Shi‘ite Arrests Reported in Egypt

Via The Arabist, a story originally reported here at al-Misriyun, claiming that 306 Shi‘ites have been arrested in Egypt. The story itself links these arrests to the group's preacher having visited Iran, and also the recently discovered "Hizbullah cell" reported in Egypt. The crackdown, assuming there is some truth to the story, implies that the Hizbullah cell affair is either expanding, or is being used as an excuse for a crackdown on the Shi‘a. Most Shi‘a in Egypt are of foreign origin.

Since one of the charges seems to be that the preacher in question attacked the Companions of the Prophet (possibly referring to the traditional Shi‘ite rejection of the Caliphs Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman) and ‘A'isha (wife of the Prophet, daughter of Abu Bakr; she fought against ‘Ali at the Battle of the Camel and is therefore criticized by Shi‘ites), there is a possibility that this is a case of anti-Shi‘ite pressure using the Hizbullah cell as a pretext.