An Egyptian radical with strong ties to American Islamic organizations called for the murder of Zionists in response to the unintentional killing of Egyptian soldiers along Israeli's border. Salah Sultan's comments, reported by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), took place at a Muslim Brotherhood-sponsored rally against the Jewish state.
During an August 19th rally outside Cairo's Israeli embassy, Sultan told attendees that "any Egyptian meeting a Zionist on Egyptian soil is entitled to kill him, just like Israel killed the Camp David Accords," MEMRI reported. Rally attendees chanted slogans like "Jihad, jihad … open the door to Jihad," and "Give us weapons, give us gunpowder, and we will finish the Jews."
This wasn't Sultan's first time publically inciting violence against Jews. He also was active with islamonline.net, a website linked to Muslim Brotherhood spiritual advisor Yusuf al-Qaradawi. During a question and answer session in September 2005, he spoke about the "role of Jews in sowing anxiety among Muslims."
Although Sultan is currently based out of Cairo, where he works as a shariah lecturer at Cairo University, he has extensive connections in the United States. He was a longtime member of the Fiqh Council of North America, serving as president and trustee from the years 1999-2004, as well as the former head of the Islamic American University. He also spent time in Columbus, Ohio, as scholar in residence at the Islamic Society of Columbus. He continued to work with the Fiqh Council even after MEMRI reported a blood libel he made against Jews as well as other anti-Semitic and anti-American comments.
Sultan has also attacked American counterterrorism efforts, including those linked to al-Qaida designations. In 2006, MEMRI reported that Sultan had ridiculed the United States' designation of Yemeni cleric Abd-al-Majid Al-Zindani, despite his "long history of working with Osama bin Laden… serving as one of his spiritual leaders… and actively recruiting for al-Qaida training camps."