El-Katatni was born on March 4, 1952. He completed his undergraduate studies of botany at the Assiut University with a B.Sc. degree in 1974. After one year of military conscription, he continued his studies, specialising in microbiology and taking his master's degree in 1979. After four more years of study at the Minya University, concurrently with the work as an assistant lecturer, he was conferred a doctorate in microbiology. Subsequently, he worked as a lecturer at the same university. In 1991 he was promoted to become associate professor. In 2004, he got a full professorship.
Political career
From 2005 to 2010, El-Katatni led the parliamentary bloc of the Muslim Brotherhood. Later, he served on the guidance bureau of the group. When the Muslim Brotherhood founded the Freedom and Justice Party on 30 April 2011, El-Katatni was chosen as the secretary-general of the party. Therefore, he retired from the guidance bureau. On 22 January 2012, he resigned as FJP secretary to become elected as the Speaker of the People's Assembly of Egypt the next day. He received 399 votes, 80 percent of the 498 votes cast. On 19 October 2012, the FJP selected him to serve as the party's chairman. At the time, the FJP is Egypt’s largest political party and controls 47% of Egypt's lower house of parliament's seats.
Political views
After he was selected as the FJP's party's chairman, Katatni expressed his desire to implement Islamic Sharia law in Egypt, saying that the FJP was established by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to represent the Brotherhood's "political project, which, in the end, will be a wise government that will institute Islamic Shari’a law." Katani declared his election as the first step toward achieving the FJP's goals.
Personal life
Dr. El-Katatni was known for his charitable behavior. He was the co-founder of Omar Ibn-Alkhattab hospital which offered free or low-price medical services for the poor and needy. He was financially committed to help many needy families that were unable to support themselves, as well as supporting orphans. Also, he was known among his academic peers for his decency and good manners.
Arrest
In the aftermath of the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, El-Katatni was arrested on 4 July 2013. Egyptian prosecutor general Hisham Barakat ordered his assets to be frozen on 14 July 2013. On 29 October 2013, a three-judge panel at Cairo Criminal Court stepped down from the proceedings, citing "uneasiness" over the trial. On 11 December 2013, a second panel of judges withdrew from the trial. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2015, a decision that was overturned in November 2016. As of September 2019, El-Katatni remains in custody pending retrial.
