CAIRO // Egyptians in a Nile Delta province were outraged on Sunday after a cleric allegedly changed a line in the traditional Islamic call to prayer to mention Facebook.
Instead of saying “prayer is better than sleep” twice during the dawn prayer, Sheikh Mahmoud Maghazi of Beheira province allegedly said: “Prayer is better than Facebook.”
The issue drew nationwide attention when he defended himself against shouted accusations on one of Egypt’s most-watched television talk shows.
Talk show hosts play a major role in leading public opinion in Egypt, where a quarter of the population is illiterate.
The religious endowments ministry ordered an investigation after locals complained last week, senior ministry official Mohamed Abdelrazik said.
That prompted Sheikh Maghazi to go on hunger strike and deny that he made the reference.
“I don’t know what Facebook is and I don’t know how it is spelled,” he said to the silver-haired host, Wael El Ibrashy. Sheikh Maghazi went on to charge his accusers with being members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.
He said they were trying to remove him from the mosque because he would not allow them to hold protests and organise unlicensed Islamic lessons there.
Mosques have been closely monitored as part of the security crackdown on the Brotherhood and its supporters following the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
* Associated Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
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Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
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India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
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