On 6 October 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was shot and killed by members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad during a military parade in Cairo commemorating the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Ten others died and 28 were wounded. The lead assassin and four co-conspirators were tried, convicted, and executed in 1982.
Anwar Sadat — Credit: Official presidential portrait (Egyptian Presidency) · Public domain
Overview
On 6 October 1981, Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, was assassinated during the annual victory parade in Cairo held to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal in the Yom Kippur War. The attack was carried out by members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, an Islamist militant group. While motives have been debated by historians, the assassination is widely attributed to opposition among Islamic nationalists, anti-imperialists, and pro-Palestinian groups to Sadat's peace initiative with Israel and the United States under the Camp David Accords.
Background
The 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was highly controversial in the Arab world; Egypt's Arab League membership was suspended until 1989. Egyptian Islamist groups, including Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya, felt betrayed by Sadat and called for his overthrow and the establishment of an Islamic theocracy. Following a failed military coup in June 1981, Sadat ordered a crackdown that in September 1981 saw more than 1,500 people arrested, including Islamic Jihad members, Coptic clergy, and other activists. This roundup missed the military cell led by Lieutenant Khalid Al-Islambuli, which went on to carry out the assassination. The overall plot was led by Muhammad Abd al-Salam Faraj, a civilian engineer and Islamic Jihad member; an alternative account attributes planning to a different group, al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya.
The Assassination
During the parade, as Egyptian Air Force jets flew overhead as a distraction, a truck in the procession carrying the assassination squad stopped near the reviewing stand. Al-Islambuli approached Sadat, who reportedly believed the men were part of the ceremonial display, and threw grenades before he and other assassins opened fire into the stands. The attack lasted about two minutes. Sadat and ten others were killed, including senior military officers, a presidential photographer, foreign dignitaries, and a Coptic Orthodox bishop. Twenty-eight others were wounded, including then–Vice President Hosni Mubarak. Sadat died approximately two hours later at a military hospital from internal bleeding and shock.
Aftermath
An associated insurrection occurred in Asyut, where rebels briefly held security headquarters before being suppressed, with six attackers and 68 security personnel killed. Reactions across the Islamic world were often approving of the assassination, reflecting anger over the peace treaty with Israel. Hosni Mubarak was sworn in as president on 14 October 1981 and would remain in office until 2011. Sadat's funeral drew numerous world leaders, including three former U.S. presidents and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
Legal Outcome
By April 1982, 19 people were tried for the assassination; 17 were jailed and two acquitted. Five defendants, including Al-Islambuli and plot leader Muhammad Abd al-Salam Faraj, were sentenced to death and executed on 15 April 1982.
Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Source
unclassified
Anwar Sadat official portrait
Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Source
archival location
President Ronald Reagan and His White House Staff Discuss The Assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in The Oval Office from Left to Right Michael Deaver Richard Allen Geor - DPLA - 6d25accbf9cc8946f273a398575e1994
Credit: President (1981-1989 : Reagan). White House Photographic Office. 1981-1989 · Public domain · Source
archival location
Photograph of President Reagan and his White House staff discussing the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat - NARA - 198521
Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domain · Source
unclassified
Sadat & Kamal Hassan Ali
Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Source
archival location
President Ronald Reagan Meeting with Alexander Haig William Casey James Baker Ed Meese George Bush Caspar Weinberger on The Assassination of President Sadat of The Arab Republic of - DPLA - cdd70fd648c446a75970532b7019cb7d
Credit: President (1981-1989 : Reagan). White House Photographic Office. 1981-1989 · Public domain · Source
On 6 October 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was shot and killed by members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad during a military parade in Cairo commemorating the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Ten others died and 28 were wounded. The lead assassin and four co-conspirators were tried, convicted, and executed in 1982.
Where did the crime happen?
Cairo, Egypt (site of the assassination during the annual victory parade).
Who was convicted?
Khalid Al-Islambuli (Lieutenant who led the assassination squad; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982), Muhammad Abd al-Salam Faraj (Civilian engineer and Egyptian Islamic Jihad member who led the assassination plot; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982), Abdel-Hamad Abdel-Salem Abdel-Aal (Civilian member of the assassination squad; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982), Hussein Abbas Mohammed (Sergeant and member of the assassination squad; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982), and Atta Tayel Hemeida (Civilian member of the assassination squad; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982).
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