Editing Omar Abdel-Rahman

{{Short description|Egyptian Islamist militant (1938–2017)}}
{{for|the Emirati footballer|Omar Abdulrahman}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Omar Abdel-Rahman<br />{{lang|ar|عمر عبد الرحمن}}
| image_name        = Omar Abdel-Rahman.jpg
| image_caption     = 
| alias             = The Blind Sheikh
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1938|05|03|df=y}}
| birth_place       = Al Gammaliyyah, [[Dakahlia Governorate]], [[Kingdom of Egypt]]
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|2017|02|18|1938|05|03|df=y}}
| death_place       = [[FMC Butner]], [[North Carolina]], U.S.
| nationality       = Egyptian
| conviction        = [[Seditious conspiracy]], [[Terrorism]]
| conviction_penalty = [[Life imprisonment]] plus 15 years
| conviction_status = Deceased
| occupation        = 
| spouse            = {{plainlist|
* Aisha Hassan Gouda
* Aisha Zohdi
}}
| children          =10
}}

[[Sheikh]] '''Omar Abdel-Rahman''' ({{langx|ar|عمر عبد الرحمن}}), ('''ʾUmar ʾAbd ar-Raḥmān'''; 3 May 1938 – 18 February 2017), commonly known in the United States as "'''The Blind Sheikh'''", was a blind [[Egyptians|Egyptian]] Islamist militant who served a [[Life imprisonment|life sentence]] at the [[Federal Medical Center, Butner]] near [[Butner, North Carolina]], United States. Formerly a resident of [[New York City]], Abdel-Rahman and nine others were convicted of [[seditious conspiracy]] in 1995.<ref>{{cite news|last=Perez|first=Richard|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E3DC1539F931A35753C1A963958260|title=A Gamble Pays Off as the Prosecution Uses an Obscure 19th-Century Law|newspaper=New York Times|date=2 October 1995|access-date=8 April 2010}}</ref> His prosecution grew out of investigations of the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]].

Abdel-Rahman was the leader of [[Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya]] (also known as "The Islamic Group"), a [[Islamism|militant Islamist]] movement in [[Egypt]] that is considered a [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization by the [[European Union]] and the Egyptian government. The group was responsible for many acts of violence, including the November 1997 [[Luxor massacre]], in which 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians were killed. The official [[9/11 Commission Report]] mentions his lectures as an inspiration for the assassination of Egyptian president [[Anwar Sadat]].<ref>https://9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf Page 56</ref> 

==Youth==
Abdel-Rahman was born in the city of al-Gamalia, [[Dakahlia Governorate]], Egypt, on 3 May 1938. He lost his eyesight when he was 10 months old. He studied a [[Braille]] version of the [[Qur'an]] as a child, [[Hafiz (Quran)|had it memorized]] by age 11 and was sent to an Islamic boarding school. He developed an interest in the works of [[Ibn Taymiyah]] and [[Sayyid Qutb]]. He studied at [[Cairo University]]'s School of Theology and later earned a Doctorate in [[Tafsir]] (quranic interpretation) from [[Al-Azhar University]] in [[Cairo]]. His thesis was entitled ''Al-Qu'ran Min Khushumihi Kama Tashawwarahu Surah At-Tawba'' (The Qur'an's Attitude toward Its Opponents in the Perspective of [[At-Tawba|Surah At-Tawba]]), which "received international acclaims with the highest grade."<ref>Abdelmonem Moneep, ''Islamic Movements in Egypt'', p. 132</ref> Part of the 2,000-page dissertation has been published in book form in 2006 in Egypt as ''Mawqif al-Qur'an min khusumih''.<ref>[[Roxanne L. Euben]] & Muhammad Qasim Zaman, ''Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought: Texts and Contexts from Al-Banna to Bin Laden'', Princeton University Press (2009), p. 344</ref> Soon after leaving university, Abdel-Rahman began preaching against the secular regime of Egyptian president [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = The 9/11 Encyclopedia|last = Atkins|first = Stephen E.|publisher = Praeger Security International|year = 2008|isbn = 978-0-275-99432-7|location = Westport, CT|pages = 3}}</ref> Abdel-Rahman became one of the most prominent and outspoken Muslim clerics to denounce Egypt's secularism.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

==Family==
Omar Abdel-Rahman had two wives, who bore him 10 children: Aisha Hassan Gouda (7 sons), and Aisha Zohdi (3 children).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/923/000099626/|title=Omar Abdel-Rahman|publisher=Nndb|access-date=8 April 2010}}</ref> His sons include Ahmed, [[Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman|Mohammed]] and [[Asim Abdulrahman|Asim]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/bin-laden-in-der-trutzburg-des-sanften-scheichs-1.654970 |title=Bin Laden - In der Trutzburg des sanften Scheichs - Politik |date=17 May 2010 |publisher=Sueddeutsche.de |access-date=20 June 2014}}</ref> Ahmed was killed in a drone strike in [[Afghanistan]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|author=Bill Roggio |date=15 October 2011 |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/10/blind_sheikhs_son_ki.php |title=Blind Sheikh's son killed in US airstrike in Afghanistan |website=The Long War Journal |access-date=20 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Bill Roggio |date=28 October 2012 |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2012/10/zawahiri_notes_death_of_blind.php |title=Zawahiri notes death of Blind Sheikh's son 'on the pure soil of Khorasan' - Threat Matrix |publisher=Longwarjournal.org |access-date=20 June 2014}}.</ref> Mohammed was captured in [[Pakistan]] in 2003. He was later extradited to [[Egypt]] and was released in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|author=David Wroe |url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/jihadist-believes-bin-laden-inspired-arab-spring-confidence-20110909-1k1z9.html |title=Jihadist believes bin Laden inspired Arab Spring confidence |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=20 June 2014}}</ref> Asim was a close associate of [[Osama bin Laden]] following the [[September 11 attacks|September 11th attacks]].<ref>''Sued Deutsche'', [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/878/352710/text/ In der Trutzburg des sanften Scheichs], 23 September 2001.</ref>

==Imprisonment in Egypt==
During the 1970s, Abdel-Rahman developed close ties with two of Egypt's most militant organizations, [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]] and [[Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya]] ("The Islamic Group"). By the 1980s, he had emerged as the leader of Al-jama'a al-Islamiyya, although he was still revered by followers of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which at the time was being led by [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], later to become the leader of [[al-Qaeda]]. Abdel-Rahman spent three years in Egyptian jails while awaiting trial on charges of issuing a [[fatwa]] resulting in the 1981 assassination of [[Anwar Sadat]] by Egyptian Islamic Jihad.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NdyYjQxd7uEC&pg=PA41 |title=Africa 2012 - J. Tyler Dickovick|publisher=Books|access-date=24 December 2012|isbn=9781610488822|date=9 August 2012}}</ref>

==Afghan Mujaheddin==
Although Abdel-Rahman was not convicted of conspiracy in the Sadat assassination, he was expelled from Egypt following his acquittal. He made his way to [[Afghanistan]] in the mid-1980s, where he contacted his former professor, [[Abdullah Azzam]], co-founder of [[Maktab al-Khadamat|Maktab al-Khadamat (MAK)]] along with [[Osama bin Laden]]. Abdel-Rahman built a strong rapport with bin Laden during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] and, following Azzam's murder in 1989, he assumed control of the international jihadist arm of MAK/Al Qaeda.{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}}

In July 1990, Abdel-Rahman traveled to [[New York City]] to gain control of MAK's financial and organizational infrastructure in the [[United States]]. Abdel-Rahman is said to have established links with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who offered funding and military and logistical support to those fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Campo|first=Juan Eduardo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZbyz_Hr-eIC&q=said+to+have++established+links+with+the+Central+Intelligence++Agency+%28CIA%29%2C+who+offered+funding+and+military|title=Encyclopedia of Islam|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4381-2696-8|pages=55|language=en}}</ref>

==Activities in the US==
Abdel-Rahman was issued a tourist visa to visit the United States by the consul of the United States Embassy in [[Khartoum]], [[Sudan]], despite his name being listed on a [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] terrorist watch list. Abdel-Rahman entered the United States in July 1990 via [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Sudan]]. The State Department revoked his tourist visa on 17 November.<ref name=nsec>{{cite news|last=McKinley|first=James |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/16/nyregion/islamic-leader-on-us-terrorist-list-is-in-brooklyn.html|title=Islamic Leader on U.S. Terrorist List Is in Brooklyn|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 December 1990|access-date=18 September 2012}}</ref> Despite this, in April 1991, he obtained a [[Permanent residence (United States)|green card]] from the [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] office in [[Newark, New Jersey]]. After leaving the U.S. to go on an overseas trip, he tried to re-enter the U.S. in August 1991. At that point, U.S. officials recognized that he was on the lookout list, and began the procedure to revoke his permanent resident status. The U.S. government still allowed him to enter the country, as he had the right to appeal the decision to revoke his residency status. Abdel-Rahman failed to appeal the decision, and on 6 March 1992, the U.S. government revoked his green card. He then requested political asylum. A hearing on that matter was held on 20 January 1993.<ref name=nthi>{{cite news|last=Jehl |first=Douglas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/07/nyregion/the-twin-towers-rahman-errors-admitted.html |title=Rahman Errors Admitted |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 March 1993 |access-date=18 September 2012}}</ref> It was later revealed that Abdel-Rahman was given most of his visa approvals by the CIA.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OLvTNk75hUoC&q=cia Gilles Kepel, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam (Harvard University Press, 2002), p.300-304]</ref> Egyptian officials have testified that the CIA was actively assisting him in entering the US.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/22/nyregion/cia-officers-played-role-in-sheik-visas.html Douglas Jehl, "C.I.A. Officers Played Role In Sheik Visas" The New York Times, 22 July 1993]</ref><ref>Cooley, John, "Unholy Wars" (Pluto, 1999), pp. 11, 54</ref> The CIA also protected Abdel-Rahman after he arrived in the United States.<ref>Cooley, John, "Unholy Wars" (Pluto, 1999), pp. 230ff</ref>

Abdel-Rahman traveled widely in the United States and Canada. Despite U.S. support for the mujahideen in Afghanistan, Abdel-Rahman spoke out vociferously against the country. He issued a [[fatwa]] in the US that declared it lawful to rob banks and kill Jews in the US. His sermons condemned Americans as the "descendants of apes and pigs who have been feeding from the dining tables of the Zionists, Communists, and colonialists".<ref>[[Evan Kohlmann|Kohlmann, Evan F.]], ''Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe'', Berg Publishers, 25 November 2004, p. 26</ref> He called on Muslims to assail the West, "cut the transportation of their countries, tear it apart, destroy their economy, burn their companies, eliminate their interests, sink their ships, shoot down their planes, kill them on the sea, air, or land".<ref>Kohlmann, Evan F., ''Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe'', p. 185</ref>

Preaching at three mosques in the New York City area, Abdel-Rahman was soon surrounded by a core group of devoted followers that included persons who would soon be responsible for the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]], which took place five weeks into the [[Bill Clinton]] administration. One of Abdel-Rahman's followers, [[El Sayyid Nosair]], was linked to the 1990 [[Manhattan]] assassination of Israeli nationalist Rabbi [[Meir Kahane]], founder of the [[Jewish Defense League]].

[[Steven Emerson]]'s 1994 television documentary ''[[Terrorists Among Us: Jihad in America]]'' contains a video of Abdel-Rahman in Detroit, calling for ''jihad'' against the "infidel".<ref>{{cite news|last=Goodman|first=Walter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/21/arts/television-review-in-jihad-in-america-food-for-uneasiness.html |title=Goodman, Walter, "Television Review; In 'Jihad in America,' Food for Uneasiness,"|newspaper=The New York Times|date=21 November 1994|access-date=21 January 2010}}</ref>

In 1993, Egypt suffered a spate of terrorist attacks in which over 1,100 people were either injured or killed. By comparison, the number for the prior year was 322.<ref name=afir>{{cite news|last=Weisser |first=Rebecca|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/hilalis-radical-mentor/story-e6frg6z6-1111112436639 |title=Hilali's radical mentor|newspaper=The Australian|date=30 October 2006|access-date=16 September 2012}}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', these attacks had "shaken the Egyptian Government".<ref name=nfir>{{cite news|last=Hedges |first=Chris |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/07/world/a-cry-of-islamic-fury-taped-in-brooklyn-for-cairo.html|title=A Cry of Islamic Fury Tape in Brooklyn for Cairo|newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 January 1993|access-date=16 September 2012}}</ref>

Abdel-Rahman was the spiritual leader of Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya, which included the terrorists who were conducting these attacks.<ref name="nfir"/> At that time, he was recording his sermons in Brooklyn on cassette tapes and sending them to Egypt. These tapes were duplicated and given to tens of thousands of followers in Cairo. In these tapes, Abdel-Rahman called for the murder of infidels, for the ousting of [[Hosni Mubarak]], and for Egypt to become a pure Islamic state.<ref name="nfir"/>

Mamdouh Beltagui, the head of the state information service in Egypt, told ''[[The New York Times]]'' in the early 1990s, "Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman uses New York as a base. He raises funds and sends money back to Egypt with couriers. He passes on messages to his followers, giving orders about what they should do next and who they should target. We do not understand why the U.S. authorities have allowed him to enter the country."<ref name="nfir"/>

===Arrest, conviction and death===
{{see also|New York City landmark bomb plot}}
After the first World Trade Center bombing in February 1993, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) began to investigate Abdel-Rahman and his followers more closely. An Egyptian informant wearing a listening device for the FBI managed to record Abdel-Rahman saying he preferred attacks be concentrated on US military targets, but also stating acts of violence against civilian targets were not illicit.<ref name="nyt95page2a">Fried, Joseph P.[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/02/nyregion/terror-conspiracy-overview-sheik-9-followers-guilty-conspiracy-terrorism.html?src=pm&pagewanted=2] 2 October 1995 ''New York Times'' Page 2: But his tapes made crucial points against Mr. Abdel Rahman. In one, Mr. Salem says one of the conspirators has proposed bombing the United Nations headquarters, and asks, "Is this considered licit or illicit?" "It is not illicit," Mr. Abdel Rahman replies, according to a transcript, "however, will be bad for Muslims." He goes on to tell Mr. Salem to find a way instead to "inflict damage on the American Army itself."</ref> The most startling plan, the government charged, was to set off five bombs in 10 minutes, blowing up the United Nations, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the George Washington Bridge and a federal building housing the FBI.<ref name="nyt95page1">{{Cite news|last=Fried|first=Joseph P.|title=The Terror Conspiracy - The Overview - Sheik and 9 Followers Guilty of a Conspiracy of Terrorism - NYTimes.com|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/02/nyregion/terror-conspiracy-overview-sheik-9-followers-guilty-conspiracy-terrorism.html|date=2 October 1995|work=New York Times|page=1|quote=The centerpiece of the conspiracy, according to prosecutors who had no actual explosion to support their case and who relied heavily on secretly made tapes and a shady informer, was to be a cataclysmic "day of terror": five bombs that were to blow up the United Nations headquarters, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the George Washington Bridge and 26 Federal Plaza, the Government's main office building in New York.|access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> Government prosecutors showed videotapes of the defendants mixing bomb ingredients in a garage before their arrest in 1993.<ref name="nyt95page2">Fried, Joseph P.[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/02/nyregion/terror-conspiracy-overview-sheik-9-followers-guilty-conspiracy-terrorism.html?src=pm&pagewanted=2] 2 October 1995 New York Times Page 2: In addition, videotapes showed four defendants mixing diesel oil and fertilizer at a Queens garage for the intended bombs. The garage, which the suspects called a safe house, had actually been fitted out by the Government with hidden cameras and microphones for a sting operation.</ref> Abdel-Rahman was arrested on 24 June 1993, along with nine of his followers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 18, 2017 |title='Blind Sheik' linked to 1993 World Trade Center bombing dies in US federal prison |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/blind-sheikh-linked-1993-world-trade-center-bombing/story?id=45582741%7Cdate=18 |work=ABC News}}</ref> On 1 October 1995, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy, solicitation to murder Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, conspiracy to murder President Mubarak, solicitation to attack a U.S. military installation, and conspiracy to conduct bombings; in 1996 he was sentenced to [[life imprisonment|life]] in [[Solitary confinement in the United States|solitary confinement]] without [[parole]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/threat/fbi_terror95/terrorin.htm#anchoNewYork|title=Terrorism in the United States |publisher=FAS|access-date=8 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The 9/11 Encyclopedia |last=Atkins |first=Stephen E. |publisher=Praeger Security International |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-275-99431-0 |location=Westport, CT |page=3}}</ref>

Abdel-Rahman began serving his life sentence at the [[Federal Medical Center, Rochester|FMC Rochester]] in Minnesota.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=[[KROC (AM)]] |title=Blind Sheik – Former Rochester Federal Prison Inmate – Has Died |date=18 February 2017 |url=http://krocam.com/blind-sheik-former-rochester-federal-prison-inmate-has-died/ |access-date=18 February 2017}}</ref> After the [[September 11 attacks]], he was transferred to the [[Federal Medical Center, Butner|FMC Butner]] in North Carolina.<ref>"[http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=omar&Middle=&LastName=rahman&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 Omar Ahmad Rahman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011165647/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=omar&Middle=&LastName=rahman&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 |date=11 October 2013 }}." [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]. Retrieved on 21 May 2010.</ref> He died there on 18 February 2017 at the age of 78 due to complications from [[diabetes]] and [[coronary artery disease]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Preston|first1=Julia|title=Omar Abdel Rahman, Blind Cleric Linked to World Trade Center Bombing, Dies at 78|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/18/world/middleeast/omar-abdel-rahman-dead.html|access-date=18 February 2017|work=New York Times|date=18 February 2017}}</ref>

It was arranged for the U.S. to transport his body to Egypt for his funeral.<ref>{{cite news |agency=Reuters |date=22 February 2017 |title=Thousands Mourn 'Blind Sheikh' Convicted In 1993 World Trade Center Bombing |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/blind-sheikh-death-mourners_us_58adecdbe4b01406012f4589 |newspaper=WORLDPOST }}</ref> His funeral was mentioned in an article in the publication ''Al-Masra'' by the terrorist group [[Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/Terror_Monitor/status/836282545402593284 |title=#YEMEN Pro-#AQAP's #AlMasra Newspaper Slams #WhiteHouse Chief Strategist #SteveBannon. #TerrorMonitor |date=27 February 2017 |website=Twitter |publisher=Terrormonitor.org |access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/836606118403141632 |title=Latest #alQaeda paper just out. Congrats #SteveBannon for being lead story with headline "the war is with #Islam as a religion". Yes, a gift |last=Kendall |first=Elisabeth |date=28 February 2017 |website=Twitter }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://jihadology.net/2017/02/27/new-issue-of-an%e1%b9%a3ar-al-shariah-in-the-arabian-peninsulas-newspaper-al-masra-41/ |title=New issue of Anṣār al-Sharī'ah in the Arabian Peninsula's newspaper: "al-Masrā #41" |date=27 February 2017 |website=Jihadology }}</ref>

==Efforts for release==
In a speech to supporters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on 30 June 2012, [[Mohamed Morsi]] briefly mentioned that he would work to free Omar Abdel-Rahman, along with other Egyptians who were arrested during the revolution.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/egypt-s-morsi-at-tahrir-square-power-of-the-people-is-above-all-1.447794 "Egypt's Morsi at Tahrir Square: Power of the people is above all"] ''Haaretz'', 30 June 2012.</ref> A Brotherhood spokesperson later said that the [[extradition]] was for [[Humanitarianism|humanitarian]] reasons and that Morsi didn't intend to overturn Abdel-Rahman's criminal convictions.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/world/middleeast/morsi-promises-to-work-for-release-of-omar-abdel-rahman.html "Morsi Says He Will Work for Release of Sheik Jailed in U.S."] ''The New York Times'', 29 June 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/egypt-leader-mohammed-morsi-vows-to-free-omar-abdel-rahman-infamous-blind-sheik-jailed-in-us/ |title= Egypt leader Mohammed Morsi vows to free Omar Abdel-Rahman, infamous blind sheik jailed in U.S. |date=29 June 2012 |publisher=CBS News |access-date=16 March 2023}} Free, no subscription required</ref>

During the 2013 [[In Aménas hostage crisis]], a [[Mauritania]]n news organization reported that the kidnappers had offered to swap American hostages in Algeria for the release of Abdel-Rahman and [[Aafia Siddiqui]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sahara-crisis-demands-idUSBRE90H0RG20130118 |title=Desert kidnappers offer to swap U.S. hostages for jailed militants |date=18 January 2013 |work=Reuters}}</ref> US State Department spokeswoman [[Victoria Nuland]] stated that the United States would not negotiate with the terrorists.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/18/american-still-missing-as-us-plane-lands-in-algeria-to-aid-in-evacuation/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118151044/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/18/american-still-missing-as-us-plane-lands-in-algeria-to-aid-in-evacuation/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 January 2013 |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=18 January 2013 |title=State Department: US won't negotiate with terrorists still holding US hostages in Algeria}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Abdel-Rahman's imprisonment became a rallying point for Islamic militants around the world, including Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.<ref name="McCarthyDead">{{cite magazine|last1=McCarthy|first1=Andrew|title=Omar Abdel Rahman, the 'Blind Sheikh,' Is Dead|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445052/blind-sheikh-dies-terrorist-evangelist|access-date=20 February 2017|magazine=National Review|date=18 February 2017}}</ref> In 1997, members of his group Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya conducted two attacks against European visitors to Egypt, including the [[Luxor massacre|massacre of 58 Western tourists]] at [[Deir el-Bahri]] in Luxor. In addition to killing women and children, the attackers mutilated a number of bodies and distributed leaflets throughout the scene demanding Abdel-Rahman's release.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}

In 2005, three members of Abdel-Rahman's legal team, lawyer [[Lynne Stewart]], translator [[Mohamed Yousry]] and postal clerk Ahmed Abdel Sattar, were convicted of facilitating communication between Abdel-Rahman and members of the US designated-terrorist organization Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya in Egypt. They received long federal prison sentences, based on their violated obligation to keep Abdel-Rahman incommunicado while providing him legal counsel.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/02/10/terror.trial.lawyer/ |title=Civil rights attorney convicted in terror trial – February 10, 2005 |publisher=CNN.com |date= February 14, 2005|access-date=March 18, 2010}}</ref>

[[Qasim al Raymi]], leader of [[Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula]], eulogized Abdul Rahman on 6 March.<ref name=CThreats2017-03-06/> His eulogy was critical of the US.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Egypt|United States|Biography}}
*[[Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order]]
*[[Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman]]
==References==
{{reflist|33em|refs=
<ref name=CThreats2017-03-06>
{{cite news 
| url         = https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-march-6-2017
| title       = Gulf of Aden Security Review: A regularly updated review of both Yemen and the Horn of Africa covering topics related to security, governance, and militant activity
| publisher   = Critical Threats
| date        = 2017-03-06
| access-date  = 2017-03-11
| quote       = AQAP's emir, Qasim al Raymi, released an eleven-minute speech eulogizing the "Blind Sheikh" Omar Abdul Rahman on March 6. Abdul Rahman died on February 19 of natural causes in a North Carolina prison where he had been sentenced for his role as a key planner of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Al Raymi used the speech to criticize the United States.
}}
</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* Gunaratna, R. 2002 'Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror'. Scribe Publications: Carlton.
* Lance, P. 2003 '1000 Years For Revenge: International Terrorism and The FBI'. HarperCollins: New York

==External links==
*{{New York Times topic|people/a/omar_abdel_rahman}}
*[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/lynnestewart1.html Smuggling The Smoking gun]
*[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html Bin Laden's 1996 Fatwa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108175653/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html |date=8 January 2007 }}

{{Militant Islamism in the Middle East}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdel-Rahman, Omar}}
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[[Category:People from Dakahlia Governorate]]
[[Category:People convicted of seditious conspiracy]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of religiously motivated violence in the United States]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government]]
[[Category:Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention]]
[[Category:Terrorism in Egypt]]
[[Category:Blind activists]]