Rights group blasts ElBaradei fatwa

CAIRO, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- A religious edict allowing for the assassination of Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei is an insult to Islam, an Egyptian human rights group said.

Mahmoud Amer, the head of Egypt's religious group al-Sunna al-Mohamadiya, called on ElBaradei to "repent" for stoking civil unrest through his calls for boycotts of Egyptian elections, Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm reports.

"ElBaradei incites civil unrest," the fatwa reads. "For this, the temporal rulers, represented by the government and President Hosni Mubarak, have the right to kill him if he does not desist."

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights called on Egyptian prosecutors to respond to the fatwa, asking the general prosecutor's office to "strictly apply the law to those who issue religious edicts permitting the killing of people, which spread fear among citizens."

The rights group said the fatwa should be challenged, noting similar rulings were issued for the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

Hafez Abu Seida, the head of the Egyptian rights group, was quoted by the newspaper as saying the mentality that inspires such edicts "must be overcome."

"This edict is harmful to Islam," he added.