The Egyptian prosecutor's office has said that it mistakenly accused Saudi preacher Ayedh Al-Qarni of money-laundering and funding the Muslim Brotherhood, saying that its accusations were intended instead for Awwadh Al-Qarni, another well-known cleric in the Kingdom. A statement from the prosecutor on Monday clarified the error, in which the wrong name was included in a list with four other persons presented to the Egyptian State Security Court at Cairo's Appeal's Court circuit. The names of the two Al-Qarnis had appeared at various times connected with the case. The clerics have denied the accusations, erroneously directed or otherwise, with Ayedh Al-Qarni telling local press earlier in the week – in a tongue-in-cheek play on words not quite lost in English translation – that he was not engaged in money-laundering, but instead in “brainwashing”. The famous preacher responded to the Egyptian judiciary, saying: “I dare them to prove my involvement or that I've paid a single riyal for money-laundering or financing”. For his part, Awwadh Al-Qarni, who has denied similar accusations on previous occasions, maintained his position. “The accusation contains not the slightest truth whatsoever. I am a man of knowledge and thought, not a man of money,” Awwadh told Al-Watan last week. “The accusation is a fabrication by the Zionist Mossad against the noble people of the Ummah.”
