Egypt's Salafist Call VP Yasser Borhamy described Egyptian journalist Sherif Al Shoubashi as "infidel" over the latter's call on Egyptian women to protest against wearing the veil in a popular rally, Al Bawaba News reported Wednesday. Borhamy added the veil was a "religious obligation by virtue of the Holy Qura'n and the prophet's teachings", declaring that whoever insisted on removing it would stray from Islamic Sharia. Shoubashi called on Egyptian women, via his Facebook page, to take their veils off during a rally in Tahrir Square on May 1 to express their rejection of the Islamist ideology, a move that triggered much controversy among Egyptians. Al Azhar issued a statement slamming the call, asserting the veil could not be ignored. A number of thinkers and liberals also criticized Shoubashi's call.