[1] Abu Ismail defended many prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including Kharirat El-Shater, against military tribunals under the Hosni Mubarak regime.

The sermons were highly politicised, strongly criticising the regime's human rights abuses and defending Muslim Brotherhood members facing military trials.

[2][3] Abu Ismail was an early supporter of the January 25 Revolution that toppled the Mubarak regime and was a heavy critic of the Egyptian military, a position at odds with many Salafists, with whom he is usually associated.

[9][10][11] On 4 April 2012, The New York Times reported that according to Californian government documents, Abu Ismail's deceased mother was a US citizen, which would make him ineligible for the presidency under the Egyptian constitution.

[14] Abu Ismail filed a case against the ministry at the State Council, which ruled that it found no proof of his mother's alleged dual citizenship.

[29] Egypt Watch, an independent advocacy and research platform, has described Abu Ismail's trials and convictions as politically motivated.

[30] In September 2023, The New Arab reported that Abu Ismail had been denied visits from his family for six years, and that he was placed in solitary confinement, not allowed to communicate with other prisoners.

[31] In the same month, an Egyptian activist released what he claimed were leaked videos from Abu Ismail's cell in the Badr prison complex.

[34] In foreign policy, Abu Ismail is in favor of ending the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty and has spoken of Iran as a successful model of independence from the United States.