A Salafist MP is dismissed for getting a Nose Job

Egypt’s Islamist Salafist al- Nour party has dismissed one of its parliament members from its ranks for getting a rhinoplasty surgery he claimed was meant to cover up an operation on his nose.

Salafist member of the People’s Assembly Anwar al-Balkimy claimed that he was robbed and beaten on the Cairo-Alexandria desert highway and that he sustained injuries and bruises on his face that required an operation.

The state-run MENA news agency confirmed that masked gunmen attacked Balkimy on the Cairo-Alexandria desert highway and robbed the MP of 100,000 Egyptian pounds. Balkimy told MENA he was surprised when five masked people in a black Jeep stopped his car and stole the money.

They wanted him to step out of the car but he resisted, so they beat him, he said. His conservative Islamist political party initially backed the story and said in a statement posted on Facebook that Balkimy underwent surgery on his face at Sheikh Zayed Hospital. But as more evidence in the case appeared, the party decided to reverse stance. “The dismissal decision was taken based on the evidence gathered by the prosecution in the case, and the MP is free to resign from the People’s Assembly or otherwise the assembly will take its decision,” Spokesperson of al-Nour Party Nader Bakkar has said. A doctor in a beauty hospital in Cairo reportedly notified the authorities that after an operation Balkimy insisted to leave the hospital without the hospital’s clearance. The doctor’s notice prompted the authorities to open a probe into the case.