Background:

Yūsuf al-Badrī is an Egyptian Islamic preacher, formerly a member of the People’s Assembly and is said to be closely related to the Muslim Brotherhood, although he himself denies this time and again. At the start of the interview, the shaykh says he wants to address to the public that he is an Islamist, but not a terrorist. He was a member of the People’s Assembly and respects the Egyptian law. He stresses that he is not part of the Muslim Brotherhood, although many existing sources have concluded otherwise. Al-Badrī believes that all Muslims need to be united and thus not create separate groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. There are no groups in Islam, accordingly. Al-Badrī says he is permitted from preaching freely or publicly in Egypt, after he had been banned from the People’s Assembly. He says it is because he had alternative political ideas to the Egyptian regime and also mentions that he has been imprisoned three times since.

For more information on Dr. Naṣr Abū Zayd’s case, please refer to the tape Naṣr Abū Zayd Accused of Apostasy:

http://www.arabwestreport.info/en/na%E1%B9%A3r-ab%C5%AB-zayd-accused-apo...

Side A:

Al-Badrī mentions that he used to be a Mufti and that even the Egyptian government sponsored him, but Egypt had allegedly become afraid of his exponential power. His political party; al-Ṣaḥwa, was reported to have been cancelled, whereby al-Badrī tried on numerous occasions to re-establish the party. Al-Badrī stresses that he wants to bring Islam to the Egyptian regime, yet without force and without violence and that even the former Head of the Egyptian Parliament, Dr. Ṣūfī Abū Ṭālib had allegedly called al-Badrī a ‘good Muslim’, one who does not use force and speaks in a calm and non-confrontational manner. Although he believes most judges are unprejudiced in terms of social and economic issues, when it comes to politics, the situation becomes much more delicate and doubtful.

Although Egyptian governors are Muslims, they put in all efforts to try and delay the upswing of a fully implemented Islamic government says al-Badrī. This is done strategically for political circumstances in order to continue to receive American aid and maintain stable relations with Israel. Al-Badrī believes the government needs to be reformed. He seems indifferent to the aforementioned consequences that may arise if this is done.

Furthermore, al-Badrī does not recognise the Islam in Saudi Arabia to be the “right Islam”. He thinks that the Egyptians are the ones who know Islam best in the world; all they need is for Islam to be fully implemented in the government. The Shaykh also argues that if only the policies in Egypt are changed so that there is more freedom in the country, terrorism wil in turn fade. Terrorism according to him is a response to lack of freedom and if you give the people voices, there will no longer be floods of blood.

Side B:

Yūsuf al-Badrī had more than 25 lawyers working for him, many of whom came to him voluntarily. Al-Badrī says he is poor and receives only 230 Egyptian pounds a month of which he needs to pay 100 pounds for rent, and wonders how he could pay for all these cases against him. Despite of his lack of funds, he continues to be active in political issues and court cases; one of which concerns the case of Dr. Naṣr Ḥāmid Abū Zayd. Al-Badrī believes Abū Zayd is an apostate and justifies his statement by giving a vivid example. He says, “If you find doubt in your wife’s behavior, but she swears to you that she is loyal and sincere, then one day you come home and find her in bed with another man. Will you believe her words or her deeds?” The moral of the story is that actions speak louder than words. The same applies to Abū Zayd, according to al-Badrī. Al-Badrī had apparently spoken with Abū Zayd, whereby al-Badrī had bluntly said to Abū Zayd that he denied the Qur’ān being the word of Allah, he denied angels, denied that Islam is a religion for everyone and denied that Sharīʿah Law is good, how can you be a Muslim? Al-Badrī had called it apostasy. He does not think anyone will kill Abū Zayd because the case has been ongoing for two years, though he continues to work as an associate professor at Cairo University and teach heresies to students. If Abū Zayd was ever killed, it would be by means of suicide and not by means of an attack from the people who filed lawsuits against him says al-Badrī.

Moreover, al-Badrī conveys that Abū Zayd had accused him of conspiring with Dr. ʿAbd al-Ṣabūr Shāhīn, who was the president of the committee who refused to promote Abū Zayd to full professor at Cairo University. Al-Badrī denies the speculation and stresses that he is working as an independent against Abū Zayd.