Egyptian media is reporting that Global Muslim Brotherhood figure Wagdi Ghoneim has called for Sharia (Islamic Law) to be implemented in Egypt referring to his opponents as “infidels.” According to the report:
Islamic preacher Wagdi Ghoneim called for Sharia to be implemented in Egypt in a tweet Friday, while castigating its opponents as “infidels.” “The infidel and hater of Islam is the only one who refuses the application of Sharia and calls for canceling or twisting Article Two,” Ghoneim said on Twitter. “And there are infidels in the Egyptian community who call themselves liberals, seculars or modernists.” “How come you call yourselves Muslims then fight Islam?” Ghoneim added. “Regardless of the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafists and other Islamic groups, the Egyptian people primarily love their religion. The one who does not want the application of God’s law should completely get out of His universe.”Ghoneim lives in Egypt after having previously been refused reentry to the US for allegedly fundraising for Hamas. He has also been refused entry to the UK after being accused of stirring religious hatred.
Ghoneim also recently tweeted his satisfaction with the recent devastating storm that struck the northeast U.S. According to a MEMRI report:
Following Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast of the U.S. on October 29, 2012, many Twitter users in the Arab world expressed joy over the crisis in the U.S. and even wished for its demise, whereas others condemned these reactions and called to express compassion for the Americans. A number of Muslim clerics joined this debate, some of them agreeing with the first group and describing the hurricane as a punishment from Allah, and others agreeing with those who condemned this attitude. The following are excerpts from some of the clerics’ statements: Among those who expressed satisfaction over the hurricane was Egyptian cleric Wadgi Ghoneim, who tweeted on October 29, 2012: ‘America is currently subject to [an attack]by one of Allah’s weakest armies (meaning Hurricane Sandy).'[1] On October 31, he tweeted: ‘In my opinion, this is revenge by the Lord [Allah] for [harming]his beloved Mustafa [another name for the Prophet Muhammad]…’ Ghoneim presumably means that Allah sent the hurricane as punishment for the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims
A post from May reported that Ghoneim gave an address on Al-Aqsa TV in Match in which he accused Israelis of spreading drugs and AIDS in Egypt. A post from February reported that Mr. Ghoneim was visiting Tunisia where his remarks on female genital mutilation (FGM) stirred up controversy. GMBDW has cataloged a lengthy set of Mr. Ghoneim’s other extremist statements and his support for violent Jihad.
Mr. Ghoneim is an Egyptian cleric known for his anti-Semitic speeches. In January 2005, Mr. Ghoneim agreed to be voluntarily deported from the U.S. based upon Department of Homeland Security concerns that his past speeches and participation in fund-raising activities could be supportive of terrorist organizations. Following deportations from Bahrain and South Africa, he appears to have settled in Qatar where MEMRI reported on remarks by Mr. Ghoneim which aired on Al-Jazeera TV and which praised violent Jihad and criticized the U.S. and Europe as “Godless” nations. Ghoneim is closely tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood and has been a frequent speaker or invited speaker at Brotherhood events including those sponsored by the Union of Islamic Organizations in Italy (UCOII), the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI), and the League of Swiss Muslims. Known for his anti-semitic speeches, global media have also reported that he is closely associated with Hamas. Ghoneim was recently identified as one of sixteen individuals on a Home office list of people banned from the U.K. on the basis of ” unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to commit terrorist acts. In July, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that Mr. Ghoneim was added by Egyptian authorities to a list of 90 leaders of the “International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood.”