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Egyptian Christians sentenced to death for anti-Islam film →
“The seven accused persons were convicted of insulting the Islamic religion through participating in producing and offering a movie that insults Islam and its prophet,” Judge Saif al-Nasr Soliman said.
The crude, low-budget video, produced privately in California, denigrated the Prophet Mohammad and triggered anti-U.S. protests and attacks on Western embassies around the Muslim world.
As if there hasn’t been enough bloodshed over this stupid film we now have Egypt openly calling for murder of those that practice free speech to speak out against Islam. From the times of the revolution in Egypt I started to worry that maybe the conservative side of things could be right for a change, maybe Egypt really would descend in to an Islamic theocracy. The stories that I have continually seen coming out of Egypt worry me that those predictions are coming true and that we will only continue to see more of this.
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Extremist calls for destruction of Egyptian antiquities →
Morgan Al-Gohary, a jihadi sheikh with a history of radicalism, appeared on the private Egyptian TV channel Dream TV 2 Saturday evening and declared that if he and his ilk ever came to power, they would not hesitate to destroy the Sphinx and the pyramids.
He’s no stranger to the notion of vandalizing ancient artifacts, boasting to the show’s host, Wael Al-Abrashi, that while in Afghanistan, he took part along with the Taliban in the demolition of the Bamyan Buddhas in March 2001.
His threat was met by Al-Abrashi and the other two guests with shock. Just to be clear, Al-Abrashi asked the same question three times.
Al-Abrashi: “Am I going to wake up tomorrow to find that, just as you did with the statue of Buddha, that you have demolished the Sphinx and the pyramids?”
Al-Gohary: “That is dependent upon abilities and possibility. According to our Sharia, every pagan and idol must be destroyed.”
Al-Abrashi: “If you are in power, will you destroy the Sphinx and the pyramids and all the pharoanic statues and all the pharoanic artifacts?”
Al-Gohary: “Everything, if it is a pagan statue or idol, that is worshiped or suspected to be worshipped, or is worshipped by one person on Earth, must be destroyed. We, or someone else, must destroy it.”
Al-Abrashi: “So you would destroy the Sphinx and the pyramids?”
Al-Gohary: “Yes, we will destroy them, if they were worshipped before or afterwards.”
Click the link above for more on the whole story.
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Egypt to Allow Men to Have Sex with Dead Wives? →
The country’s Islamist-dominated government has introduced a law that would allow a man to have sex with his wife for up to six hours after her death, the Daily Mail reports. Yes, after her death.
Some are calling it the “farewell intercourse law,” but this blogger is just going to call it what it is — gross. And thankfully, illegal if you happen to live in the U.S.
Egypt’s dead sex law can apparently be traced to a 2011 statement made by cleric Zamzami Abdul Bari. He believes that marriage is valid even after death, and according to the Daily Mail, that both men and women should be able to have intercourse with a dead spouse.
(You can read more at the link above)
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Egyptian comedian sentenced to jail for offending Islam →
Gee….sure glad everyone was shouting down any worries of Islam taking hold in Egypt in light of the revolution…that would be pretty bad right? <sarcasm>
Cairo, Egypt - One of the Arab world’s best-known comedians was sentenced to three months in jail for offending Islam on Thursday, just weeks after Islamist parties won a majority in parliament.
A judge, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, told The Associated Press that Adel Imam was convicted in absentia of “defaming Islam.” His whereabouts were unknown, the AP reported.
A lawyer with ties to Islamist groups, Asran Mansour, brought the case, judicial sources told The Guardian.
“I think the lawyer who filed the case against Imam is taking advantage of the current circumstances with Islamists gaining power in Egypt,” Nabil Abdel Fattah, an analyst and researcher at al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, told the newspaper.
The sentence, which he thought would probably be overturned on appeal, had likely been handed down because the actor had failed to go to court, according to the newspaper. He said the sentence had likely been handed down because Imam had failed to appear in court, the Guardian reported.
The state-run Ahram Online English website reported he was found guilty for a 2007 movie in which he plays a corrupt businessman and a 1998 play about an Arab dictator. Other reports said the court objected to his use of Islamic symbols.
In the 1980’s, Imam was sentenced to three months in jail for defaming lawyers in a film. That ruling was later overturned.
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I wanted to try and find a transcript of this to quote parts (it’s not that long), but it is extremely relevant with current speculations on Iran in the wake of Egypt’s revolution. Christopher Hitchens - Axis Of Evil July 9, 2009
