Saudi Arabia does not finance Salafis in Egypt, potential presidential candidate and Islamist Hazem Abu Ismail said Tuesday. Saying Saudi Arabia hopes to establish a Salafi nation in Egypt is ridiculous, Abu Ismail told the privately-owned Al-Tahrir TV channel. Egyptian Shias accuse Saudi Arabia of using Salafis to disrupt social harmony and intimidate Sufis and Copts in Egypt. Islamic scholar Gamal al-Banna had previously said Salafi ideas have spread widely in Egypt with the support of Saudi Arabia, considered to be the biggest supporter of Salafis. Abu Ismail also said secularists endanger society and said anyone who is not religious cannot assume power. He also addressed calls to draft the permanent constitution before parliamentary elections in September. “Calls for writing the constitution, in the meantime, will lead to the country's collapse," he said. "Writing the constitution should be under a civilian rule, not a military one.” Translated from the Arabic Edition