memri
February 3, 2009 Special Dispatch No. 2198

Egyptian Cleric Safwat Higazi Slams Al-Azhar Sheikh Tantawi for Shaking Hands with Israeli President Peres, Saying Peres Has a Helmet Filled With the Dried Blood of Egyptian POWs He Murdered in 1967; Tells Tantawi, 'Give Up Your Ph.D... In Which You Yourself Said That [the Jews] Are the Sons of Apes and Pigs'

February 3, 2009
Egypt | Special Dispatch No. 2198

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian cleric Safwat Higazi, which aired on Al-Nas TV on December 14, 2008:

TO VIEW THIS CLIP AND OTHERS YOU MUST LOG IN/REGISTER FOR MEMRI TV, AT http://www.memri.org/content/en/member_registr_tv.htm. REGISTRATION IS FREE OF CHARGE.

To view this clip, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/1951.

"The Shocking Picture [of the Handshake] Gave Us a Terrible Shock"

Safwat Higazi: "What drew our attention was the shocking picture, which gave us a terrible shock – the picture of the warm handshake of Al-Azhar Sheikh and Peres, the warm handshake of Al-Azhar Sheikh and the president of the Zionist state, the warm handshake with both hands...

"In the picture, Sheikh of Al-Azhar can be seen shaking the hand of that arch-murderer with both hands. The hand of the sheikh of Al-Azhar, which underwent ablution, is placed in a hand soiled with the blood of the Muslims. Al-Azhar Sheikh placed his hand in a hand soaked in the blood of the Muslims. A shocking picture, and the smile on the face of Al-Azhar Sheikh... You can see from the picture what kind of conversation they had.

"By Allah, even if I was given all the money in the world, or if I was torn to pieces, so that I would shake hands with an arch-murderer – I would never do it. By Allah, even if I was arrested, burned, and killed... Not just me, but any honorable man on this earth – even if he was killed, burned, and torn to pieces – he would not shake the hand of an arch-murderer, the hand of a plunderer of our land, the hand of a president who starves our brothers and humiliates them.

"The even greater catastrophe came when Sheikh of Al-Azkhar was asked about it. He said: "I didn't recognize him. I didn't know it was Shimon Peres." This apology is uglier than the offense."[...]

"Oh Al-Azhar Sheikh... Don't You Have Blood Vengeance Waiting to Be Exacted From This Zionist Jew[?]"

"Al-Azhar Sheikh, you are a man from Upper Egypt, who is supposed to believe that blood can only be redeemed by blood. You are one of the men of Upper Egypt, from whom we learn the meaning of blood vengeance for the sake of honor. Don't you have blood vengeance waiting to be exacted from this Zionist?

"Oh Al-Azhar Sheikh, oh Egyptian from Upper Egypt, don't you have blood vengeance waiting to be exacted from this Zionist Jew? Can't you recognize the killer of your people? By Allah, this apology is uglier than the offense. By Allah, even my nine-year-old boy knows that this Shimon Peres is an arch-murderer, yet you don't know who he is? By Allah, this apology is uglier than the offense. By Allah, I had hoped that you would rather die than shake hands with this arch-murderer, this hangman.

[...]

"In the past, you met the Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Chief Rabbi of the Zionists. You met him, allowing him to desecrate with his feet the library of Al-Azhar Sheikh. You allowed him to desecrate with his feet the soil and honor of Al-Azhar. Oh, the shame! Oh, the treachery!" [...]

"I Suggest That You Give Up Your Ph.D – Because You Contradict Every Word In Your Dissertation, In Which You Yourself Said That [the Jews] Are the Sons of Apes and Pigs"

"Sheikh, I suggest that you retract your Ph.D., which you yourself wrote, giving it the title: 'The Israelites in the Koran.' I suggest that you give up your Ph.D degree, because you contradict every word in your Ph.D dissertation, in which you yourself said that [the Jews] are the sons of apes and pigs, and that it is their custom to kill prophets and messengers. With my own ears I heard you say, in the university, that if a new prophet were sent, the contemporary Israelites would kill him. You shake the hand of a prophet slayer?!

[...]

"Al-Azhar Sheikh, even if Shimon Peres comes to Egypt and meets the president – President Hosni Mubarak is the president of Egypt and the Egyptians only. He represents only the Egyptians. As for you – you represent all the Sunni Muslims from East to West. President Hosni Mubarak represents 70 million Egyptians, but you represent one and a half million Sunni Muslims. You are not like the president.

[...]

"It is trivial for us if the honor of the Egyptians is trampled and defiled, but by no means is it trivial for us when the honor of Sunnis, from the East to West, is being trampled and defiled." [...]

"In 1967, Shimon Peres Killed Egyptians With His Own Hands, And Collected Their Blood In His Iron Helmet... To Dry It and Keep It as a Souvenir In His Home"

"Oh Al-Azhar Sheikh, or Great Imam, allow me to tell you who Shimon Peres is.

[...]

"The hands of Shimon Peres were soiled with the blood of Egyptian POWs in 1967. Shimon Peres was the commander of the armored corps, which lined up the Egyptian POWs and mowed them down with tanks.

"Shimon Peres filled his helmet with the blood of Egyptian POWs, and when he was asked what he was going to do with all this blood, he said: "I will dry it and keep it in my home, as a reminder that I have fulfilled my duty toward God."

"Do you understand what I'm saying honorable Sheik? In 1967, Shimon Peres killed Egyptians with his own hands, and collected their blood in his iron helmet. He filled his helmet with the blood of Egyptian martyrs, in order to dry it and keep it as a souvenir in his home, so that whoever saw it would know that Peres had fulfilled his duty toward God."

"See Whose Hand You Shook – Never Will I Shake Your Hand"

"Shimon Peres is one of the murderers of Deir Yassin and Beer Sheba, one of the murderers of Sabra and Shatila. That is the Shimon Peres whom you say you don't know, honorable Sheikh. See who you greeted. See whose hand you shook. Never will I shake your hand. Never will I place my hand in a hand that shook the hand of an arch-murderer. You are no longer our Imam and our Sheikh."

Share this Report: