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I've been reading Karen Armstrong's Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence, and just read the section on Sadat's assassination and the rise of Islamism in Egypt. In the assassination, Egyptian soldier Khalid Islambouli managed to get to the presidential stands while throwing grenades, and once in range "emptied his assault rifle into Sadat's body".

What if Islambouli's gun had jammed? Would Sadat's guards have managed to kill him and the other attackers on the spot? What would have been the backlash in Egypt after this failed assassination attempt? Keep in mind that one of the radicals imprisoned at the time was Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who subsequently gained international visibility during Islambouli's trial. What would have been the fate of Al-Zawahiri and other would-be Egyptian radicals? How would the development of Al-Qaeda and similar groups have been affected?
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