A presidential statement on Thursday 07/02/2013 condemned hate speech under religious guise following a recently released Fatwa (religious edict) that called for the killing of opposition figures.

The released presidential statement came days after a cleric issued a religious edict on television, saying opposition leaders Mohamed El-Baradei and Hamdeen Sabbahi should be killed.

"Practicing religious violence or threatening to do so has become one of the gravest challenges facing the Arab Spring," the statement said.

"Egyptians must join hands to avoid the threat of civil strife and face attempts to spread division and schism.

"Some are promoting and inciting political violence while others who claim to speak in the name of religion are permitting 'killing' based on political differences and this is terrorism."