A Scholar Who Was Jailed, Tortured for Opposing Normalization of Ties with Israel
Once he protested against Egypt’s move to normalize ties with Israel and was jailed for his protest.
Abd al-Hamid bin Abd al-Aziz Kishk was born on March 1933 in Shubra Khit, a town in Egypt’s Beheira Governorate. He went to a Maktab (traditional school) at an early age and learned the Quran by heart before ten.
He then went to a religious center in Alexandria and was the top student in the final examination of Al-Azhar high schools all over Egypt.
He entered Al-Azhar University and there, too, was a top students.
Abd al-Hamid was named an instructor at the religious foundations faculty of Al-Azhar University in 1957. However, he was more interested in preaching and that is why he abandoned teaching at the university.
He delivered his first speech at his hometown’s mosque when he was only 12. The preacher of the mosque was late for some reason and he courageously took the podium and started a speech in which he invited people to uphold justice and be kind to one another.
Abd al-Hamid officially entered the world of preaching in 1961 and delivered speeches in mosques in Egypt for 20 years.
In 1965, he was imprisoned for his criticism of the policies of then president of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser. He was in jail for 2.5 years and was tortured severely despite being visually-impaired.
After being release, he resumed his activities in mosques and starting from 1972, his speeches gained a lot of attention in the country.
After Egypt’s then president Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David Accords, he criticized Sadat and accused the government of treason.
Sadat delivered a bitter speech in the parliament in September 1981 and attacked his critics, especially the clergy, a large number of critics, including Abd al-Hamid were arrested. This time too, he went through severe tortures.
After Abd al-Hamid was released from prison in 1982, he was no longer allowed to preach.
