Tarek al-Zumar is an Egyptian Islamist politician and the secretary-general of the Building and Development Party.[1] The party has a non-political wing named al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya.[1] Al-Zumar was a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad.[2] His cousin is Aboud El Zomor, who was imprisoned along with him.[3]
Al-Zumar was imprisoned in 1984 following the assassination of Anwar Sadat[2] and was released during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.[3]
Al-Zumar and his cousin received a hero's welcome when they were released from prison before things turned.[4] On 14 July 2013 Egypt's prosecutor general Hisham Barakat ordered his assets to be frozen.[5] Afterwards, al-Zumar fled to Qatar.[2]