CAIRO: Egyptian Sheikh Khaled el-Gendy questioned why the woman who was stripped by soldiers was where she was in the first place, in comments on the al-Qahira al-Youm news program on December 19 and asked the audience to ask questions before calling for an apology from the military. “The woman who was stripped, I want to say that we all refuse that and we all condemn it,” he said. “But there are more questions, who let her out in the street and why was she there, and how could the women deal with these people and other questions. And before we ask for apologies from anyone, we all owe an apology,” Gendy added. The woman he is referring to made headlines around local and international media after she was caught on video being brutally beaten by soldiers, who stripped open her dress, revealing her bra. The image angered conservatives and liberals alike, who strongly condemned violence against women by the military forces during the latest clashes that erupted in Cairo on Friday morning. Gendy thinks Islam is the solution and said “we need the implementation of Islamic Sharia [Islamic law] to control what happens in the country.” He also gave his condolences for those who died, but expressed “greater” sorrow over the burning of the scientific building. He said the protesters were “Barbarians” and that talk and dialogue “doesn't work with them.” El-Gendy, who was initially a math teacher, and became wealthy off the first Islamic phone line business, said before blaming or pointing fingers at those who killed, “also know that some people break the law and go out of the social codes. “We are in need of a definition of the word martyr, the word is sacred,” he said, objecting to call any of the dead protesters “martyrs,” as activists have referred to their fallen demonstrators. “Its not a salutation at a wedding or a nickname,” he argued. Since Friday, the military has killed 14 people, including children, and injured over 700. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/hnUwx Tags: featured, Khaled el-Gendy, Occupy Cabinet, Protests, SCAF, Tahrir, Tahrir Girl Section: Egypt, Latest News, Women
