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An update on this story. "Trial begins in 'insulting Islam' case," by Nadia Abou El-Magd for Associated Press:
CAIRO, Egypt - An Egyptian blogger went on trial Thursday on charges of insulting Islam and causing sectarian strife with his Internet writings.
It was Egypt's first prosecution of a blogger, and it came as Washington has backed away from pressuring Egypt to improve its human rights record and bring democratic reform.
The defendant, Abdel Kareem Nabil, often denounced Islamic authorities and criticized Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on his Arabic-language blog. He has been in detention since November and faces up to nine years in prison if convicted.
Egypt has arrested a string of pro-democracy bloggers over the past year, sparking condemnation from human rights groups.
Nabil's trial in Alexandria began two days after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Mubarak, seeking support for a new U.S. strategy on calming violence in Iraq. But unlike past visits to Egypt when she pressed demands for greater democracy, Rice made no reference to reform. Instead she praised the two countries' "important strategic relationship -- one that we value greatly."
In court Thursday, Nabil was charged with inciting sedition, insulting Islam, harming national unity and insulting the president, a court official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of court rules.
Other bloggers have been detained and released without charges. They concentrated on politics, unlike Nabil, who wrote often on religion. In his blog Nabil was a fierce critic of conservative Muslims and in particularly of al-Azhar University, one of the most prestigious religious institutions in the Sunni Muslim world, where he was a law student.
He was thrown out of the university in March, and in his last blog entry before his arrest blamed al-Azhar for pushing the government to investigate him.
His blog can be found here, though most of it is in Arabic. There is also an English-language site in support of him, FreeKareem.org.
Posted by Marisol at January 20, 2007 8:12 AM
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Egypt has arrested a string of pro-democracy bloggers over the past year, sparking condemnation from human rights groups.
Really? Which human rights groups? Why do the protestations of Guantánamo Bay always make the news then? Talk about misplaced priorities.
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at January 20, 2007 8:22 AM
Its no surprise this is happening, its egypt!!!
Posted by: OLD SARGE at January 20, 2007 8:36 AM
It is one thing to abandon the push for "democracy" in Egypt. It is quite another to abandon the individuals who attack things that should be attacked, including those who are most fanatically Islamic (even if Islam itself is not attacked), and those who are Lords of Misrule, because of their corruption.
In this case Egypt, the recipient of more than $60 billion dollars in aid extracted, without their consent, from American taxpayers who would not, if they understood the Muslim Arab government of Egypt, approve of such a use of their money, thinks it can behave as it is. We should not mind when our enemies -- that is, members of the Muslim Brotherhoood -- are locked up. But we should mind when those who have something in common with us, as this particular dissident does, is persecuted and threatened with nine years in prison. This is not being inconsistent. It is being sensible.
And Rice should now read the Egyptian ambassador, and through him the Egyptian government, the riot act. If this trial goes through, and if this particular defendant is punished in any way, that should be followed by a cut in aid to Egypt -- perhaps a half-billion would get Egyptian attention.
Ideally, of course, all aid to Egypt would stop. But at this point, given the limited intelligence and comprehension of our rulers, that would be too much to expect. They can, however, threaten a cut in aid, as was done (ask Bernard Lewis, who takes credit for it) in order to change the outcome of the trial of Saad Eddine Ibrahim, a "reformer" or one who was taken to be such.
In the case of Ibrahim, he turns out to be one willing to make common cause with the Ikhwan, and shares, slightly more muted and nuanced, the hostility of so many Egyptians to Israel, and is unable to extend his sympathies, or learn much about, the Jewish state and its legal, moral, and historic claims -- his mind just can't grasp it, or he won't let his mind be violated by such knowledge, such possiblities.
In this case, Abdel Kareem Nabil is an opponent of both the Al-Azhar authorities for their views and Mubarak for his un-ideological corruption. He seems a better bet than the ballyhooed Ibrahim.
Cut that aid. Cut it, and threaten to cut more. Egypt will snap to in a minute.
Posted by: Hugh at January 20, 2007 9:37 AM
From the site FreeKareem.org:
"Nabil was a law student at al-Azhar University, but denounced it as “the university of terrorism,'’ accusing it of promoting radical ideas and suppressing free thought. Al-Azhar “stuffs its students’ brains and turns them into human beasts … teaching them that there is no place for differences in this life,'’ he wrote.
He was thrown out of the university in March, and in his last blog entry before his arrest blamed al-Azhar for pushing the government to investigate him.
In other postings, Nabil described Mubarak’s regime as a “symbol of dictatorship.'’
Nabil was briefly detained in late 2005 after posting a commentary on riots in which angry Muslim worshippers attacked a Coptic Christian church over a play put on by Christians deemed offensive to Islam.
“Muslims revealed their true ugly face and appeared to all the world that they are full of brutality, barbarism and inhumanity,'’ Nabil said of the October 2005 riots."
In other words, this is exactly the kind of person who, unlike Saad Eddin Ibrahim, is the real hope of Egypt, and who should be supported by the Administration and by those in Congress who have their moral and geopolitical wits about them.
at January 20, 2007 9:41 AM
"insulting Islam"
One can only insult someone or something if that someone or something is capable of feeling insulted, shurely?
How is it possible to insult an animate object?
Islam is not a person; it is an ideology.*
On that basis alone, he is not guilty.
(*It is also a 'race' according to CAIR)
Posted by: A Nonny Nonny at January 20, 2007 9:46 AM
As soon as a Muslim tries to exercise freedom he is jailed or killed for "insulting islam".
The promotion of democracy among Muslims is a lost cause. For the present day muslim governments Islamic extremism and the appeasing of cajoling of extremists is good business.
I am crying myself hoarse telling this.
But the west is ruled by lunatics and naive morons.
There are plenty of dreamers in high places out there looking for 'Moderate Muslims'.
The question is not facing reality.
Meanwhile Islam keeps growing like a cancer everywhere.
at January 20, 2007 10:48 AM
OK he isn't on trial for insulting Islam, but for writing about President Mubarak it would be deduced.
Islam is the cover to get the turban heads stirred up so Mubarak can appease and be one with them.
In listening to Mubarak, I actually consider him one of the most gifted political leaders who is holding the western flank against Islam. His problem is he is sickly and has a too big problem with the kooks and can't crack down as his military would probably come after him if he wanted to.
Nabil should have written President Mubarak is doing all he can for not only Egypt and all Muslims....and then went into exposing the imams for the problems they cause.
Granted he might have been murdered, but he would be free now....lesson is don't kick the lion in charge as Mubarak is a kitten compared to the maneaters lurking in Egypt.
at January 20, 2007 12:40 PM
If you can't insult Islam, what can you insult? Certain things in life demand insult. It's good for the ideological ecology.
Posted by: Alarmed Pig Farmer at January 20, 2007 12:47 PM
It seems old Abdel's only crime was that he dared to think too much - a capital offense for anyone in Islam apparently.
Posted by: A.I. Steamroller at January 20, 2007 3:39 PM
In other words, this is exactly the kind of person who, unlike Saad Eddin Ibrahim, is the real hope of Egypt, and who should be supported by the Administration and by those in Congress who have their moral and geopolitical wits about them.
-by Hugh
Sometimes Hugh's comments deserve to be posted again and this is one of them.
Just like Meena in Afghanistan there are true Children of God who live under the iron fist of evil. These are the people I support and not the political puppets that my governmnet supports or who they say are our "friends".
Abdel hears the same words as Patrick Henry: "Give me Liberty or give me death." He is in communion with all his free thinking kinsmen around the world.
Posted by: Briars at January 20, 2007 6:15 PM
Poor, poor, brave younge one. My heart brakes for him especially, after reading and an Arabic-language website detailing the brutality that some of the blogers were exposed to. If there is a hell on earth, it is in the dungeons of the Egyptian state which is one of the most evil and brutal regimes on earth.
Posted by: have_mercy at January 21, 2007 10:49 PM
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