The preacher took the stand for his Friday sermon entitled “Egypt's virtues." The sermon included some of this: “If one was to look at this land, its countries, and all types of people without seeing Egypt and its people, then one would have seen no lands and no people. Egypt is the mother of all countries. It is the mother of the resistance and the people. It is a country with fertile soil and one that consoles emigrants. Egypt and its people have so many virtues and qualities. It has a long history in Islam and many secrets ever since the oldest and purest prophets walked on its land in addition to the oldest and most blessed messengers and companions." The preacher also said: “I am speaking about the star of all times, and the victorious battalion and the palace. I am speaking about the mother of civilization and the mother of skill and the source of merit." He also noted that God mentioned Egypt in the Qur'an whereby the word, Egypt, was directly stated in four instances, which constitutes an honor for this country. In addition, God alluded to Egypt without mentioning its name in thirty locations in the Qur'an. “Whenever God mentioned a river in the Qur'an, He was referring to the Nile as He said: “We told Moses' mother, nurse him and if you are afraid for him toss him in the river and don't be scared and don't you grieve. We shall return him to you and We shall make him a messenger" (Al-Kossas 7). The river here means the Nile. He added: “Yes, I am talking about Egypt. The Prophet (Peace be upon Him) commended the entire nation to care for Egypt and its people (...) “Hajar, Ibrahim's wife (Peace be upon Him) and the mother of Ismail, our Prophet's grandfather (Peace be upon Him) was a Coptic Egyptian. Marya, the Prophet's woman (Peace be upon Him) and the mother of his son, Ibrahim was also Egyptian. Our Prophet (Peace be upon Him) did not only praise Egypt and its people, since he also ordered people to be also good to the Copts there: “You will go to the Egyptian Copts and they will help you achieve God's will" as told by Al-Tabarani and rectified by Al-Albani." Then, the Friday preacher addressed the Egyptians and said: “Islam found its joy in you. You were its soldiers and its ink. You burnt the trilateral aggression and its masters. You destroyed the Bar Lev Line; and you were the masters and leaders of the crossing day." He added: “We are not talking about a regular country. We are talking about a great and dignified one (...) The people of Egypt must be proud and honored because God has chosen prophets among them. Indeed, Al-Khalil Ibrahim, the sheikh of the monotheists and the best of the messengers and the grandfather of the last prophet came to Egypt with his wife Sarah and married the Egyptian Hajar. Yaacoub (Peace be upon Him) also entered Egypt with his sons the prophets who died and were buried there. Youssef (Peace be upon Him) lived there, ruled there and died and was buried there. Moses and Haroun (Peace be upon Them) were born and lived in Egypt. Youshah ben Noun was born and lived there as well. Al-Khodr, Job, Isaiah, and Jeremiah (Peace be upon Them) all entered Egypt and some of them died there." He went on to say: “As for the Egyptian women, they should be honored and proud because the master of all prophets, Mohammad (Peace be upon Him) had an Egyptian grandmother. He also fathered a child with an Egyptian woman, Marya. Egyptian women must be proud because the Zamzam water source erupted in honor of an Egyptian woman and her son. They must take pride in the fact that when the Egyptian Hajar made the trip between Al-Safa and Al-Marwa, God made this trip an immortal one and He ordered all the prophets and pilgrims to take the same road." The preacher concluded by wishing well to Egypt and the Egyptians. This was not the sermon of an Egyptian preacher, but rather last Friday's sermon that was uttered by Saudi Preacher, Mohammad al-Arifi, in the Bawaridi Mosque in the Al-Aziziya area of Al-Riyadh. Within days, the sermon gained widespread attention on the internet and in social media. The sermon made the Egyptians cry, as some of them no longer felt the “virtues of Egypt" that were mentioned in the sermon and they no longer valued them and sometimes violated them. On the other hand, another thing also gained wide exposure on the net: a talk by Egyptian preacher, Abdullah Badr, who addressed the Christian actor Hani Ramzi, regarding his latest criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood and the ruling Islamic movement. Badr warned Ramzi: “You Christian, you loser, mind the red line. The group and the Muslims are none of your business. You are a joke and must respect yourself... This man is an idiot. He acts in movies and people laugh at him day and night." Between Al-Arifi and Badr, the difference is that one is preaching about “Egypt's virtues" while the other is attacking them.
