In a recent primetime talk show, Journalist Wael Al-Ibrashi interviewed Salim Al-Gohary, a Jihadi Salafi who calls for the full application of Sharia law in Egypt, including the imposition of Jizya (tax imposed on non-Muslims) on all religious minorities, foremost among them, Egypt’s Christian Copts, indicating that “If they accept, they will be welcome, otherwise, Sharia will be applied on them according to the teachings of Islam.”
Al-Gohary urged President Mohamed Morsi to provide a decent living for Egyptian citizens to facilitate the application of the Sharia, implying a deliberate opposition to Sharia.
Al-Gohary further affirmed their intention to destroy all “idols” and statues all over Egypt, as they did with the historic idols of Buddha in Afghanistan that was bombarded by the Taliban. Al-Gohary was a Taliban militant before returning to Egypt, where he intends to destroy the Sphinx and Great Pyramids.
A Tunisian Sharia-partisan, Imam Abdel Fattah Moro, was also invited. He explained that the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice and other Islamic teachings cannot be imposed by force, noting that no political or economic solutions have been set forth [by Islamists in power] yet, pointing out that laws guaranteeing people’s prosperity should be enacted instead of depending on interpretative judgments that tarnish the image of Islam. Moro also wondered why the early Muslims did not destroy these statues, explaining that Prophet Mohamed did this to idols that were being worshiped, which is not the case with the Sphinx and the Pyramids.
Translated by Coptic Solidarity; Al-Dostor Nov. 11, 2012