CAIRO: A State Security prosecutor sentenced Mohamed El-Derini, prominent Egyptian Shia activist and writer, to 15 days in jail for publishing false information about being tortured in prison. His son Ahmed El-Derini, a journalist at Al-Badil daily newspaper, told Daily News Egypt that the charges against him also included contempt for religion by following Shiism. El-Derini was detained by the national security forces at dawn Monday. Ahmed told Daily News Egypt that his father was arrested by state security forces "who also confiscated all his writings, computer disks and CDs. The book referred to by the prosecutor who pressed the charges, explained Ahmed, was published 15 months ago. Titled The Capital of Hell, the book gave a detailed account of El-Derini's jail experience in Tora. He claimed to have been tortured by officials during his first detainment in 2004. About the second charge, contempt for religion, Hossam Bahgat, chairman of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) told Daily News Egypt that nothing in the Egyptian constitution criminalizes being a Shia or preaching Shiism. Al-Azhar - Sunni Islam s main seat of learning - acknowledges Shiism as a legitimate branch of Islam. In 1959, then Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mahmoud Shaltut, issued a fatwa recognizing Shiism as religiously correct. Sheikh Mahmoud Ashour, former deputy of Al-Azhar and member of the Islamic Research Center, concurred with Bahgat. According to Ashour, the Shia are Muslims who abide by the Islamic school of thought and follow Prophet Mohamed s (PBUH) family members. They [Shias] pray like us [Sunni Muslims] and are Muslims as much as we are, Ashour added. Ashour also says that it is religiously acceptable for Shias to promote their faith as long as their activities are not institutionalized, cause sectarian clashes or attack other religious groups. On the other hand, Sheikh Ahmed Omar Hashim, head of the religious committee at the People s Assembly, refused to comment to Daily News Egypt on the status of Shias in Egypt claiming that he was not aware of El-Derini s case. The problem is related to national security which rejects any form of religious diversity that it considers to be a threat to national security, according to Bahgat. The content of religious charges implemented under article 98 of the Egyptian penal code, added Bahgat, is worded in a way that allows the prosecution to violate the right of freedom of expression in all its forms, including those related to religious affiliation. Egypt s Shias are not a clandestine group: they speak openly in the press of their beliefs and pray freely in Sunni mosques. But it is political Shiism and its links with Iran that makes the current regime uncomfortable. In April 2006, President Mubarak accused Arab Shias of being always loyal to Iran and not the countries in which they live. Around 124 Egyptian Shias have been arrested since 1988 in a series of crackdowns, according to the EIPR.
