Egypt’s Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zind was on Sunday sacked by Prime Minister Sharif Ismail after he said on television that even Prophet Muhammad would be jailed if he broke the law, remarks that sparked outrage in the country.
“Prime Minister Sharif Ismail decided to dismiss justice minister Ahmed al-Zind from his post,” a statement from the premier’s office said, but without giving the reason for the decision.
In response to a question about imprisoning journalists, Al-Zind told an Egyptian private satellite TV channel Sada al-Balad on Friday that he “will jail anyone who does wrong, even the Prophet [Muhammad], peace be upon him, God forbid.”
Upon realising what he had said, Zind immediately stopped and said: “I ask for forgiveness from God.”
He further said any “wrongdoer, whatever his identity – even judges” would be jailed if found guilty.
His remark caused outrage on social media over the weekend with guys using the hashtag “trial for Zind” which became one of Egypt’s top trending topics on Twitter to demand his trial.
“At least he should be sacked and then put on trial. This issue is not a joke,” said one tweet.
“God will take revenge,” said another.
Al-Zind is no stranger to controversy, and his proclivity for fiery comments has put him in the spotlight in the past.
“Whatever represents an attack on the judiciary’s prestige, dignity and respect will not pass lightly. On the land of this nation, we are the masters and the rest are the slaves,” he once told a TV program, threatening anyone who criticized Egyptian judiciary verdicts.
Zind is the second justice minister to be dismissed in less than a year for controversial comments.
His predecessor, former justice minister Mahfouz Saber, also left office in May after he said that the sons of garbage collectors are unfit to be appointed to higher judiciary posts, inciting public outrage.
Zind had clarified his comments in a telephone interview on Saturday with private network CBC television, saying they were a mere “slip of the tongue”.
They were “meant in a hypothetical sense … but the Muslim Brotherhood supporters seized on them”.
