Editing Shukri Mustafa (section)

==Beliefs==

Shukri took an extreme position.  He regarded all previous scholarship as unnecessary and rejected even the four [[madh'hab]]s (schools) of Islam. He insisted that each Muslim must engage in [[ijtihad]] (interpretation) based on the Qu'ran and the [[sunnah]] (practices of Muhammad and his followers).<ref>''The Prophet and the Pharaoh'', pp. 79-80 and Calvert, p282</ref>

Shukri rejected everything that he considered tainted by jahiliyyah society, including mosques—he instructed his followers not to attend Friday prayer in them. He claimed that, while some unaffiliated mosques were acceptable, the most appropriate place to pray was at home.<ref>''The Prophet and the Pharaoh'', pp. 81-83</ref> He was indifferent to Egypt's "Anti-Zionist" struggle. When asked what he would do if Israel invaded Egypt, he responded that his group would flee rather than fight back. He considered the [[Egyptian Army]] his enemy just as much as Israel.<ref>''The Prophet and the Pharaoh'', pp. 83-84</ref> He also believed that learning to write was useless for most Egyptians, and opposed it.<ref>''The Prophet and the Pharaoh'', pp. 84-85</ref>

Unlike most similar groups, ''Jama'at al-Muslimin'' encouraged women to join. Shukri personally arranged marriages with male members and the group provided accommodation in shared lodgings. Often several couples would share a room, separated only by hanging curtains. If a married woman joined the group and her husband did not, then Shukri considered the "jahilliyah" marriage valueless and allowed her to wed again. This approach to marriage brought the group to public attention, with several media stories of family members claiming that their daughters had been stolen from them.<ref>''The Prophet and the Pharaoh'', pp. 86-89</ref>

According to authors [[Daniel Benjamin]] and [[Steven Simon]], based on the "testimony of those who knew him", and what Shuqri "intimated" during his trial, "it is clear Shuqri Mustafa thought he was the [[Mahdi]]", (the prophesied messiah of Islam who will return to Earth before the Day of Judgment and, (alongside [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]]), rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny).<ref>''The Age of Sacred Terror'' by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, pp. 90-1</ref>

According to [[Abdullah el-Faisal]], Shukri Mustafa made [[takfir]] on those who drank water from the taps because they were controlled by the government and was one of the [[Khawarij]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuyrQuX6OEY|title=YouTube|website=www.youtube.com|language=en|access-date=2017-12-05}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=October 2016}}

===Confronting the state===

In 1976 a few members left for other groups. Shukri reacted angrily. He declared them apostate and, in November, led two raids to kill them. The police intervened, detaining fourteen of his followers and issuing a warrant for Shukri's own arrest.<ref name=Sageman28>Marc Sageman, ''Understanding terror networks'', p. 28.</ref><ref>''The Prophet and the Pharaoh'', pp. 94-95.</ref> Surprised by the official response, Shukri demanded their release but he was ignored by the Egyptian government and ridiculed by the press. It was at this point that his group was given the label "[[Takfir wal-Hijra]]" (Excommunication and Exile). Shukri hated the term, but it was far more descriptive than the group's chosen name and became fixed in the popular consciousness.<ref name=Sageman28 />