Egypt: Cleric Scholar Reissues Fatwa To "Kill Every Israeli & Zionist Who Enters Egypt!"

Egyptian Cleric: ‘Every Zionist Who Enters Egypt…Should Be Killed’

Last month Dr. Salah Sultan, a member of Yusuf al-Qaradawi's International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, declared on al-Jazeera that the IUMS would restore the fatwa they issued in 1994, which stated that "every Zionist who enters Egypt--tourist or not--should be killed."

Despite the importance of this fatwa for Egyptian-Israeli relations, this unfortunately received little attention in Western press. MEMRI did publish a short excerpt of the statements, but I believe there is more in Salah's comments that we should be aware of, namely that this is not about mere retaliation for Israelis supposedly killing Egyptian officers, but rather it is about the desire to destroy Israel altogether.

Islamist Cleric: Meet an Israeli? Kill Him

A senior cleric in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has declared that ordinary Egyptians are obligated to kill 'Zionists' whom they encounter. According to Arutz Sheva Arab affairs expert Dalit Halevy, the pronouncement is part of a general wave of incitement that directly endangers Israelis who are currently in Egypt.
This follows Muslim Brotherhood calls to end the peace treaty with Egypt and threats to kill Israel's ambassador if he does not leave the country. Although there are many benefits for Egypt if it continues its relations with Israel, not the least of which is continued American aid, that is not always what counts in the MIddle East where hatred is often stronger than logic.

Dr. Salah Sultan, a lecturer on Islamic law in Cairo University and head of the Al Quds Committee in the World Federation of Islamic Scholars, declared Friday that an Egyptian citizen who encounters a "Zionist" should kill him. This should be done because Israel "killed" the Camp David Accord, he explained. Sultan said that Israel provokes Egypt by pointing its jet fighters at Egyptian soldiers.

 

Sultan spoke at a protest outside Israel's Cairo embassy, before about 200 members of the Freedom and Justice Party (a front for the Islamic Brotherhood), the Islamic Brotherhood movement, and other extreme groups.

 

In an April interview Sultan said that "the liberation of Palestine will come from Tahrir Square."

 

When the Crusaders invaded Jerusalem, the liberation began from Egypt, he said. Similarly, when Mongols reached Syria in the 13th century CE, Egyptians were the ones who organized and blocked them. "The next campaign [against Israel] will be launched from Egypt," he said.