Egypt's parliament has opened an investigation into the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah's reported distribution of money to the poor in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country, according to press reports Monday.There has been increasing friction between Egypt and Hezbollah/Iran in recent months, after Egypt caught Hezbollah terrorists planning attacks.
Mohamed Sherdi, MP of al-Wafd opposition party for the northeastern governorate of Port Said, accused Hezbollah of distributing five and 10 Egyptian pound bills with the Shiite party's stamp.
"We found one pound, five pound and 10 pound bills with the Hezbollah stamp on them," Sherdi told Al Arabiya. "These small bills are what people on the lower end of society commonly use so we fear that Hezbollah members in Egypt are distributing money to the poor," he explained.
The stamp printed on the bills says "Hezbollah-Ahl al-Beit- God's bond." Ahl al-Beit refers to the prophet's family and is a common expression used in the Shiite faith.
Islamists often use "charity" in order to gain a foothold in areas they want to subvert.