Wagdy Abd el-Hamied Mohamed Ghoneim

Wagdy Abd El Hamied Mohamed Ghoneim[A], normally shortened to Wagdy Ghoneim (born 1951) is an Egyptian-Qatary Salafi Muslim[1] preacher and writer. He was imam at the Islamic Institute of Orange County, California, in the United States, until 2005.[2] He was a fundraiser for the Toledo, Ohio based Hamas charity KindHearts.

In January 2005 Ghoneim left the US for Qatar, following his arrest for violating his immigration status. Bail was refused over concerns that his previous speeches and fund raising might have supported organisations such as Hamas. He was given a ten-year ban on re-entry to the country.[2]

In May 2009, he was placed on the British Home Office's list of "Individuals banned from the UK for stirring-up hatred"[3] for being "Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glory terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to commit terrorist acts."

Other countries that have refused admission to Ghoneim include Canada and Switzerland.

Wagdy met with Yusuf Estes.[4]

Controversies

He said, prior to 30 June 2013 major protests, that who ever protests against the president Mohamed Morsi is a Kafir..[5] Ghoneim denounced Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after Morsi was toppled.[6]

Ghoneim expressed his joy when the Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III died, calling him "head of disbelief and polytheism" an "accursed criminal".[7]

Ghoneim called Bin Laden a "martyr hero mujahid" and spoke against the western intervention against ISIL (ISIS) which he claimed was a "Crusade".[8][9]

Notes

^[A] : His name in Arabic text: وجدى عبد الحميد محمد غنيم; in IPA [ˈwæɡdi ʕæbdel.ħæˈmiːd mæˈħæmmæd ɣoˈneːm]; the initial name maybe transcribed as Wagdi , the middle name may also be transcribed as Abdelhamid / Abdel Hamid / Abd El Hamid. See Abdel.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 21, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.