Egypt: Attacker Of Baha'is Attempts A Futile Offensive

The man that authored a book calling for killing the Baha'is in Egypt, which was published and distributed to bookstores and newspaper stands across the country, is now attacking the Baha'is again, but in an outrageous, irrational and twisted legal maneuver.

Dr. Khaled Abdel-Halim el-Sayouty, under the authority and direction of the Ministry of Religious Endowment and the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Egypt, authored a book entitled, "Baha'ism - its Beliefs and Colonial Goals", and includes statements clearly calling for the killing of Baha'is, and was sold for a bargain price of one Egyptian Pound. It was dated June 2006 and consisted of 104 pages.

On 24 July 2006, an interview with some Baha'is was published in "Sowt el-Omma" (Voice of the Nation) newspaper regarding the fact that they were terrorized by the publication of that book, which had sanctioned and called for the spilling of Baha'i blood in the name of Islam. The Baha'is who were interviewed had defended themselves, as was noted in this previous post.

As reported in the same newspaper on 25 September 2006, Khaled el-Sayouty, the author of the book, has recently hired an attorney and filed a complaint with Egypt's Attorney General alleging that he was defamed and that his reputation with the country's National Security Agency and the Presidency of the Republic has been damaged as he was presumed to promote hatred and terrorism.

He goes further to deny the exact words that he had already published in his book! Unfortunately for him the book has been released back in June and sold at news-stands and bookstores across the country.

On page 99 of his book, the author states following (translated):

"al-Azhar urges those in authority in the Arab Republic of Egypt to stand firm against this wrongful congregation which is against the Faith of God and the public order of this society. The judgement of God must be executed against it, the law it deserves must be enforced and must be interred with the dust [dirt] heaped over it together with its teachings. This is protection for all citizens from its apostasy, and its beliefs that are deviant from God's straight path. Those who have committed crimes against the truth [rights] of Islam and their nation, must disappear from life so they will not dare estrange themselves from Islam."

Thanks to Ghanim (one of the commentators) who translated page 98 as shown below, which is what the author of the book had stated about the Baha'i Faith in the page preceding the one quoted above:

"[For] this Baha'i 'sect' and its likes of other deadly plagues of thought, the government should recruit all the powers it can muster, in order to stand against it and destroy it. That is because protecting the Islamic faith should rank no less [in its importance] than protecting the bodily ailments (physical sicknesses) that the government so promptly and readily rushes to remedy. Rather, protecting the faith is more important because in faith that is [still] healthy, lies purity of life, and the worship of God. If a nation loses its Faith, it loses its very identity and is overcome by its enemies. Egypt must remember that now and always it has protected Islam and the land of the Muslims since the time it [Egypt] entered the faith of Islam, and it had in the past recaptured Jerusalem and liberated Palestine in the name of Islam, and let us remember that Egypt fought in Ramadan of 1393H – October 1973 under the call of Islam "Allah'u'Akbar" and with this Call and under its banner, it prevailed, and it has to [now] cleanse and purify its land from this 'filth' and throw out this malady so that its affairs come to [the] right order, and so that it remains in the name of Islam, a leader and a rising nation."

He also states in his complaint that, as a university professor with responsibilities towards his faculty and students, he has been studying the Baha'i Faith along with other religions so that he can expose them.

One cannot but dare to wonder that if he has been truly, independently and objectively studying the Baha'i Faith, he would have adopted the Baha'i Faith by now.... History tells us that several others under very similar, and even worse, circumstances have done so!