Islamist groups, including the salafists, refused the sixth apology offered by Coptic businessman Najīb Sawiris for publishing a cartoon depicting Mickey Mouse sporting a beard and Minnie Mouse wearing a niqāb (all-face veil) on his social networking Twitter page.
The cartoon had stirred the anger of hard-line salafists in what was described as a clear threat to Sawiris' political future and investments, particularly after 90,000 subscribers withdrew from his cell phone operator MobiNil.
A leading salafist, Abū Ishāq al-Hūwaynī, said no apology will be accepted from "that man" so he may know that he would never get away with any offense he makes against Islam.
A spokesman for the salafists in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, 'Abd al-Mun'im al-Shahāt, said Sawiris' apology will never be accepted because he apologized only after his financial losses mounted over a Muslim campaign to boycott his cell phone company's services.
