An Arab rights group denounced on Thursday a blasphemy report filed earlier this month against the author of a narrative series. In a statement released Thursday, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), said the case is the first of its kind since the resignation of former president Hosni Mubarak. The statement said a number of lawyers filed reports with the public prosecutor on 12 April accusing Karam Saber, author of Ayn Allah (Where is God), of including phrases in his work that insulted religious beliefs. Saber's series of stories was published in November 2010. ANHRI, in its statement, slammed what it called the restrictions on art and creativity and attempts to impose custodianship on citizens. It compared the lawyers' action to the toppled regime's tactics to censor freedom of expression. Saber said he was informed that his series had been submitted to a panel of senior scholars from Al-Azhar, the highest Sunni institution in the Muslim world, to investigate the lawyers' claims. "Referring a story to a cleric for review is totally unacceptable," ANHRI said, adding that literature and the arts should be assessed on artistic standards alone. The network urged Egypt to let readers judge the work independently without any censorship.
