Egyptian Coptic business tycoon Naguib Sawiris was in firing line on November 10, after unveiling plans to launch two satellite channels to confront the “growing Islamisation” of Egyptian society amid Muslim threats to boycott his products, reports IslamOnline.net.
“Sawiris is sparking off a sectarian sedition on satellite channels,” Gamal Qotb, the former head of the Fatwa Department at Al-Azhar, said, adding, “His planned channels will trigger a frantic race between Muslim and Christian satellite channels.”
Sawiris said last week he intended to launch two satellite channels, one for news and another for uncut movies, to confront what he called a torrent of religious and conservative TV programmes.
He had already cited the same reasons for launching his secular Otv last year, and warned against the spread of “extremist ideologies” born in Saudi Arabia and Gulf states.
Rafiq Habib, a Coptic intellectual, said that Sawiris’s statements reflect a secular drive in Egypt, which counters a religious uprising whether by Muslims or Christians. “This drive has been linked to some Christian figures in Egypt, particularly those who fear what they call the ‘Islamisation of Egyptian society’.”
Qotb, the Azhar scholar, warned of a massive economic boycott to the services and products of Sawiris if he did not retract his plans. “These two channels could usher in the collapse of his business empire,” in the Muslim world, he said.