Abd al-Halim Abu Ghazala him to run as their presidential candidate, but he refused due to their different ideological backgrounds. Abu Ghazala died on 6 September 2008 at El-Galla Military Hospital in Cairo at the age of 78, from throat cancer. Abd al-Halim Abu Ghazala Mohamed Abd al-Halim Abu Ghazala (1930–2008) (محمد عبد الحليم أبو غزاله) was Defense Minister of Egypt from 1981 to 1989. Abu Ghazala was seated next to Anwar Sadat when the president was assassinated. He was born in Zuhur Al Omara Village, Dilingat, Behera governorate, in February 1930. His family descended from "Awlad Aly" tribe. After completing his secondary education,
Ayman al-Zawahiri under his "Abdul Mu'iz" pseudonym, relying on his credentials from the Kuwaiti Red Crescent to raise money for Afghan children who had been injured by Soviet land mines—he only raised $2000. In 1981, Al-Zawahiri was one of hundreds arrested following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. Initially, the plan was derailed when authorities were alerted to Al-Jihad's plan by the arrest of an operative carrying crucial information, in February 1981. President Sadat ordered the roundup of more than 1500 people, including many Al-Jihad members, but missed a cell in the military led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli, who succeeded in assassinating