Egyptian media reported last week that Egyptian authorities have issued arrest warrants for a group of Muslim Brotherhood leaders that includes the notorious anti-Semite Dr. Salah Sultan. According to an Egypt Independent report:
August 20, 2013 Azbakiya prosecution issued arrest warrants for Muslim Brotherhood leaders Abdel Rahman al-Bar, Salah Sultan, Abdel Rahman Ezz, Saad Emara, and Tawfiq Hegazy, in addition to Fath Mosque preacher Hafez Ghazal, on charges of incitement related to the attempt to storm the Azbakiya police station during the riot in Ramses Square, and to the shooting of police forces on Saturday.
Security forces and Brotherhood supporters exchanged accusations of violence after the besieging of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy inside Fath Mosque in Ramsis, following demonstrations condemning the dispersing of two pro-Morsy sit-ins at Rabea al-Adaweya and al-Nahda squares, leaving hundreds dead.
The prosecution began on Monday interrogating Fath Mosque preacher Hafez Ghazal, who was arrested during the violence, and confronted him with accusations of facilitating the entry of Brotherhood members into the mosque, and turn it into their place of occupation.
The Azbakiya prosecution continues to interrogate 360 suspects arrested during and after the riots in the vicinity of Ramses, on charges of possession of unlicensed firearms and explosives, and committing acts of violence and intimidating citizens.
The suspects include four Irish nationals, in addition to Syrians and Turkish citizens who were also arrested during the events. The police says they were caught red-handed participating in acts of violence, while the defendants deny these allegations and claim that the police arrested them for no reason.
The GMBDW reported yesterday that Dr. Sultan’s son had been detained in Egypt by security forces. On Monday, we reported that preacher Safwat Hegazy had also been arrested. Tawfiq Hegazy, identified above as one of the Muslim Brotherhood sought by Egyptian police, is Safwat Hegazy’s brother.
Dr. Salah Sultan (aka Salah Soltan) was educated at Dar al-Ulum in Egypt where Hasan El-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, and key Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb also graduated. From 1998 until 2007, Dr. Sultan was resident in the US where he held several positions in US Muslim Brotherhood organizations including serving as a member of the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) and as founder and President of the Islamic American University (IAU) closely associated with the Muslim American Society (MAS). Dr. Sultan left the US following negative press reports about his extremist statements which led the authorities there to suspend his application for American citizenship. He relocated to Bahrain where he was appointed as adviser to the head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. At some point, likely following the ascendance of the Muslim Brotherhood, he relocated again, this time to Egypt where in October 2012, he was appointed Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIF). When Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi visited Gaza in May 2013, Dr. Sultan was at his side when Qaradawi was greeted by the Hamas Prime Minister and called immediately for “Jihad to death” against Israel. Dr. Sultan’s resume has expressed his vision for himself as “To live happily. To die as a martyr.” Dr. Soltan is a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), headed by Qaradawi.
Dr. Soltan’s virulent anti-Semitism was extensively covered in a post from July as part of a series on the visit of an IUMS member and associate of Qaradawi’s to the US White House.