Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Egyptian Laws to Face ‘Sedition Fatwas’ | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page
Media ID: 55364032
Caption:

Damage from the explosion inside Cairo’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral is seen inside the cathedral in Cairo, Egypt December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany


Egyptian Laws to Face ‘Sedition Fatwas’

by | Dec 17, 2016 | Middle East |

Egyptian Laws to Face ‘Sedition Fatwas’

Cairo – Egypt’s Parliament is expected to issue new laws to face the “Sheikhs of Sedition” and the fatwas issued to incite hatred and discrimination on religious basis.

Parliamentarian sources said on Friday, “Several deputies had presented draft laws to criminalize any unqualified person who speaks in mosques or appears in media outlets without a previous permit.”

Observers in Egypt believe that “terrorist organizations are using misleading fatwas to play with the minds of the youth and to push them to commit terrorist operations.”

Meanwhile, several accounts linked to the ISIS terrorist organization published on social media a picture it said belonged to the suicide bomber responsible for last Sunday’s explosion in Cairo. ISIS says the man is nicknamed Abu Abdullah al-Masri.

The man in the photo was wearing a military uniform and carried weapons. The ISIS photo aimed to discredit the version offered by Egyptian authorities that uncovered the identity of the suicide bomber hours following the terrorist incident.

In a statement posted online, ISIS claimed responsibility on Tuesday for the suicide bombing at Cairo’s main Coptic cathedral that killed at least 25 people.

Last Monday, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the suicide bomber is a 22-year-old Shafik Mahmoud Mohamed Mostafa. He said security forces already arrested three men and a woman involved in the attack and were seeking another two fugitives.

Conflicting information regarding the identity of the suicide bomber identified by the Egyptian interior ministry as “Abu Dajjanah” and the ISIS statement as “Abu Abdullah,” aimed to confuse the Egyptian scene. Observers said ISIS aims to discredit the version offered by Egyptian authorities.

However, Sheikh Nabill Naim, a former leader at the Jihad organization in Egypt told Asharq Al-Awsat: “What President al-Sisi announced to the world is the correct version.” Sheikh Naim said the president would not announce a statement to the public unless the Egyptian authorities are 100 percent certain about the given information.