established abroad to run Gama'a activities, replacing Rifa'i Ahmed Taha and Mustafa Hamza, who previously held an open mandate. It is also said that the group's jailed traditional leaders are on the verge of renouncing violence as a means of attaining power, and will soon recommend that Islamist groups should not engage in conflict with society or the government. A statement published by Mohamed Mustafa El-Moqre'i, a leading Gama'a member, has made it clear that, although the Gama'a targets the tourism industry, which it considers sinful, the group does not target tourists per se. Alluding to the 1996 attack against a group of Greek tourists outside a hotel along Pyramids Road, El-Moqre'i wrote: "It was said at the time that a group of Israeli tourists was the intended target, and this is an adequate affirmation that the Gama'a does not target tourists generally." As for the Luxor massacre, El-Moqre'i said the differences it triggered within the leadership indicated "that targeting tourists is not the Gama'a's course of action. These differences were resolved by issuing a statement, in which the Gama'a offered a semi-apology and affirmed that it acted within the guidelines of Shari'a." El-Moqre'i quoted Rifa'i Taha as having designated three categories of people who should be exempted from the violence unleashed by the Gama'a. The first are Muslims, provided they do not act in a way contrary to any of the fundamentals of Islam, or become associated with heresy. The second are ahl al-dhimma -- Christians and Jews living in Muslim countries -- provided they do not breach the social contract with Muslims. The third category includes "trusted people" who do not harm Muslims, and asylum-seekers. "We target not tourists, but tourism," Taha had added. "We have no interest in becoming involved in a conflict with any party other than the government." Taha also said the Gama'a leadership abroad, "after having ascertained that the cease-fire call issued by the traditional leadership is genuine, is seriously considering a positive response to this call. This will be announced at the appropriate time." The conclusion which El-Moqre'i reached is that "the killing of civilians, particularly women and children, is forbidden by Shari'a and should be avoided." Ayman El-Zawahri, leader of the second largest militant Islamist group in Egypt, Jihad, took an even more ambiguous position on tourism and tourists. He was quoted as saying that Jihad does not target tourism; he supports the Gama'a's targeting of tourism, however, but not of tourists. "The Jihad [group] believes that the killing of civilians, particularly women and children, is not permissible," El-Zawahri said. El-Moqre'i had his own list of those whose killing is forbidden by Shari'a -- women and children (provided they are not fighters); old men; monks living in monasteries; peasants and workers who are not involved in fighting; "slaves" and those who are chronically ill or handicapped. Another watershed was El-Moqre'i's opinion that branding other Muslims as infidel is impermissible. Previously, militant groups condemned anyone who did not embrace their ideology as infidels -- ruler (the government) and ruled (society) alike. A high-ranking security official, asked to comment on this statement, said it came at a time "when the leaders abroad are attempting to resolve their differences and close ranks". The authorities are not planning security measures according to Gama'a policy statements, he added. "There are security plans that are enforced in accordance with security requirements," he asserted. The official said that El-Moqre'i's statement could be intended to reassure the countries in which Gama'a leaders have taken refuge after nationals of these same countries were killed in the Luxor carnage. El-Moqre'i did in fact make this point, writing that "if we killed those who are supposed to be safe with us, then this would be a justification for [foreign countries] to kill those [of us] who are supposed to be safe with them." El-Moqre'i is a member of a new six-man collective leadership designated as the "advisory council of the Gama'a". Other members are Rifa'i Ahmed Taha, Mustafa Hamza, Mohamed Shawki El-Islambouli, Osama Rushdi and Osman El-Samman. This leadership was established after the jailed leaders took a stand against the Luxor massacre and withdrew the mandate they had accorded to Taha and Hamza. This traditional leadership is made up of Abboud El-Zumur, Karam Zuhdi, Hamdi Abdel-Rahman, Nageh Ibrahim, Essam Derbala, Ali El-Sherif and Osama Hafez. The jailed leaders are said to be drawing up their own statement, to be titled "A peaceful contract between the Islamist movement and society". In it, they will explain the reasons for their cease-fire call last July. The principal reason is that violence has failed to achieve the group's objectives. Accordingly, they argue, violence as an ideology should be renounced and Islamist groups should refrain from "clashing" with society and the government.
