"Shiites even worse than the Jews!"

I have noticed a recurring theme in Egyptian media over the past several weeks. In at least five separate instances, religious and other officials have declared that Shiites, and sometimes Iranians, are at least as bad as Jews are.

Al Mesryoon on April 5 quoted Sheikh Mohamed Alaa El Din Abu Azaim as saying that Egypt needs to cut Egyptian-Iranian relations, because "they are more dangerous than the Jews" - he is worried that Iranian tourists will try to convert Egyptians to Shiism.

Al Mogaz on that same date reported that the Suez Bar Association said something similar, warning of the spread of Iranian tourism in Egypt and spread of Shi'ism Egyptian society. They added that these Iranians "represent a more serious risk to Islam than from the Jews themselves," saying that they did not want the tourism money that they bring in.

Al Mesryoon revisited the topic on April 13, quoting Salafi spokesman Sheikh Abdel Moneim El-Shahat, of warning President Morsi not to allow Shiites into Egypt, saying - again - that the Shiites are more dangerous to Egypt than the Jews themselves because they want to spread their ideology in Egypt. He pointed out that the function of the state in protecting religion "does not extend to Shiites whose hands are stained with the blood of innocent people."

Yet another article in Al Mesryoon, an op-ed on April 18, attempts to draw comparisons between how disgusting the Shiites are to how terrible the Jews are. He points out that the Jews sway during prayer, as well as the Shiites. The Jews like shedding blood of every Muslim, and so do Shiites. Jews distorted the Torah; Shiites distorted the Koran. Jews and Shiites both hate the angel Jibril (Gabriel.) (There are a few others that I didn't quite get, something about women and another about kissing, that apparently Jews and Shiites have in common.

Finally, in Wednesday's Masrawy, Sharif Taha, Secretary of the Nour Party in Dakahlia province, said that the Shiites are worse than Jews as they are more bloodthirsty and filled with malice to Sunnis. He also said that both Jews and Shiites engage in "intellectual terrorism."