ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP) — An Egyptian blogger was convicted Thursday and sentenced to four years in prison for insulting Islam and Egypt’s president, sending a chill through fellow Internet writers who fear a government crackdown.
Abdel Kareem Nabil, a 22-year-old former student at Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, had been a vocal secularist and sharp critic of conservative Muslims in his blog. He often lashed out at Al-Azhar - the most prominent religious center in Sunni Islam - calling it “the university of terrorism” and accusing it of encouraging extremism.
Islam suffers from negative publicity due to its most extreme elements. Nations like Egypt and Syria say they want freedom and democracy but when they have the opportunity to prove it just seem to pass it by. Nations that practice Islam and practice Islam as their national religion must be able to take criticism. Without openness and transparency, freedom and democracy are not possible.
