CAIRO: A Salafi MP suddenly stood up in the middle of a session of Egypt’s parliament on Tuesday to issue a call for Muslim prayers, earning a reprimand from the speaker of parliament.
"I never gave you authorization. There is a mosque for the call to prayers," said speaker Saad El-Katatny, himself a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, only to be ignored by MP Mamdouh Ismail who put his hands to his ears in prayer.
"Mr deputy Mamduh Ismail has violated the rules and issued a call to prayers … without asking the president of the house. There is a mosque for that," said the speaker, amid smiles from several amused deputies.
"This chamber is for debate … You are not more Muslim than the rest of us and we do not want to pray any less than you do," said El-Katatny.
Ismail, whose hardline Islamist party came second to the Brotherhood in a legislative election Islamists dominated, was called to order last month when he added that he would not violate God’s law to the swearing-in oath.
