Why was Egypt's justice minister really fired?
Egyptian Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zind was removed from his post following remarks deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad — but politics may be the real culprit.
CAIRO — On March 13, Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail issued a decision to dismiss Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zind from his post over remarks that were considered offensive to the Prophet Muhammad.
In an interview on Sada Elbalad TV on March 11, Zind was asked about a case involving the imprisonment of journalists and if it contradicted the constitution. He responded that everyone who breaks the law will be put behind bars “even if it was the prophet himself.”
On the next day, speaking on a call-in show with the same TV program, Zind apologized, saying “I ask God Almighty for forgiveness,” and said his remarks were “a slip of the tongue.”
Zind accused the Muslim Brotherhood, which is labeled as terrorist by the Egyptian government, of being behind the remarks going viral on social media in order to trigger outrage against him. It is worth noting that he was a harsh critic of the group when Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohammed Morsi was in power from June 2012 to July 2013.
