A Talk on Political and Security issues in the Sinai Peninsula
27 January 2015, Ismail Alexandrani gave a talk in Paris to an invited group hosted by ARI, about the evolution of events in Sinai that has brought about the present deterioration in security and conflict.
Ismail Alexandrani is a researcher and freelance journalist who has studied and written widely on issues related to Sinai.
He analysed the efficiency (or lack thereof) of the exceptional security measures that the Egyptian state has put in place in this region. Underlining the highly political role of this region: at the core of Egypt’s relations with Israel and central to the justification of State violence.
In the question and answer session with the audience, Ismail Alexandrani described the practical and rhetorical role of Sinai armed groups’ alignments to global Islamist organizations, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis having recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. He also shared his perspective on the potential expansion of these movements, which will probably seek influence in the Delta and Cairo areas.
This event was organised as an ARI partnership with Orient XXI and IReMMO.
Notes
‘The War in Sinai: A battle against terrorism or cultivating terrorism for the future?’ Ismail Alexandrani . Arab Reform Initiative, March 2014.
‘Généalogie du djihadisme au Sinaï’ Orient XXI, September 2014.
A timeline of major events in the Sinai covering 1982 to end 2014.Orient XXI, December 2014
Ismail Alexandrani has written a chapter in L’Egypte en révolutions, Bernard Rougier, Stéphane Lacroix, PUF, January 2015.