When people think of army officers they think along the lines of

devoted or excellent (which they are.) But this certain Special

Forces officer disobeyed his orders and cause all at once.
Hisham al-Ashmawy, while still working in Special Forces, slowly
descended into militia and has started to help jihadists fight
Egypts government. His training in Special Forces lets him have
an advantage for jihadists fighting alongside them. This shows
how many people that can convert their beliefs with convincing or
an incentive. For Ashmawy, his possible incentive to join jihadists
was the fact that a close friend of Ashmawys was detained by
security agents. Ashmawys relatives say that they believe he was
tortured and died in custody, after hearing this news, there was a
sudden change in Ashmawys attitude. He had many friends in
the force, but cut off any contact with them, after this event. He
talked to anyone who would listen, that you need to have your
own personalities, and do not accept orders without being
convinced of them.
After four years, Ashmawy was transferred to an administrative
post where authorities would be less of a threat, but Ashmawy
continued too discuss political Islam, and hand out banned
books/pamphlets. A terrorist group called Ansar Beyt al-Maqdis,
accepted Ashmawy after he was expelled from the army in 2012.
1 year later, Ashmawy returned as a key operative, teaching a cell
how to carry out suicide bombings, assemble roadside bombs,
and shoot soldiers.

By Zoe
Lewkowitz