Salem Abdel Galil trial adjourned until July 29

CAIRO – 25 June 2017: The trial of former Deputy Minister of Endowment Salem Abdel Galil on charges of insulting Christianity was adjourned until July 29 by the 6 October Misdemeanor Court on Saturday.

Abdel Galil was accused of insulting Christianity by lawyer Najib Gabriel, who filed a lawsuit against Galil after statements made on his television show last May. His comments about the Christian doctrine were considered insulting and provocative.

On the program “Muslims Inquire” on El-Mehwar channel, Galil said on May 10 that Christians should be treated humanely, but that the doctrine they believe is “corrupt… and not righteous.”

An inquiry into Abdel Galil’s remarks was opened shortly later by Minister of Endowment Mukhtar Gomaa and the ministry issued a statement to ban him from mounting the pulpits of ministry-owned mosques nationwide.

The Islamic Research Complex held a meeting to comment on Abdel Galil’s remarks, saying that the sheikh expressed his personal opinion and does not represent Al-Azhar.

“Al-Azhar is keen on righteousness, friendship and brotherhood with our Coptic brothers as it is ordered by the Holy Quran; it calls on speakers in the religious affairs not to be as tools exploited for inciting strife,” the statement read.

On May 11, Abdel Galil published a statement on his facebook page explaining his previous statements and apologizing to Christians. He said that his statements came within the context of the interpretation of a Quran verse

“The meaning of the verse does not say Christians are apostates; the ‘linguistic’ meaning of the word in the Arabic dictionaries and Quran is not the same as the ‘colloquial’ language used by the public”, Abdel Galil stated in his statement.