Islam Online is reporting that Wagdy Ghomeim (aka Ghumeim), an Egyptian cleric tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood, was arrested Monday evening in South Africa where he had apparently been residing. According to the report:
Security forces arrested Sheikh Wagdy Ghoneim at the Johannesburg International Airport on Monday evening; where he was on his way to Sanaa, Yemen to participate in an Islamic Conference. The reasons for this arrest are not clear until now. He had prevously left South Africa several time to attend several conferences and Islamic symposia and returned without any problems with the authorities in South Africa.
This individual is likely the same individual known in the U.S. as Wagdy Mohamed Ghoneim (aka Wagdi Ghuniem) an Egyptian cleric known in the U.S. for his anti-Semitic speeches. For example, on May 24 1998, an all-day program was held at Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, New York sponsored by eleven Islamic organizations, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and the Islamic Circle of North America, all associated with the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. At the event Mr. Ghoneim spoke in Arabic about the “infidelity,” “stealth” and “deceit.” of Jews. He stated that:
“The conflict with the Jews, he said, was not over land but one of religion. “The problem of Palestine is not a problem of belief. . . suppose the Jews said ‘Palestine–you Muslims can take it.’ Would it then be ok? What would we tell them? No! The problem is belief, it is not a problem of land.” “Ghuniem also reportedly led the audience, in song, the audience responsively repeating each refrain: “No to the Jews Descendants of the Apes We Vow to Return Despite the Obstacles. “
According to his online resume, Mr. Ghoneim received a PHD degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, IN and was associated with several Islamic Centers in the U.S.
In January 2005, Mr. Ghoneim agreed to be voluntarily deported to Qatar based upon Department of Homeland Security concerns that his past speeches and participation in fund-raising activities could be supportive of terrorist organizations. As a previous post discussed, following Mr. Ghoneim’s deportation to Qatar, he relocated to Bahrain where he was said to be the first Muslim Brotherhood member to be granted citizenship due to his “high weight of scientific, religious and cultural contributions to the service of the nation’s media.” According to a MEMR report, an editor of a Bahrain newspaper published an article accusing Ghoneim of ” incitement to extremism and of igniting ethnic war in the country.” The editor was later arrested and release in connection with the article.
(Note: translated source)