Islamic State Threatens to Derail Egyptian Elections with Attacks

TEL AVIV — The Islamic State is threatening to torpedo the presidential elections in Egypt that are scheduled to take place next month.

In an edited video released by IS, the organization claims that elected leaders are a sort of competition to the will of Allah as they write laws over men and present a civil and secular alternative to the laws of Allah as they appear in Islam.

The video harshly criticized the Islamists participating in the elections.

The spokesman for Wilyat Sinai, IS’ Egyptian branch, threatens in the video to attack election headquarters and polling places. In the video, the spokesman tells Egyptian citizens to refrain from going to polling places as they will be targeted in attacks. He also noted that the elections make Allah angry because they establish a parallel authority to his own. The elections also increase Allah’s anger with its participants, said the spokesman.

The video depicts Egyptian president Abed Fatah al-Sissi as a tyrant fighting Islam.

Sissi appears as someone threatening to harm the army of the mujahedeen in Sinai and other places with full force. IS spokespeople promised Egyptian soldiers and the leaders of the Egyptian regime that their military campaign against IS will fail and the fight against the soldiers and the Egyptian army will continue.

The organization claimed that the Egyptian army is acting to destroy the homes of Muslims in Sinai and that IS fighters will respond to the alleged brutal campaign of destroying homes.

Organization members were also seen in the video shooting at and detonating vehicles, military equipment and outposts of the Egyptian army.

IS showed a jihadist who claimed he was Omar a-Din, once a part of the Muslim Brotherhood, and that his father Ibrahim a-Din is still a member of the organization. Egyptian authorities have claimed in the past that Omar was killed during terrorist activity with the Muslim Brotherhood against the Egyptian army, but Omar appears in the video as an IS operative in Sinai.

If authenticated, Omar’s appearance may come as a surprise for the Muslim Brotherhood as well as the authorities and Egyptian media outlets, all of which reported that he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood killed in confrontation with the Egyptian army.

Omar was presented as someone criticizing the regime and sending well-wishes to the Caliph Abu Baker al-Baghdadi. In the video, Omar and IS as an organization criticize the Muslim Brotherhood for focusing their struggle on gaining authority, binding them to the democratic process and protection of the country’s secular law.