CAIRO: An Australian man arrested earlier this month over allegedly insulting religion, has not yet been charged by an Egyptian prosecutor, but remains in detention, sources confirmed to Bikya Masr on Monday. Safaa al-Awadi was charged with insulting religion and denying the foundation of Islam following a television debate. Authorities have said that he would be notified within two weeks on whether or not he would be charged with a criminal offense. Awadi was arrested with two dozen others on similar charges. All the men are Shiite Muslims, a minority in the predominantly Sunni Egypt. Security officials reported that the Shia men were part of a group of 24 that were rounded up in early October in Cairo. According to the police, most have been released, but it is still unclear how many remain behind bars. The Australian man's family alerted the Australian authorities after Safaa al-Awadi, 44, did not return to Perth when scheduled. The Australian Embassy told Bikya Masr that they could not comment on internal Egyptian security matters, but added they were “closely monitoring the situation.” For Shia Muslims in Egypt, they are often the brunt of police crackdowns. Ali is a 34-year-old Egyptian citizen, but he says daily life in the country is extremely arduous for a man outside the majority. “This is my country, but I feel there is so much pressure on me to be someone I am not and to believe in things that are not my own,” he told Bikya Masr. Seven other Shiites have been in detention since mid-2009 and charged with “forming a group trying to spread Shi'ite ideology that harms the Islamic religion.” Last year, Egypt's Minister of Religious Endowments, Mahmoud Hamdy Zaqzouq, said in statements during a meeting with the Grand Mufti of Mount Lebanon, Sheikh Mohamed Ali Jouzo, that Egypt has “no mosques belonging to any religious or sectarian schools.” He added that there are no Shia Mosques in Egypt. The minister stressed that all mosques and religious institutions that number some 104,000 are subject to full supervision of the Ministry of Religious Endowments. Followers of Shia doctrine believe the Prophet Mohamed should have been succeeded by his cousin Ali rather than his companion Abu Bakr, who is considered the first Imam. Ali was the fourth in traditional Sunni belief. Making matters difficult in Egypt is that Sunnis believe any suggestion that Abu Bakr was not the rightful successor is akin to blasphemy. “We live under these conditions every day and most of the time I keep my mouth shut, but for our government to insist that we don't exist is insulting and wrong,” added Ali. BM
