Egypt’s Kung Fu Champ Waylaid by T-Shirt
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Ibrahim Ramadan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images(CAIRO) — Mohamed Youssef is in trouble for wearing a shirt that showed support for ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
What makes the story all the more interesting is that Youssef is the country’s kung fu champion and because of his silent protest after winning an international championship in Russia, he’s been indefinitely suspended from further competition.
What angered Egypt’s kung fu association was the Rabaa symbol Youssef had on his shirt. It’s a four-fingered salute to the hundreds killed when security forces sent in by the interim Egyptian government stormed the Rabaa al-Adawiya protest camp in Cairo last August.
The Rabaa symbol is meant to appeal to those who aren’t necessarily pro-Islamist but still object to the crackdown instituted by the military-backed government. Still, the Rabaa sign has gained support by Islamists around the world, including Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has publicly displayed it.
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