Gehad El-Haddad (; born c. 1981) is an Egyptian political activist for the
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt
In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood ( ''jamāʿat /al-ikhwan/el-ekhwan al-muslimīn'', ) is a Sunni Islamist religious, political, and social movement,Eric Trager,The Unbreakable Muslim Brotherhood", ''Foreign Affairs'', September October 2011, p. ...
. He acted as media spokesman for the Brotherhood from May 2013 until he was arrested on 17 September 2013.
He became the most recognized face of the
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
in foreign media during the period following former president
Mohamed Morsi
Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012Rabaa Square where protesters made a
sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
for more than a month.
The son of Essam El-Haddad, a member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau, Gehad El-Haddad grew up in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
. He worked for the Industrial Modernization Centre and then the
Clinton Climate Initiative
The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...
. Afterwards, he volunteered for the Muslim Brotherhood Renaissance Project (Project implementation started while Morsi was in office). In February 2017, as some reports emerged that the Trump administration was mulling designating the
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
as a foreign terrorist organisation, Gehad El-Haddad wrote an op-ed for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' from his prison cell in
Tora Prison
Tora Prison ( '; ) is an Egyptian prison complex for criminal and political detainees, located in Tora, Egypt. The complex is situated in front of the Tora El Balad metro station. The main buildings in the Tora Prison complex are Tora Agricultur ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
outlining that the MB was not a terrorist organisation but rather a peaceful socio-political organisation. After writing the op-Ed, he was moved to a disciplinary cell in
Scorpion Prison
The Al-Aqrab Prison (; official name Tora Prison 992 Maximum-Security) is a supermax prison in Helwan, Egypt, south of Cairo. It is used for political prisoners and opponents of the Egyptian government, who include Muslim Brotherhood and April ...
.
While in prison, he went on
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
.
On 25 October 2019, his brother Abdullah stated that Gehad had lost his ability to walk.
Ahram Online
''Al-Ahram'' (; ), founded on 5 August 1876, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second-oldest after '' Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya'' (''The Egyptian Events'', founded 1828). It is majority owned by the Egyptian governm ...
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...