Under Sadat (1970–81) the multi-party system was restored, and with the
support of the USA a peace treaty with Israel signed. This president played a
distinguished role in the country’s economy by adopting the infitah (opening)
policy, by which he encouraged private Egyptian and foreign capital invest-
ment. However, this resulted in uncontrolled capitalism, which brought no
benefit to the country owing to the spread of corruption. Sadat, who under
Nasser had been a commissioner for the promotion of cooperation with
other Islamic countries, encouraged the revival of Islamism in the country,
so that the Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun), which had been
systematically persecuted and almost dissolved under Nasser, regained its
strength. Many of the Brotherhood’s members returned to Egypt from exile
and were able to build up new, more radical groups, Al-Gama’at al-Islamiya
among them. Although still officially prohibited, they were able to extend
their activities over the whole country and invade the trade unions in the
industrial plants as well as the schools and universities and propagate their
political agenda from the pulpits of the state mosques. In 1981 members
of the group murdered Sadat, whom they considered a traitor of the Arab-
Islamic cause.