Mohammed Mahdi Akef, a former leader of Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood who had been detained since 2013, died on Friday in Cairo. He was 89.
Talaat Fahmy, a Brotherhood spokesman, said the cause was complications of cancer and other health issues. He said that Mr. Akef’s family had requested that he be released from custody because of his health, but that the request was declined by an Egyptian court.
Mr. Akef, who headed the Muslim Brotherhood from 2004 to 2010, was among hundreds of members arrested after the Egyptian military’s 2013 ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Brotherhood.
Mr. Akef was initially convicted on charges of inciting violence and disturbing general security and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The verdict was overturned on appeal, and he was facing a retrial.
The Muslim Brotherhood rose to power in elections after the 2011 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. But the military toppled the group after widespread protests against it.
Mr. Akef, a physical education teacher, was born in 1928 and joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1940. He was later part of its armed wing, known as the Special Apparatus, which carried out a series of assassinations and attacks in response to the British occupation of Egypt.
The group was accused of a failed assassination attempt against President Gamal Abdel Nasser, setting the stage for a heavy crackdown. Mr. Akef was imprisoned from 1954 until 1974.
After his release, Nasser’s successor, Anwar el-Sadat, embraced the Muslim Brotherhood and Mr. Akef was appointed to a government post.
As relations between Egyptian leaders and the Brotherhood fluctuated, Mr. Akef rose through the group’s ranks, eventually ascending to its top post in 2004. A year later, the Brotherhood participated in the country’s parliamentary elections, winning 20 percent of the seats.
After Mr. Mubarak’s ouster, the group won all of Egypt’s elections, parliamentary and presidential, giving it a rare moment of triumph that quickly ended when Mr. Morsi was forced out of office.
Survivors include a daughter, Alia.
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Mohammed Mahdi Akef (Arabic: محمد مهدى عاكف) (July 12, 1928 – September 22, 2017) was the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egypt-based Islamic political movement, from 2004 until 2010. He assumed the post, that of "general guide" (Arabic: المرشد العام) (frequently translated as "chairman") upon the death of his predecessor, Ma'mun al-Hudaybi. Akef was arrested on 4 July 2013.[2] On 14 July 2013 Egypt's new prosecutor general Hisham Barakatordered his assets to be frozen.[3]
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[hide]Early life[edit]
Akef was born in 1928 in Kafr Awad Al Seneita –Aga - Dakahliya Province, in the north of Egypt. The year of his birth was the year the Muslim Brotherhood Movement was founded.[citation needed]
Akef obtained his Primary Certificate of Education at Al Mansoura Primary School, and obtained his Secondary Certificate of Education at Cairo- Fuad 1st Secondary School. He then joined the Higher Institute of Physical Education and graduated in May 1950, after which he worked as a teacher at Fuad 1st Secondary School.[citation needed]
Career[edit]
He first became involved with the Muslim Brotherhood in 1940, which was then led by Hassan al Banna.[citation needed]
Akef joined the Faculty of Law and assumed responsibility for the Brotherhood's training camps at Ibrahim University (present-day Ain Shams University).[4] This was during the struggle against the British occupation in the Canal preceding the 1952 Revolution, after which he left responsibility to Kamaleddin Hussein, then National Guard Chief.[citation needed]
The last Sections he headed in the Muslim Brotherhood before 1954 were both the Students Section and the PE Section at the Groups HQ.[citation needed]
He was arrested on 1 August 1954 and stood trial on charges including smuggling Major General Abdul Munem Abderraoof (one of the Army chiefs who spearheaded the ouster and expulsion of King Farouq), and was sentenced to death in absentia before the ruling was commuted to life imprisonment.[citation needed]
Akef was released in 1974 and was reappointed General Manager of Youth – a department affiliated to the Ministry of Reconstruction.[citation needed]
He then moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to work as an advisor for the World Assembly of Muslim Youth and was in charge of its camps and conferences. He took part in organizing the biggest camps for the Muslim youth on the world arena; in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Australia, Mali, Kenya, Cyprus, Germany, Britain and America.
He assumed the position of Director of Islamic Centre in Munich.[citation needed]
He has been a member of the Steering Bureau (Guidance Bureau) of the Muslim Brotherhood, since 1987.[citation needed]
He was elected Member of Parliament in 1987 for the East Cairo electoral constituency.[citation needed]
In 1996, he was court-martialed, charged with being head of the Muslim Brotherhood International Organization, and was sentenced to three years. He was released in 1999.[citation needed]
In 2005, he denounced what he called "the myth of the Holocaust" in defending Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust, and accused the United States of attacking anyone who raised questions about the Holocaust.[5]
On October 19, 2009 Egyptian newspapers reported that Akef had resigned as the general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood after a dispute among various leaders in the group.[6] However the following day reports on the Muslim Brotherhood website stated that Akef had not resigned and would continue to serve as the group's general guide until elections in January 2010.[7]
Personal life[edit]
Akef's health deteriorated while he was imprisoned by the Egyptian authorities after the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, his daughter affirmed that he was isolated in the prison hospital and was only allowed a visit once a week, despite his old age and poor health.[8]
Death[edit]
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Mohammed Mahdi Akef (Arabic: محمد مهدى عاكف) (b. July 12, 1928, Kafr Awad Al Seneita, Dakahliya Province, Egypt – d. September 22, 2017, Cairo, Egypt) was the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egypt-based Islamic political movement, from 2004 until 2010. He assumed the post, that of "general guide" (Arabic: المرشد العام - frequently translated as "chairman") upon the death of his predecessor, Ma'mun al-Hudaybi. Akef was arrested on July 4, 2013. On July 14, 2013 Egypt's new prosecutor general Hisham Barakat ordered his assets to be frozen.
Akef was born in 1928 in Kafr Awad Al Seneita in Dakahliya Province, in the north of Egypt. The year of his birth was the year the Muslim Brotherhood Movement was founded.
Akef obtained his Primary Certificate of Education at Al Mansoura Primary School, and obtained his Secondary Certificate of Education at Cairo- Fuad 1st Secondary School. He then joined the Higher Institute of Physical Education and graduated in May 1950, after which he worked as a teacher at Fuad 1st Secondary School.
Akef first became involved with the Muslim Brotherhood in 1940, which was then led by Hassan al Banna.
Akef joined the Faculty of Law and assumed responsibility for the Brotherhood's training camps at Ibrahim University (present-day Ain Shams University). This was during the struggle against the British occupation in the Canal preceding the 1952 Revolution, after which he left responsibility to Kamaleddin Hussein, then National Guard Chief.
The last Sections Akef headed in the Muslim Brotherhood before 1954 were the Students Section and the PE Section at the Groups Headquarters.
Akef was arrested on August 1, 1954 and stood trial on charges including smuggling Major General Abdul Munem Abderraoof (one of the Army chiefs who spearheaded the ouster and expulsion of King Farouq), and was sentenced to death in absentia before the ruling was commuted to life imprisonment.
Akef was released in 1974 and was reappointed General Manager of Youth – a department affiliated to the Ministry of Reconstruction.
Akef then moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to work as an advisor for the World Assembly of Muslim Youth and was in charge of its camps and conferences. He took part in organizing the biggest camps for the Muslim youth on the world arena; in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Australia, Mali, Kenya, Cyprus, Germany, Britain and America.
Beginning in 1987, Akef was a member of the Steering Bureau (Guidance Bureau) of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Akef was elected Member of Parliament in 1987 for the East Cairo electoral constituency.
In 1996, Akef was court-martialed, charged with being head of the Muslim Brotherhood International Organization, and was sentenced to three years. He was released in 1999.
In 2005, he denounced what he called "the myth of the Holocaust" in defending Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust, and accused the United States of attacking anyone who raised questions about the Holocaust.
On October 19, 2009, Egyptian newspapers reported that Akef had resigned as the general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood after a dispute among various leaders in the group. However the following day reports on the Muslim Brotherhood website stated that Akef had not resigned and would continue to serve as the group's general guide until elections in January 2010.
Akef's health deteriorated while he was imprisoned by the Egyptian authorities after the 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat, his daughter affirmed that he was isolated in the prison hospital and was only allowed a visit once a week, despite his old age and poor health.
He died on September 22, 2017 at the age of 89.
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