Thank you your majesty. You’ve done the right thing, once again.
According to Al-Waqt this morning, his majesty ordered the residency visa for Wagdi Ghoneim immediately cancelled, which means that he has a few days in which to gather his stuff and his brood and board a plane to Neverland. He’ll feel quite comfortable there I think!
The reason? This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
علمت «الوقت» أنأنباء نيابية سلÙÂية ÙÂيدولة الكويت تÙÂيد بأنعاهل البلاد الملك ØÂمد بنعيسى آل خليÙÂØ© أمر بإلغاء الإقامة البØÂرينية عنالداعية وجديغنيم بعد أننقل له نواب سلÙÂيونÙÂيالبØÂريناستنكارهم منإساءة غنيم لأمير وشعب الكويت.
وكانغنيم قدم إلى البØÂرينمنقطر التيذهب إليها بعد أنأمهلته السلطات الأميركية 10 أيام لمغادرة الولايات المتØÂدة بعد ÙÂترة اعتقال دامت Ù†ØÂÙˆ شهرينبتهم خرق قوانينالهجرة وتهديد الأمنالقومي، على رغم أنها لم تتمكنمنإثبات هذه التهم، بعد أنتقدمت المØÂامية بطلب للقاضيبإخلاء سبيل غنيم على أنيغادر الولايات المتØÂدة، ÙˆÙÂعلا غادر غنيم إلى قطر واستقر به الØÂال ÙÂيها Ù„ÙÂترة قصيرة، قبل أنيأتيإلى البØÂرين.Summary: A report in one of the Kuwaiti papers stated that Wagdi Ghoneim condoned and supported the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait 16 years ago and labelled the Kuwaiti society as gays and pederasts. This was apparently recorded in one of his taped sermons. The Kuwaitis took umbrage with this, the king got wind of it and immediately rescinded Wagdi’s residency permit.
To help him in that effect and to seed his illustrious CV for him, I suggest he might want to add a little to bumph it up a bit more and mention his Bahrain experience:
Ghoneim has been videotaped calling for suicide bombings at Islamic conferences. (The Investigative Project on Terrorism, ‘Backgrounder On the Fiqh Council of North America and the Council on American-Islamic Relations,’ July 31, 2005)
Ghoneim was denied entrance to Canada, after immigration officials determined he was a member of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. (The Ottawa Citizen, ‘Egyptian Religious Leader Denied Canadian Visa,’ January 10, 1999) Swiss airport authorities denied Guoneim’s entrance to Switzerland, citing his fundraising activities for Hamas and his arrest record in Egypt. (Islam Online, ‘Preacher Denied Entry, Swiss Muslims Furious,’ September 19, 2005)
On November 4, 2004, Ghoneim was arrested at his Anaheim, California home and was charged with overstaying his religious-worker visa. Ghoneim was subsequently deported from the United States. (Los Angeles Times, ‘Imprisoned Orange County imam insists he’s innocent of terrorist links but opts to depart the U.S. with his family for the Middle East,’ December 29, 2004) and was deported from Bahrain in November 2007 to destinations unknown.
Well, other than the immediate relief that this country hosts one less terrorism sympathizer, we still bid him adieux and fair winds, ones that will take him far away from these shores not to return.
Comments
It amazes me that someone, who is a guest living in another’s country, can talk smack about said country. He should be grateful for the residency.
If he’s such a Hamas supporter, why doesn’t he go live in Palestine? They probably don’t want him either.
meh, FAKKA.
LOL,
can he come back again and get kicked out? I really enjoyed that
One wonders why….knowing all those things about his “resume'” why he was let in in the first place Nothing changed except he decided to bite the hand that fed him…. 😕
**Standing Ovation**
I read your previous article about him and was so frustrated I coudlnt actually reply to it.
I say, good riddance.
How about the King exile his uncle and rid us of his tyranny as well?
Salman you’re a broken record. If you wish to criticise the prime minister of anyone else for that matter, do so on your own blog and your own time rather than trying to highjack every single topic posted.
You have been warned.
I wonder what would the take of those MPs that were not only defending him but requesting him being granted the Bahraini citizenship be after this.. haaah!
Hey Mahmood, great blog.
If it’s not too much trouble could I ask that you just include a one sentence summary of the jist of the Arabic quotes on the blog. I know transcribing the whole thing would be a timely process, so just a quick precis would really help us non-Arabic speakers. I know there are translation sites but everything reads like Klingon after being put through one of those!
Can I ask what the ‘final straw’ was in this case?
Poor Sh. Wajdi made a critical mistake which he’ll have to endure its consequences to the fullest 😐 .
If I wanted to say something questionable 😈 about someone, some group, or a high ranked person; I must be sure of two things: (1) how accurate is my source of info 💡 , (2) do I have the backbone/political support to entitle me the right to say it 😎 .
Sh. Wajdi misjudged & overestimated his backbone, so instead of apologizing – which would have been the wisest decision – for what he said 16 years ago; he stuck to his words and defended them 😯 . He thought that because King Hamad welcomed him into Bahrain, then he can get away with this, but unfortunately he didn’t ➡ .
Politics, diplomacy, and negotiation are important as ever these days
. I hope Dr. Wajdi learns his lesson this time, and apologizes – for the better – the next time this happens to him.
“Next in line please… ➡ “
I hear you moodZ!
Michael thanks for the suggestion. I shall do as you ask as much as possible, starting now. I shall have a summary of the Arabic or at least the basic issues in English at the bottom of the Arabic quoted text.
Thanks Mahmood!
By chance I know someone who knows this man….her brother is having him over to his house tomorrow night.(from what I understand) According to her brother all thats written in the paper is just the govt trying to paint him black to rid themselves of him. Of course we all know you cant always trust the media….so how do we know they are right this time? Just wondering as I dont read arabic and so dont know the full story. She and her brother are Bahrainis btw and obviously do read the papers etc.
Why would they (the government) want to do that if they themselves invited him over in the first place and gave him a job, a place to stay and put food in his and his brood’s mouths?
And the government is big and anonymous enough to throw anyone out without this palava. They’ve done it before and will continue to do it.
So no, this exploded in the Kuwaiti papers, picked up by this blog through a friend who provided the original link then the press here woke up to it and the rest is history.
Regardless, seeing a single episode of his vitriol is enough to convince anyone that the only thing this person can bring to Bahrain (and the area and the Muslim world) is his brand of intolerence which is rather dangerous.
I am glad that his TV show has been cancelled and am looking forward for Bahrain to bid him farewell for ever.
Oh, and I hope he enjoys his last supper… no pun intended!
😆 dont shoot the messenger
never!
I appreciate that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but i do suggest that you get your facts straight.
First of all, he did not label the Kuwaiti society as gays and pederasts, he merely referred to a small group of gay kuwaitis who were lobbying for their rights.
Second of all, he neither condoned nor supported the iraqi invasion, he actually critisized the kuwaiti ruler who at the time of invasion fled his country.
Third of all, this whole thing was distorted by the media, who failed to report what happened accurately.Sheikh Wajdi DID apologize!! He barely remembered the incident, by he did nonetheless apologize! That fact was NOT reported by the media, specifically the Al-Ayam newpaper who all out lied about what he said !And he’s still apologizing, check out his website for god’s sake!
And lastly, everyone speaks of this man and his family as if they’re not even human beings. Imagine being constantly uprooted and living the kind of unsure, unstable life that they do. It’s horrible! Have a bit of sympathy people, his family especially has endured more than any of us can possibly imagine.
He’s supposed to be an “intelligent” human being, which suggests that he should have gotten the message that he is doing or espousing something intrinsically at odds with the general public and the world. Intelligent people would have recognised that and changed their ways.
Maybe his Bahraini experience will ram it home for him and by that we have done good; thus, saving him from a life on the run!
But Qatar is welcome to him. The thing I don’t understand is why he is so against going back to his original Egypt? It’s a lovely and welcoming country rich with history and culture, why he wouldn’t want to go back is beyond me. I’ve never met/heard of someone who resolutely distances himself from his place of birth. Now I have!
Maybe he likes our Ghooozi & Falazeeen or our neighbor’s Mandeee & Bu7areee.
7atta law tabi Abu Nawwas Fool; ba3ad fee mawjood
Al3an qefedneh killa BAL3? 😛
Sh. Wajdi liking us is a compliment. This mean Bahrainis are loveable & have attracting hospitality 😎
He is entitled to his own beliefs and opinions just as much as any of us, and its admirable how he always sticks to his beliefs no matter what. And the reason that he doesn’t go back to egypt is that he can’t. The government there arrests anyone who has even a little bit of influence, especially if it’s religious influence.
I thought he:
I don’t know… call me confused of Budaiya but him not going back possibly means the complete reverse of your assertion?
There’s a difference between sticking to your beliefs and doing something stupid that would cause your family great sufferring. I think everyone forgets that he has a family to think of.Plus, i think we’ve veering off the point here, the reason i posted was to point out the unfairness of this particular situation to him and his family. People, including you and I, might have different opinions of him, but that still doesn’t change the facts of what happened.
uhuh. right.