Egypt sacks justice minister after he said he would arrest the Prophet Mohammed himself if he broke the law

Ahmed al-Zend, Egypt’s justice minister since May last year, made the controversial remark during a televised interview Friday with the Sada al-Balad channel Friday.

Zend said he would imprison any “wrongdoer” if they were found guilty of a crime, “even” the Prophet Mohammed.

Seeming to realise his error, Zend stopped immediately and said: “I ask for forgiveness from God.”

He then issued an apology in another interview on Saturday, saying his comments were a “slip of the tongue” and “meant in a hypothetical sense”, but it was not enough to save his job.

“Prime Minister Sharif Ismail decided to dismiss justice minister Ahmed al-Zind from his post,” a statement from the premier’s office said Sunday, though it did not give a specific reason for the sacking.

It followed calls on social media for Zend to be removed from his post and put on trial for his comments in a country where attitudes towards religion are still deeply conservative and blasphemy still a crime met with stern punishment, despite the government’s fierce opposition to political Islam and claims of striving for religious tolerance.