U.S. media has reported that Egyptian cleric and Global Muslim Brotherhood figure Wagdi Ghoneim has called on Egyptian President Morsi to “‘kill the ‘thugs’ and ‘criminals’ who are causing the unrest that has plagued Egypt the past weeks.” According to a Washington Times report:
The Washington Times Thursday, January 31, 2013 A radical cleric has encouraged President Mohammed Morsi to ‘use his powers’ to kill the ‘thugs’ and ‘criminals’ who are causing the unrest that has plagued Egypt the past weeks, leading to the death of dozens. ‘I am saying this publicly and I am inciting the killing of criminals. I say criminals, thugs, thieves, those who are burning the country and those who are killing innocent people,’ said preacher Wagdy Ghoneim, in a YouTube video and as quoted by Israel National News. ‘If the police or the prosecution will not restore justice, we will restore justice, God willing,’ he said, according to the report. Mr. Ghoneim is banned from the United States and the United Kingdom for inciting followers to violence, Israel National News states. Most recently, Mr. Ghoneim gloated over Superstorm Sandy’s devastation, the report continued, and posted on Twitter his belief the hurricane was God’s revenge. Mr. Morsi’s response — or lack of — was not reported by Israel National News.
A post from last November reported that Ghoneim had called for Sharia (Islamic Law) to be implemented in Egypt referring to his opponents as “infidels.” Ghoneim had also recently tweeted his satisfaction with the devastating storm that struck the northeast U.S. 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.”