CENTRE SIMON WIESENTHAL - EUROPE
Tel:+33(0)1 47 23 76 37
Fax:+33(0)1 47 20 84 01

"Egyptian leading Imam's commandment to kill Jews is reinforced by fatwa text displayed by Arab Publishers' Association of Cairo at Frankfurt Book Fair"

In a letter to the European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels called for the European Union to declare persona non grata in its 27 member-states ,Sheikh Mohammed Badie, Supreme Guide of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Samuels argued that "as 2012 Nobel Peace prize laureate,the EU has been endowed as the guardian of peace and security in Europe. Thankfully, while hostilities between its member states are rendered unthinkable, today the danger is the displacement of foreign conflicts which menace the lives of Europe's citizens. This is the case of the Middle East, from which emanates incitement, in particular,to antisemitism and terrorism'."

The letter noted that "the Cairo daily Al Aham of 11 October, reported a speech of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide, Mohammad Badie, in which he declared that 'the Jews have spread corruption on earth, spilled the blood of believers and in their actions profane holy places, including their own'. Badie then called for a 'Holy Jihad, sacrifices and all forms of resistance', adding,'it is time for the Muslim (nation) to unite for the sake of Jerusalem and Palestine...' "

Samuels stressed that "this outrageous incitement to murder by the religious authority of a movement of millions, demands the European Commission's immediate condemnation and declaration of Imam Badie, and his ilk, persona non grata in the 27 EU member states."

The letter pointed out that "Badie's inflammatory licence to kill was disseminated on the opening day of the Frankfurt Book Fair, where, in the same spirit, a manifesto of Jew-hatred, 'Jerusalem in Focus' was displayed on the stand of the Arab Publishers' Association of Cairo."

Continuing, "This English language booklet unambiguously quotes a fatwa dating back to 1956 from Muslim scholars, prohibiting peace with the Zionist Jews and the obligation of engaging in Jihad'."
The Centre had "urged the Frankfurt authorities to blacklist the Arab Publishers' Association of Cairo from the 2013 Book Fair and, likewise called on the European Commission to designate such hatemongers as unwelcome in Europe, until Sheikh Badie personally and publicly withdraws his ruling," concluded Samuels.

"This measure by the European Commission will hold Badie and his Muslim Brotherhood followers responsible for any implementation of this fatwa, whether in the Muslim world or in Europe.
For further information contact Dr. Shimon Samuels on 0033(0)609770158, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).