Cairo - Assem Abdel Maguid is one of the Islamist figures blacklisted by the statement issued by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Emirates and Bahrain. He was defendant No. 9 in the assassination of former President Anwar Al Sadat in 1981. He is a member of Jamma Islamiyya's Shura Council. He currently resides in Qatar. He was crticised heavily on his Facebook page after posting many controversial posts verbally attacking the high-profile, Egyptian cardiac surgeon, Magdy Yacoub. He was born in 1957 in the Egyptian governorate of Minya. He graduated from the faculty of Engineering. He studied during his time in prison and earned a Bachelor's degree from Assiut University's Faculty of Commerce. He is known to have been very active in inciting against the Egyptian government since the ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi. Abdel Meguid claimed that the coming revolution in Egypt will be a purely Islamic one. He did not maintain supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, when the group suspended its financial support to Jamma Islamiyya. In fact, he attacked the Brotherhood, describing them as an opportunistic group, while the MB accused Jamma Islamiyya of being a terrorist group. He issued a large number of extremist fatwas in which he incited against the Egyptian government and its institutions. He was sentenced to death in absentia in the riots witnessed in Istiqama Mosque in the EgyptianGiza governorate. He was previously sentenced to a 15-year imprisonment term in 1982 for his participation in the killing of 118 policemen Assiut. He participated in the decisions taken by the Jamma Islamiyya to use violence even before 1981, until the initiative to stop violent actions was taken in 1997. He also participated in the armed attack against Assiut's Security Directorate, Dairout, Giza, Luxor, the Semiramis Hotel and Luxor massacre that targeted tourists at the Hatshepsut Temple in 1997. In 1993, he participated in a terrorist attack that targeted the Semiramis Hotel in which two Americans in addition to Italian and French tourists were killed. In the Luxor massacre, 62 tourists were killed with firearms and knives. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Emirates, and Bahrain have collectively designated 69 individuals and 12 institutions that have financed terrorist organizations and received support from Qatar in the past. In a joint statement, the four countries have updated the list with specific names and stressed their commitment to fighting terrorism. The list was drawn up by the four countries in their fight against terrorism and those who fund it. The main target is to combat against extremist ideology and means of promoting it. The four nations wish to combine their strengths and eliminate this phenomena of terrorism and to shield societies from it, the statement added.
