The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood elected Saad al-Katani as its new leader, filling a slot left open when Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi formally resigned from the group in order to assume office. The vote is considered a relative victory for hardliners in the Muslim Brotherhood, with Katani defeating the more moderate Essam el-Erian for the position and declaring that he seeks to “implement righteous rule based on Islamic sharia laws.” The election comes in the aftermath of the Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme leader, , being quoted to the effect that “Jews have increased the corruption in the world, and shed the blood of (Muslims).” Jewish groups charged with monitoring anti-Jewish hatred have raised alarm bells over the speech and other explicitly anti-Semitic incitement at the highest levels of the Muslim Brotherhood. A new video showing Morsi’s participation in a prayer calling for the destruction and dispersal of Jews is likely to heighten those concerns.

[Photo: Jonathan Rashad / Flickr]