MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Welcome to the new and improved democratic freedoms of a post-revolutionary Egypt where everyone is now free to openly speak their mind. Unless you’re a woman.  And unless others don’t like the way you dress.  But embrace that new-found freedom of speech.  Just don’t say anything negative about the ‘Noble Koran’. Or the ‘true Islamic religion’. Or the ‘Prophet of Islam and his family’. Or ‘Muslims’ in general.  After all, Islam has an image it needs to protect, so everyone best listen when the ‘word of Allah’ speaks.  In fact, if you’re not a Muslim at all, freedom is so prevalent now that, just like the liberated people of Iraq and Afghanistan before them, many exceptionally devout Muslims can now freely declare their intentions for you out in the open for the whole world to hear …

“An Egyptian court sentenced a man to three years in jail with hard labour on Saturday for insulting Islam in postings on Facebook, the official MENA news agency reported.

The Cairo court found that Ayman Yusef Mansur ‘intentionally insulted the dignity of the Islamic religion and attacked it with insults and ridicule on Facebook,’ the agency reported.

The court said his insults were ‘aimed at the Noble Koran, the true Islamic religion, the Prophet of Islam and his family and Muslims, in a scurrilous manner,’ the agency reported.

It did not provide details on what he had written that was deemed to be offensive.

Mansur was arrested in August after police tracked him down through his internet address.

Egyptian law outlaws insults to religion [Egypt is majority Sunni Islam]. The law has been used in the past to try Shiite Muslims.

MENA did not mention Mansur’s religion or beliefs, but quoted the court as saying that ‘all members of religions are obligated to tolerate the others’ existence.’

In 2007, a court sentenced blogger Kareem Amer to jail for insulting the Muslim prophet and then president Hosni Mubarak. He was released last year.

Egypt, the most populous Arab country, follows the French legal system but its constitution, suspended since the military took over after an uprising ousted Mubarak in February, stipulates that Islam is the main source of law.” Read more.