Egypt's Islamist party cleric banned from entering France named as presidential candidate

Cairo, Apr 8 (ANI): Egypt's ultraconservative Islamist party has put forward a leading Muslim cleric as its presidential candidate.

The Gamaa Islamiya, or Islamic Group, has chosen Safwat Hegazy, a prominent imam who took part in last year's protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

Hegazy was banned from entering France last month along with a number of other high-profile Muslim clerics on the grounds that they 'call for hatred and violence,' Fox News reports.

A leading Gamaa Islamiya part member said Hegazy was chosen because he is a well known Islamist and supports the application of Islamic law.

The Gamaa Islamiya was a militant organization that fought Mubarak's regime in the 1990s, seeking to establish an Islamic state. (ANI)