CAIRO - An Egyptian Muslim scholar has dismissed as fanatical a fatwa (a religious edict) by a little-known cleric calling for the murder of Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei. "This fatwa lacks awareness about Egyptian politics. ElBaradei and opposition differ in opinions with the Government. However, both of them seeks to prioritise Egypt's interests," said Mohamed Daoud, a professor of Islamic Sharia in the State-run Suez University. He added that considering ElBaradei's calls for reform an incitation of sedition was a "full misunderstanding". A fatwa issued earlier this week by Sheikh Mohamed Amer, a fundamentalist cleric, allowed for ElBaradei to be killed unless he repented for allegedly stoking civil unrest through his calls for boycott of Egyptian elections. "ElBaradei incites civil unrest," the fatwa reads. "For this, the rulers, represented by the Government and President Hosni Mubarak, have the right to kill him if he does not stop," he said. Amer's fatwa was based on a hadith (saying) by the Prophet Mohamed, who urged Muslims to tolerate their ruler unless he became unfaithful. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights slammed the edict as an insult to Islam, calling on the prosecutors to "strictly apply the law to those who issue religious edicts permitting the killing of people, which spread fear among citizens". The rights group said the fatwa should be challenged, noting similar rulings were issued for the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat. ElBaradei called for a campaign of civil disobedience against the Egyptian Government and a boycott of next year's presidential vote, warning that any crackdown on his civil disobedience push would lead to violence.
