Dear spiritual leaders of virtue, who appointed you judges of the world so you can point out the believers and expose the disbelievers? 

The sheikhs and leaders of extremist Islamist groups have made a habit of speaking in the name of God. They judge others in the name of God, deemwhoever they please to be a disbeliever, and also glorify whoever they please in the name of God. An example is Sheikh al-Qaradawy who ruled that Mubarak and Bin Ali were disbelievers and legitimized the killing of al-Qadafi while he never said a word about Saleh or al-Assad and also supported the Emir of Bahrain who killed thousands of Bahrainis.

So, esteemed Sheikh, did God change in Bahrain or were the humans the ones who changed, and became Shiite, not Sunni? It is as though the God, in whose name you speak, only defends the Sunni Muslims and is only just if the victims of injustice are Sunni.

In the same vein, Hizbullah’s Nasrallah celebrated the downfall of the dictator Mubarak and sang praise of the people’s right to be free, to struggle, and to live in dignity. Meanwhile he supported al-Assad as he killed hundreds of his people every day. Why did you change your position dear sir? Did you not know that the Syrian people barely enjoy a fraction of the freedoms of Egyptians? Why did you support the Egyptian revolution while you accused the Syrians of being supported by the Israelis and aiming to overthrow the only resistant regime in the region? Did God reveal this judgment to you, or did you distort the image of God when you spoke in His name?

Mr. Selim el-Awa claimed that he participated in the 18-day sit-in in Tahrir Square until the regime was overthrown. Then, when the revolution’s youth staged a sit-in to demand the constitution be completed before anything else,which was contrary to Awa’sown desires, he declared that Islam’s Sharia forbids sit-ins. He was trying to ingratiate himselfwith the ruling military council and said they were the pride of Egypt and the nation’s protectors. He added that those who tried convincing the military council of the constitution’s priority were demons in human form. Members of the council were more concerned for the nation’s best interest and were moreintellectual and scholarly than the politicians, he said.

After the revolution it has become popular to hurl accusations of blasphemy and atheism.Dear spiritual leaders of virtue, who appointed you judges of the world so you can point out the believers and expose the disbelievers?? Who gave you exclusive rights to God so you speak on His behalf and judge the consciences of people, crack open their chests and learn their secrets, examine their hearts  Anyone who stands on our side and supports us is a believer, in fact, he or she is Leader of the Faithful as Sheikh Mahmoud Amerreferred to Field Marshall Tantawi. But whosoever shall oppose us is an infidel, and their final resting place shall be hellfire. 

Sheikh al-Mahalawy and SobhiSaleh said the following, verbatim: “There is no such thing as a liberal, leftist, or communist Muslim; there is only a Muslim and a disbeliever.” But the head of the Legitimate Association did not stop there. He said, “They are not only disbelievers, they are the followers of Satan and the high priestsof infidelity.” And the former Member of Parliament Mohamed Shaker el-Deeb said that the quality that makes the Freedom and Justice Party (the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm) special is its religious ideology. Therefore, joining the Party is an act to gain proximity to God and not merely a political act. 

As for Mr. Zaghlool el-Naggar, he stressed the religious impermissibility for a Muslim to vote for a liberal or secular. However, the most absurd allegation of blasphemy came from a sheikh on al-Rahma TV channel who ruled that it was impermissible to join the Free Egyptians political party.

Similarly, the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, believes that God could destroy all of Egypt for the sake of the Brotherhood. He said, “Egypt’s defeat in the two wars of 1956 and 1967 and the collapse of Mubarak’s regime weremanifestations of divine vengeance as a result of the Brothers being put behind bars.”

Finally, dear spiritual leaders of virtue, who appointed you judges of the world so you can point out the believers and expose the disbelievers?? Who gave you exclusive rights to God so you speak on His behalf and judge the consciences of people, crack open their chests and learn their secrets, examine their hearts and expose their intentions and whims? Then you grant indulgences and certificates of faith and forgiveness to the hypocrites and to your supporters, while issuing certificates of blasphemy and atheism to your opposition.

Leave us to worship God as we see Him, loving and merciful even if we stray at times. He forgives our sins. He examines our hearts and knows what they hold. Let us be, for the ones you perceive most blasphemousamong us may be closer to God than you.