Egypt cleric dies after ‘bullying’ by congregation 

An Egyptian Muslim cleric has died after allegedly being heckled by some worshippers while he was delivering a sermon at a mosque, according to local reports.

Last week Sheikh Mohammad Badawi, a reciter of the Holy Quran, was asked to deliver the weekly Friday sermon after a government-appointed imam had failed to show up in time at the local village mosque in Al-Munefia governorate, north of Cairo.

Witnesses say a number of people present took the initiative to push the sheikh to ascend the pulpit, while others objected. However, while delivering the sermon, the 42-year-old was insulted by a worshipper who, along with others, attempted to force him out of the mosque.

#حدث_بالفعل
شتمه شخص وهو ع المنبر
وفاة محفظ قرأن بعد خطبة الجمعة ف المنوفية
خيمت حالة من الحزن ع أهالي قرية مجريا التابعة لمركز أشمون بمحافظة المنوفية عقب وفاة الشيخ محمد عبد العليم بدوي 42 عامًا والذي عرفه أبناء قريته قارئ للقرآن بالمعازي ومُحفظًا للقرآن فى 👇👇 pic.twitter.com/QxtzzlCnJF

— ‏‎𓁳𓆃توت عنخ أمون‎𓁳𓆃 (@husseinElbaz___) October 9, 2022

“The worshipper hurled insults at him and demanded him to leave the pulpit,” said a witness according to the news portal Masrawy.

It has been reported by several outlets that following this incident, Badawi suffered a psychological crisis while returning to his home and was deeply affected by what happened.

According to RT Arabic, some members of the community had tried to apologise to him, but he died of a heart attack only a few hours later. There has been no comment from local authorities.

Egypt: Al-Azhar ignores Al-Qaradawi’s death, while Saudi and UAE media attack him