ICC Note:
An Egyptian court has given an 11 year sentence to a Muslim cleric for burning a Bible during a protest last Fall. The conviction comes under Egypt’s blasphemy and insulting religion laws which have primarily targeted Christians. The conviction is a positive step in showing that the law can be used in both directions and not only as a means for the Islamist government to target Christians.
By Anugrah Kumar
6/17/2013 Egypt (Christian Post) – A court in Egypt sentenced a Muslim cleric, who is known for his hate speeches against Coptic Christians, to 11 years in jail for tearing up and burning a Bible during a protest against an anti-Islam film outside the U.S. embassy last year.
An Egyptian misdemeanors court in Cairo sentenced Islamist preacher Ahmed Abdullah, also known as Abu Islam, on Sunday for insulting religion and burning the Bible, according to Ahram Online.
In addition, the preacher has been asked to pay a fine of 3,000 Egyptian pounds, or $430. The court also sentenced the cleric’s son to eight years in prison and asked him to pay a fine of 2,000 Egyptian pounds, or $286, for taking part in the Bible burning.
However, the sentences will be suspended pending appeal, the news website said.
Abdullah, who heads the Umma and Mariya satellite TV channels, publicly burned a copy of the Bible during a demonstration on Sept. 11, 2012, in front of the U.S. embassy. It was to protest against the anti-Islam film, “Innocence of Muslims,” which was produced in the United States and set off anti-American protests across the Muslim world – it was later found that the film was produced by a Californian born in Egypt’s Coptic Christian community. The cleric also announced at the protest that he planned to send his grandson to urinate on the Bible.
The verdict came as a surprise because it is mostly Christians who are prosecuted and sentenced by courts in Egypt on mostly false charges of blasphemy.
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