40 Islamists File Lawsuit Accusing Elbaradei Of ‘Insulting Sharia’

A complaint was filed with the prosecutor general on Sunday by forty Egyptian lawyers, accusing renowned reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei of offending Islamists, of being against Islamic sharia law and of having insulted prominent Islamist preachers.

According to Ahram Arabic news website, the complaint was based on statements made by the founder of the Constitution Party against last Friday’s protest, which called for the implementation of Islamic sharia law in Egypt.

Last Friday, thousands of Salafist supporters gathered at Tahrir Square to demand a constitution based on Islamic law.

The complaint claims that ElBaradei, during a press conference held on Friday in Aswan, Upper Egypt, described some religious preachers as “clowns” and “merchants of religion”.

A similar charge was made by spokesperson of Salafist Nour party Yosry Hamad on Saturday via his official Facebook page.

Hammad also claimed that ElBaradei described some religious preachers as “clowns” and “merchants of religion” during the Aswan press conference.

On Friday, ElBaradei held a press conference in Aswan where he denounced divisions related to the constitution by political forces and called for groups to unite in order to achieve the goals of the revolution.

Last September, ElBaradei, along with Hamdeen Sabbahi’s Egyptian Popular Current, called for a boycott of the Constituent Assembly, accusing it of being Islamist-dominated.

Ahram