Egypt, Japan discuss economic ties, preparations for TICAD conference    Real Estate Developers urge flexible land pricing, streamlined licensing, and dollar-based transactions    Madinet Masr in talks for three land plots in Riyadh as part of Saudi expansion    Egypt's PM tells Palestinian PM that Rafah crossing is working 24/7 for aid    Egypt's Sisi pledges full state support for telecoms, tech investment    EGP inches down vs. USD at Sunday's trading close    EGX launches 1st phone app    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Colombia discuss medical support for Palestinians injured in Gaza    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Bloganoia: Are they out to get Kareem or is he just lost in the bureaucratic shuffle?
Published in Daily News Egypt on 29 - 11 - 2006

CAIRO: Looking through Egyptian political blogs over the past two weeks, one particular subject keeps coming up; the detention of blogger and former Al-Azhar University student Abdel Kareem Sulaiman.
Allegedly, 'Kareem,' as he is now being referred to across the blogscape, was detained because of his 'critical writings about Islam,' and various other ostensibly 'intellectual' offenses. The case has created a palpable dose of both anger and anxiety as bloggers, both local and abroad, wonder what it might mean to them, what it might mean to freedom of speech and what it says for the future of individual political activism in Egypt. According to Amnesty International, Kareem was charged with "an array of offences, including 'spreading information disruptive of public order,' 'incitement to hate Muslims' and 'defaming the president of the republic.'
That's quite a list.
Incredibly enough, Kareem, at what could be called the hormonal and righteous age of 22, has offended quite a lot of people in all the wrong places. A young man, barely into his second decade, has somehow, apparently, by the mere utterance of his thoughts, been deemed so much of a threat that his university actually filed an official complaint against him.
Think about that for a moment, and if it seems confusing, you're not alone.
Reading Kareem's writing, you might find the case even more mystifying, as his writings simply do not exude that much power, and despite the evidence of youthful passion, hardly strike the reader as dangerous. Whatever danger might lurk in his writing has been mostly created by the reaction to it and will continue to be dramatized so long as the criminality of his actions has not been clarified.
In fact, rather than consider the case frivolous, the authorities extended Kareem's detention, leaving many bloggers wondering what horrors he might have been subject to.
Yesterday, I was woken up by my bawab, a decent, slightly younger man than myself. He told me that a public bus had hit my car while I was asleep. He had run after the bus until he reached the bus stop a couple of hundred meters away and had brought back to me all the information I could possibly need: the driver's name and the number of the bus. An admittedly idealized notion of civic duty cost me half a day at the police station as I reported the incident, hoping that by fussing about the negligence of public drivers the scales of justice might eventually tip, if only just a bit. It took a long four hours, during which I was told by the officer in charge that had I chosen to press for damages, I might, conceivably, get a ruling within . well, years.
When I read the blogs discussing Kareem's detention and later, the extension of that detention, I recall the incredibly slow speed at which the justice system is known to move in Egypt, how slow it has moved for me and how slow it moves for most Egyptians, and I consider the frightful notion that although the detention itself does not seem to have been well considered, the extension could, conceivably, be due to simple negligence. The question that I suspect most bloggers would like answered is whether Kareem was a suspect who just happens to be a blogger or whether he was a suspect due to his blogging.
Fortunately, there's more to life, and to blogs, than politics.
Stay tuned.
Omar Kamel is a musician, video producer, and writer. He maintains a blog at http://septic.blogspot.com and updates it whenever he can't find a gun.
Links: http://freedomforegyptians.blogspot.com/2006/11/egyptian-blogger-nabeel-abdul-kareem.htmlhttp://freekareem.org/http://egyptianperson.blogspot.com/2005/11/abdel-kareem-speaks.htmlhttp://karam903.blogspot.com/


Clic here to read the story from its source.