Bloggers without borders: Free Kareem

Kareem Amer (the online pseudonym of Egyptian blogger and former law student Abdul Kareem Suleiman Amer or sometimes Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman or AbdelKareem Nabil Soliman depending upon the translation) has been arrested, convicted and imprisoned for insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak on his blog. This blog previously reported on this outrage.

This is an issue all bloggers, regardless of politics or religion, should rally behind. Bloggers should publicize this event and demand his freedom. Blogging nowhere in the world should be restricted by government or religious authorities. The content of blogs should be judged by readers and fellow bloggers. The content of blogs should stand or fall based upon their quality and not whether they cast those in power in a favorable light or not.

This is from David Tate (a blogger at Harry’s Place) in today’s Guardian:

The blogger, Abdel Kareem Soliman, who is an Egyptian Muslim, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment: three years for insulting Islam and inciting sedition, and one year for insulting President Hosni Mubarak.

He had described his university, al-Azhar, as "the university of terrorism", the Egyptian president as a "dictator" and - having witnessed riots in which the property of Egyptian Copts was stolen and destroyed by Muslim rioters - argued that Islam itself was the fundamental cause of the sectarian riot.

The prosecutor, Mohammed Dawoud, denounced Kareem as an "apostate" and declared: "I want him to get the toughest punishment ... I am on a jihad here ... If we leave the likes of him without punishment, it will be like a fire that consumes everything."

His wish has come true.

Kareem's father has called for his son to be killed if he does not "announce his repentence". He has described groups campaigning for his son's freedom as "monkey rights organisations" and his son as "the monkey who has imitated the atheists of the west in their intellectual thinking." Kareem's parents propose to "disown" their son in public.

Tate reproduces an extract of one of the pieces by Kareem upon which the prosecution was based. It reads:

They have indicated that Islam is a religion of peace and forgiveness, but their true face has been uncovered to show barbarism and thievery and fanaticism and not acknowledging others, and attempting to remove them from existence.

Some may think that the actions of the Moslems does not represent Islam and has no relationship with the teachings of Islam that was brought by Mohamed 14 centuries ago, but the truth is that their actions is not different from the Islamic teachings in its original form when it has urged people to deny others and hate them and kill them and take their property, things that they know well but they try to deceive people by falsely defending the teachings of Islam by extremists and they are hiding from the truth and they prefer living a lie.

I have seen with my own eyes the thugs as they break into our Christian brothers' stores after the whole area of Maharram Beh was completely out of control of the government authorities, and I saw them as they ransack the contents of the store right and left, amidst cheering and shouting extremist Islamic slogans, and I saw them stealing the money from inside the drawers of the cash registers and splitting it among themselves as if it is justified by being owned by what they call the infidels and the worshippers of the cross ...

The Islamic teachings that was brought by Mohammed 14 centuries ago should be faced with courage and boldness, we should expose and show its faults and warn humanity of its dangers. We should, even though we are different -look with reason to these teachings that urges people, human beings, to become monsters that don't know anything in life except killing and looting and plundering and raping and pillaging.

We should stand courageously and boldly against these teachings that became a plague on humanity and is not supported except by extremists like bin Laden and al Zarqawi and al Zawaheeri and the thugs that assaulted our Coptic brothers and burned their homes and stole their properties, and tried to assault their religious men and destroy their churches.

We should take off the religious and sectarian gown and look at matters in a more humane way. We should hold trials to all the acts of terrorism and extremism, that our Islamic history have kept their names and their criminal actions starting with Mohamed ibn Abdullah and his company of murderers like Khalid ibn el Waled and Omar ibn el Khattab and Saad ibn Abbi Waqqas and Moiizah Bin Shaabah and Samra bin Gandab and the kings of Beni Ummaya and Beni al Abbass and al Osman, and ending with the Moslem criminals of the modern day that became more famous than movie stars and singers.

We should show the world the truth of these criminals that unfortunately have become role models for our youth and our children and our women. We should expose their false teachings and show the world that they are a big danger that should be exterminated and removed from its roots.