Coptic teacher jailed for insulting President Morsi
Sept 20, 2012: Christians and moderate Muslims are concerned and shocked by the six-year
sentence inflicted on Bishoy Kamel, a Christian teacher who posted online satirical
cartoons on Islam on 30 July, and allegedly insulted Egypt's president. In front of
the courthouse where the trial was held, hundreds of Salafists gathered ready to lynch
the offender. Sources close to Kamel's family say that he was beaten in prison. The
sentence was passed yesterday, but Kamel's lawyers have already appealed for a retrial
by a less biased court.
Nagui Damian, a young Catholic Coptic activist, and
a leader in the Jasmine Revolution, told AsiaNews that the sentence has shaken Christians
and Muslims, who are afraid of some peculiar positions taken by the president. The
last time someone got three years in jail for insulting the head of state, King Farouk
was still in power. He was overthrown in 1952.
Nagui Damian said that many
Muslims protested and wrote letter to newspapers and online forums, saying that six
years in prison for posting cartoons offensive to Islam and insulting President Mohammed
Morsi was too much.
During his 30 years of power, even Mubarak was more indulgent.
In 2007, a young blogger, Kareem Amer, got only one year for insulting the president.
Other
cases involving insults to Islam or the president were settled with fines or a few
months in jail.
In the recent wave of anti-American demonstrations caused by
the blasphemous Muhammad tape, some Muslim journalists have asked whether the same
punishment would have been inflicted on someone who insulted the symbols of other
religions, like Christianity.
For the moment, police arrested another activist,
Albert Saber, who posted the blasphemous movie trailer online.
According to
Nagui Damian, religious minorities and moderate Muslims must speak out to stop Islamists
from influencing international organisations and hijack the Jasmine Revolution.
"All
Coptic religious authorities have criticised the offensive acts against the Islamic
religion. For every Egyptian, Christian or Muslim, insulting religion is a shameful
act that must be punished, but there must be impartiality. For this reason, it makes
no sense to ask the United Nations to adopt a law on Islamophobia as some Muslim leaders
have suggested. The Egyptian state and the International community must defend all
religions, not one in particular."