Clearly Islamic law still has a strong influence, even in post-Muslim Brotherhood Egypt. The government has said that it would protect the Christians, but with verdicts like this, it doesn’t look all that much different from the Brotherhood regime.
“Egyptian Christian jailed for contempt of religion,” Associated Press, June 24, 2014:
LUXOR, Egypt — A court convicted an Egyptian Christian to six years imprisonment for blasphemy and contempt of religion on Tuesday.
The Luxor court issued its verdict against Kerolos Ghattas, 30, after his arrest earlier this month for posting pictures deemed insulting to Islam on his Facebook page.
Ghattas’ arrest sparked fears of sectarian conflict in his village, where unidentified assailants have hurled Molotov cocktails at shops owned by Christians. Local authorities beefed up security in the village on Tuesday.
The verdict can be appealed. Egypt has witnessed a rise in the number of cases of Coptic Christians — estimated as 10 percent of the population — over the past three years.
On Monday, another Christian journalist — a convert — was sentenced to six years in prison over his coverage of recent sectarian strife.
Egypt’s Christians have complained of discrimination by the nation’s Muslim majority.
They have heavily invested in the anti-Islamist movement in the hope of gaining equal rights with their Muslim compatriots, and have overwhelmingly backed President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the former army chief who overthrew the Islamist president last July.
Peter Buckley says
“Insulting” Islam= “Telling the truth about”…Islam.
john spielman says
Islam is blasphemy against all that is holy, good, lovely, and admirable.
Jay Boo says
Misery loves company
Muslims must guard their smiles or risk becoming Christians.
Christians must guard their smiles or risk becoming victims.
Jerry says
What do you call a condition when a person has uncontrollable homicidal rage, co-existing with suicidal tendencies, which is aggravated whenever he or she encounters or percives that someone else does not fully agree with them?
ISLAM
Walter Sieruk says
As for this Christian who gets six years in prison for “blasphemy.” All this “blasphemy ” by this and other Christians as well may be no more ,in reality, truth telling about the great errors according to the Bible of the doctrines of Islam. Furthermore, this prison sentence is still more proof that the foundations doctrines are so weak that they can’t stand up to or hold up to criticism. That Muslims sends Christians to prison for “the crime of blasphemy against Islam” only shows this. Those exposes and mullahs have in real augments to defend Islam.
This all does bring to mind the Christians internet site that has much in it about and concerning Islam. It’s answering-islam.org
Diania turner says
My complaint is not Islam or Muslims. My complaint is the crazy people that use it to rape, pillage and murder. I have Muslim friends. Muslims, Christians, Buddhist and all religions are just people trying to be faithful to GOD. However, Much of Islam has been seized by criminals that want to make their murderous tendencies look HOLY. They are murderers. They all need to arrested, put on trial and locked up or executed.
To the Muslims, I say this. By not standing up, uniting and stopping these crazy people from hijacking your religion, you are signing your own death sentence and destroying all your future generations. Haven’t you noticed how often the violence is against other Muslims. You think those crazy bastards will spare you…No! You will become their target.
Evil never consumes enough or is filled!
dumbledoresarmy says
Those Muslims who kill people for “blasphemy” (criticising or “insulting” “Islam”, or Muslims, or mohammed), or who kill people for apostasy (leaving Islam) are NOT “hijacking” Islam.
They are, instead, plain old pious Muslims doing exactly what Islam tells them to do.
Because the canonical texts of Islam contain 1/ the teaching that those who leave Islam must be killed and 2/ the example of Mohammed’s approving of the assassinations of poets – e.g. Asma Bint Marwan, and Abu Afak – who had mocked him, his teachings and his followers.
Elisheva14 says
This is why the Presbyterians voted to boycott businesses that do business with Israel. How absurd when other countries are putting people in jail for blasphemy. What is the Presbyterians problem with Israel is beyond me. Why not go after a Muslim country that persecutes Christians?