Cairo: A Muslim cleric has issued a death fatwa against Egypt's pro-reform campaigner Mohammad Al Baradei allegedly for inciting sedition in the country.
"We in Egypt mostly embrace Islam, and anyone meditating statements made by Al Baradei will find out that they incite people to rebel against our Muslim ruler (President Hosni Mubarak)," added the fatwa attributed to Mahmoud Amer, a fundamentalist cleric in the Delta province of Al Beheira.
Since his return to Egypt last February after ending his job as chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Al Baradei has been spearheading a high-profile campaign for wider constitutional reforms.
Al Baradei, a potential challenger to Mubarak, had urged boycott of the recent legislative elections, which several opposition groups decided to quit in the second round for alleged massive vote fraud.
"So he (Al Baradei should announce repentance for what he said. If not, the ruler is permitted to imprison or kill him to stave off sedition," added Amer in his fatwa (a religious edict) posted on the website of the religious association the Supporter of the Mohammadian Suna in Beheira.
There was no immediate comment from Al Baradei.
Mubarak, 82, has been in power for more than 29 years. He has yet to say if he will seek a sixth term.
