• 23:27
  • Thursday ,07 May 2015
العربية

Egypt calls for blocking “extremist” channels, websites

By-Ahram

Copts and Poliltical Islam

00:05

Thursday ,07 May 2015

Egypt calls for blocking “extremist” channels, websites

Egypt on Tuesday called for blocking TV channels and websites that incite extremism at a Cairo meeting on combating the ideology of the Islamic State (IS), a militant group that controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria.Egypt on Tuesday called for blocking TV channels and websites that incite extremism at a Cairo meeting on combating the ideology of the Islamic State (IS), a militant group that controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Foreign countries whose Muslim citizens join the IS militant group should rethink their integration policies, foreign minister aide Ambassador Abdel-Rahman Salah said at the meeting, which was attended by representatives from 21 countries.
 
Last January, an IS-affiliated group in Libya claimed responsibility for the killing of 20 Egyptian Christian workers in Tripoli, after their kidnap in Sirte, prompting Egypt to launch airstrikes on alleged IS positions in Libya.
 
Last year, Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis (ABM) pledged allegiance to IS, changing its name to Sinai Province. The group has claimed responsibility for various attacks that have killed hundreds of police and army personnel.
 
Hundreds of Egyptians are believed to be fighting for IS in Syria and Iraq.
 
In 2013, following the ouster of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi, Egypt shut down at least 10 Islamist TV channels, accusing them of inciting violence.  
 
The channels, which included the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, played an important role in defending Morsi and rallying people to his side.
 
Several pro-Brotherhood TV channels continue to air on Egyptian televisions, broadcasting from outside the country.