Egypt bans 55,000 unlicensed preachers

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities will bar 55,000 unlicensed clerics from preaching in mosques in the latest move against sympathizers of deposed President Muhammad Mursi, the minister of religious endowments said on Tuesday.
Minister of Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said the clerics lack licenses to preach and were considered to be fundamentalist and a threat to the Egypt’s security.
The ban will mainly target small unlicensed mosques or random praying areas. The idea is to spread a moderate message of Islam and keep Egyptians away from radical ideas.
“The decision is only meant to legalize the preaching process during Fridays’ mass prayers and make only those authorized to do it, do it, Gomaa told Reuters.
Authorities moved to crush the Brotherhood following the overthrow of Mursi, Egypt’s first democratically leader. More than 2,000 activists have been arrested and most of the Brotherhood’s leaders, including Mursi, jailed on charges of inciting or taking part in violence. Some have also been accused of terrorism or murder.
Attacks, mainly targeting security forces, have risen sharply in Egypt since Mursi’s overthrow.
In Geneva, Amnesty International called on Tuesday for an independent investigation into killings by the security forces as well as torture and violations of the rights to free speech and assembly.
The military’s overthrow of Mursi unleashed an “extreme level of political violence,” the London-based group told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“Between 14 and 18 August, at least 1,089 people were killed, many due to the use of excessive, grossly disproportionate and unwarranted lethal force by security forces,” said Peter Splinter, Amnesty representative in Geneva.
A impartial investigation was urgently needed into human rights violations, he said.
On Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay reiterated her call for an independent inquiry into the killings, as well as her request to send a team to Egypt to assess the situation.