In a TV appearance on Tuesday night the Minister of Endowments, Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, officially announced the banning of Sheikh Muhammad Jebril from preaching or leading prayers as an Imam in any of Egypt’s mosques listed under the Ministry. The decision was triggered by the Duaa’ (prayer) recited by Sheikh Jebril on Monday night’s Taraweeh prayer, which took place at one of Cairo’s biggest and oldest mosques, Amr Bin al-Aas Mosque. Although the prayer did not name names, Jebril prayed that God would “punish the tyrant leaders whose commands negate the divine orders,” adding in his prayers to “punish those who have shed our blood and orphaned our children.” Jebril also prayed that all manipulative media practitioners and corrupt politicians be punished. According to Gomaa, Jebril’s prayer was a clear abuse of his position as an Imam, accusing him of infusing politics in prayer – a concern that was addressed and officially banned last year. In an interview with the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat in September 2013, Gomaa had assured that all Imams must be certified by the Ministry of Endowments and Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s top authority, in order to be…
Egyptian Sheikh Banned After Controversial Preaching Against ‘Tyrants’
July 15, 2015
