On March 1, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released a poster calling on Egyptian Muslims to behead Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Eissa, describing him as an "atheist heretic" who has "harmed Allah and the Prophet."[1] Eissa is a longtime critic of the Muslim Brotherhood and of Islamist and jihadi views. Since 2015, MEMRI TV published ten clips translating Ibrahim Eissa's calls for reform. The following report describes the recent threat made against Eissa online, followed by clips from the MEMRI TV archive of Eissa's statements.
The threatening poster comes amid wide condemnation of Eissa, who, during his September 1, 2022 show on Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV (Egypt), questioned the veracity of the Islamic story of Prophet Muhammad's nighttime journey of from Mecca to Jerusalem, and then from Jerusalem to the heavens, referred to in the Quran as "the night of 'Israa and Mi'raj" Eissa reportedly said that there are multiple narrations of the story, some of which deny the miraculous journey, and that Salafi sheikhs purposefully omit those narrations in their teachings due to their biased beliefs which disallow the existence of conflicting narratives.[2]
Egypt's public prosecutor has ordered that Eissa be investigated following his statements, while Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation said it is preparing to take legal action against him.[3]
The pro-ISIS poster calling for the killing of Ibrahim Eissa
The threatening poster, titled "Oh People of Islam in Egypt," by the pro-ISIS outlet, included a photo of Eissa splattered in blood, with text accusing the journalist of insulting the divinity of Allah and his Prophet. "He has harmed Allah and the Prophet [...] isn't there someone among you [Egyptians] who will behead him or cut his body to avenge Allah's religion[?]" read the poster.
The text then cited an incident in which one of the Prophet's companions, Mohammad bin Muslamah, killed Ka'ab ben Al-Ashraf because he insulted the Prophet. The text further claimed that Eissa has continuously mocked and insulted Islam, adding that suspending his TV program or the channel is not enough.
"[Eissa's] atheism and impiousness should be exposed, at the very least, and he should be deemed an apostate who abandoned Islam. If he gets away without severe punishment, he will take this too far, and his peers will be encouraged to leave their hideouts and inflict more harm."
Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Eissa
MEMRI TV Clips Of Egyptian Journalist Ibrahim Eissa
Egyptian TV Host Ibrahim Eissa: The Taliban Is The Essence And Culmination Of All Islamic Ideas; Given The Opportunity, The Muslim Brotherhood Would Implement The Same Version Of Islam As Afghanistan, September 1, 2021
Egyptian TV host Ibrahim Eissa said that given the opportunity, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamists would implement the same version of Islam as the Taliban, because this is the culmination and essence of "all the Islamic ideas." He made his remarks on his show that aired on Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV (Egypt) on September 1, 2021. Eissa said that all attempts by Qatar, Turkey and others to present the Taliban as though they have changed are meaningless, because if the Taliban had changed, they would no longer be the Taliban. He also said that the claim that "terrorism has no religion" is false, because when a terrorist says that he wants to implement the shari'a, he does so on the basis of the Quran and hadiths. Eissa went on to say that the Muslim Brotherhood is in fact the Taliban, but under another name.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Egyptian TV Host Ibrahim Eissa: Our Kids Should Be Taught That Science Is Heroism, Innovation Is Victory, Rather Than Indoctrination For Jihad, Conquest, The Spreading Of Islam By Sword, December 16, 2020
Egyptian TV host Ibrahim Eissa said in a December 16, 2020 show on Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV (Egypt) that children in Egypt are being taught to idolize men of war as heroes, and that Jihad, conquest, and spreading Islam are ideals. Expressing criticism, he said that religion has been turned into nothing but Jihad and that history has been turned into nothing but confrontation with colonialists. Eissa argued that instead, children should be taught that science and innovation are forms of victory.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Egyptian TV Host Ibrahim Eissa: We Say That The West Is Our Enemy, But We Wait For It To Send Us The COVID-19 Vaccines, December 9, 2020
Egyptian TV host Ibrahim Eissa said in a December 9, 2020 show on Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV (Egypt) that it was the West, and not the Arab world, that has been developing vaccines for COVID-19. He said that this means that the Islamic world must ask itself some hard questions about its place in civilization and the world. Saying that the Arabs should stop hating the West, he added: "[We say that] the West [is] our enemy, [but] we sit and wait for the West to send us the vaccine."
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Egyptian TV Host Ibrahim Eissa: Christianity and Judaism Are Just as Valid as Islam, March 10, 2020
Egyptian TV host Ibrahim Eissa said in the opening monologue of an episode of his show on Al-Hurra TV (U.S.) that aired on February 10, 2020 that Islam is a religion that is appropriate for every time and place. He added that Christianity and Judaism are similarly appropriate for every time and place, and that a change in time or location only changes one's understanding of religion.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Egyptian TV Host Ibrahim Eissa: Wahhabi Revival of Salafi Islam Has Put Western Muslims in "Ghetto" of Seeing Conspiracy Theories as Quranic Doctrine, June 3, 2019
Egyptian TV host Ibrahim Eissa said in a June 3, 2019 show on Al-Hurra TV (U.S.) that the rapid growth of Islam likely makes Salafi Muslims very "happy" and "proud," but he criticized the "mental, psychological or physical ghetto" that he said many of the Muslims in the West are in today. In order to illustrate his point, Eissa showed a segment from a TV interview in which Salafi Sheikh Muhammad Hassan said that conspiracy theories about everlasting war between Muslims and non-Muslims – namely Jews and Christians – are a "Quranic doctrine." Eissa claimed that most Muslims agree with Sheikh Hassan because the Salafis have had control over Muslims' minds since what he called the "Wahhabi revival." Eissa added that this "revival," which he said has "flooded" humanity, was funded and exported by petrodollars.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Egyptian Journalist Ibrahim Eissa: Islamic Terrorism Will End Only When Muslims Stop Trying To Restore Their Past, April 14, 2019
On April 14, 2019, Ibrahim Issa discussed Islamic terrorism in a monologue on his talk show, which is aired on the American Al-Hurra TV. Ibrahim Issa said that ISIS, Al-Qaeda, terrorism, and extremism will only come to an end if Muslims get rid of the "black triangle." This "black triangle," described by Issa, is comprised of three edges. The first edge is "the undisputed belief, held by Muslims in general, that their past was a dream come true, an age of angels and glory." The second edge is the belief held by "most Muslims" that this golden age must be restored. The third edge is the belief held by "some Muslims" that this past must be restored even at the price of "violence, coercion, cruelty, brutality, swords, and bombs." He concluded by saying that the only way to get rid of this triangle is for the Muslims to accept that the past was comprised of both good and bad and to make peace with the fact that "there is no need to restore that past. It is gone." "We must live our lives in our times and in our world, according to our renewed understanding of religion," he said.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Egyptian Journalist and TV Host Ibrahim Eissa: Ibn Taymiyyah No Different than Hitler, September 2, 2018
Talking about conflicts between Arabs and non-Arabs in the history of Islam, Egyptian journalist and TV host Ibrahim Eissa said that Ibn Taymiyyah, with his "abominable fanaticism," had "destroyed all the values of equality." "If those who claim to be Sunnis, or Salafis, or Wahhabis, or Ibn Taymiyyah's followers believe that the Arabs are superior to all non-Arabs... how is this any different from the racism and Nazism of Hitler?" he asked. Eissa's address aired on Al-Hurra TV on September 2, 2018.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Egyptian Journalist Ibrahim Eissa Blasts Conventional Concept of the Islamic Caliphate: The Ottomans Were Occupiers Who Oppressed Our Peoples, April 15, 2018
Egyptian journalist and TV host Ibrahim Eissa said that "the notion of the Caliphate is a commodity, which is shaped and sold by the merchants of illusion," such as Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, and Turkish President Erdoğan. "Egypt and all the Arab countries and peoples were occupied, under the rule of a Caliphate, which was an occupier itself," he said. "The Ottoman Caliphate had occupied our countries and oppressed our peoples." Eissa made these remarks during his show on Al-Hurra TV on April 15.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Egyptian Journalist and TV Host Ibrahim Eissa: The Palestinians Who Carried out the 1972 Olympics Massacre Were Terrorists, Not Fedayeen, January 11, 2018
Egyptian journalist and TV host Ibrahim Eissa said recently that the Palestinians who carried out the 1972 Munich Olympics attack on Israeli athletes were terrorists. "When people storm the Olympic games and the Olympic village, and kidnap athletes – even if they are Israelis – they cannot be called 'fedayeen,' in my view. They should be called 'terrorists,'" he said. Eissa made the comment while reviewing a book on his show on the Egyptian ON TV, in which he said that the use of terrorism was "the backbone of the wretched political exploitation of the Palestinian cause."
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Egyptian TV Host Ibrahim Eissa Slams Salafi Ideology: Putrid Talk that Is Destroying Egyptian Society, November 3, 2015
In a recent address, Egyptian TV host Ibrahim Eissa warned that the diminishing clout of the Salafis seen in the first phase of Egyptian elections should not be viewed as a victory over Salafi ideology. Bringing footage of cleric Muhammad Hussein Yacoub, who claimed that the role of women was to "give comfort and have carnal relations," and ridiculing his claims as "insane and deranged nonsense," Eissa warned that "the problem is deep-rooted" and that this discourse is promoted by the state and "has been planted in people's brains for 40 years."
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
[1] MEMRI JTTM report Pro-ISIS Outlet Calls On Egyptians To Kill Journalist Who Questioned The Prophet's 'Miraculous Nighttime Journey', March 1, 2022.
[2] Timesofisrael.com/egyptian-journalist-under-investigation-for-controversial-islam-remarks, February 23, 2022.
[3] Timesofisrael.com/egyptian-journalist-under-investigation-for-controversial-islam-remarks, February 23, 2022.
