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Egypt says freedom of expression “stops” when muslims offended

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Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattahal-Sisi said on Wednesday freedom of expression should stop ifit offends more than 1.5 billion people, following the displayof images in France of the Prophet Mohammad that Muslims see asblasphemous.
Sisi also said he firmly rejects any form of violence orterrorism from anyone in the name of defending religion,religious symbols or icons.
“We also have rights. We have the right for our feelings notto be hurt and for our values not to be hurt,” he said during anaddress to commemorate the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday.
“And if some have the freedom to express what is in theirthoughts I imagine that this stops when it comes to offendingthe feelings of more than 1.5 billion people,” he added intelevised remarks.
The Grand Imam of Egypt’s al-Azhar university, one of theworld’s most eminent seats of Sunni Muslim learning, also calledon the international community to criminalise “anti-Muslim”actions.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, who sits at the head of thethousand-year-old institution, also said that al-Azhar stronglyrejects the use of anti-Muslim sentiment to rally votes inelections.
Turkey’s leader Tayyip Erdogan has called for a boycott ofFrench goods and Pakistan’s parliament passed a resolutionurging the government to recall its envoy from Paris