Egyptian cleric Wagdi Ghoneim has posted a statement on the Internet which praises Allah for the death of the Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III l who died on Saturday and asks “May Allah Exact Revenge from Him in the Hellfire.” According to a MEMRI translation:
Following are excerpts from a statement by Egyptian cleric Wagdi Ghoneim, which was posted on the Internet on March 18, 2012 : Praise be to Allah. With the grace of Allah, the head of unbelief and polytheism, known as Shenouda, died yesterday, may Allah exact revenge from him. God’s worshippers and the trees and the animals were all relieved by his death. Egypt is relieved by his [death], because he generated sectarian strife. […] This dead accursed criminal, known as Shenouda, was told that the Koran says, in Surat Al-Maida: “And [beware the day]when Allah will say: Oh Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people: Take me and my mother as gods beside Allah?” [Shenouda] said: “We don’t take Christ and his mother as gods beside Allah. He Is God.” The truth is that he was very clear in his enmity to Islam. When the Muslim Brothers would chant their slogan: “The Koran is our constitution,” he would respond: “The New Testament is our constitution.” When they would say: “Death for the sake of Allah is our highest aspiration,” he would say: “Death for the sake of Christ is our highest aspiration.” He used to say that Egypt was under Muslim occupation. He demanded to abolish the Islamic shari’a and turn Egypt into a Coptic state. […] He wanted to cause civil strife. He wanted to set Egypt ablaze. […] Are we supposed to send condolences or be sad about someone like this? We should be happy that he died. Let him go to Hell. May Allah exact revenge from him in the Hellfire – from him and from all those who follow his path. […] “
A post from February discussed a visit by Mr. Ghoneim toTunisia where his remarks on female genital mutilation (FGM) have stirred up controversy. Another previous post discussed remarks by Mr. Ghoneim (aka Wagdi Ghneim, Wagdi Ghuniem) in which he call the toilet “the bathroom of Satan.”
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 2009, 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.”