Egyptian Comedian Sentenced for Offending Islam
THE GUARDIAN: One of the Arab world's best known Egyptian comedians has been sentenced to three months in jail for offending Islam, a judge said Thursday, in the latest such case against a high-profile figure, underlining concerns about freedom of expression in Egypt.

The judge confirmed that Adel Imam, a veteran actor who first starred in a play in 1964, was convicted in absentia of insulting the religion.

The judge said Imam can appeal. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

Tarek el-Shinnawi, an entertainment reporter in Egypt, said that Imam was in Egypt recently filming a television series. Egypt's Actors' Syndicate said Imam's whereabouts are unknown. Imam could not be reached for comment. » | Aya Badrawy | Associated Press | CAIRO | Thursday, February 02, 2012

Coptic Christian Billionaire Taken to Court Accused of 'Insulting Islam'

LOS ANGELES TIMES: REPORTING FROM CAIRO -- Christian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 14 after he was charged Monday with "blasphemy and insulting Islam" by Cairo prosecutors, state newspaper Al Ahram quoted judiciary sources as saying on its website.

The telecommunications mogul, who also heads the secular Free Egyptians political party, is charged with posting a photograph on his Twitter account last June that depicted a bearded Mickey Mouse and a veiled MInnie [sic] Mouse. A group of Islamist lawyers, including ultraconservative Mamdouh Ismail, filed a lawsuit immediately after the cartoon was circulated.

Despite his formal apology, Sawiris' stunt was seen as mockery of Islam by this overwhelmingly Muslim country. Various religious groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafis, led a nationwide campaign to boycott products and services offered by Sawiris' companies. » | Monday, January 09, 2012

Egypte: 3 ans de prison pour blasphème sur Facebook
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: JUSTICE ÉGYPTIENNE | Trois ans de prison assortis de travaux forcés: voilà ce à quoi a été condamné un jeune homme pour avoir insulté l’islam dans des propos publiés sur Facebook.

Un Egyptien a été condamné samedi au Caire à trois ans de prison assortis de travaux forcés pour avoir insulté l’islam dans des propos publiés sur Facebook, a rapporté l’agence officielle Mena. Continuez à lire et ajouter un commentaire » | AFP | samedi 22 octobre 2011

ARAB NEWS: Egyptian sentenced to 3 years for insulting Islam: CAIRO: Egypt’s state media says a Cairo court has sentenced a man to three years in prison for postings on Facebook deemed to be inciting sectarianism and in contempt of Islam. ¶ The MENA state news agency said Saturday a the misdemeanor court found Ayman Mansour had intentionally mocked Islam and used “outrageous and scurrilous” language in describing the religion’s holy book, the Qur’an, and its prophet and believers. » | ASSOCIATED PRESS | Saturday, October 22, 2011

Exclusive Footage of Shahbaz Bhatti's Interview
Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's slain minister was aware of the threats that he faced in Pakistan.

 Al Jazeera has obtained the footage of an interview with the minister in which he talks about how he would carry on fighting to end the suffering of his community. 

Bhatti's close colleague shared the video with Al Jazeera saying that Bhatti had requested him to do so in the eventuality of his assassination because "it is with the Muslim world I want to share the message of love. That is the only message that can bring the Muslim world out of the circle of hate and killings".

 Al Jazeera is not responsible for the content of this video.

Related >>>

New Dark Age Alert! Pakistan's Only Christian Minister Assassinated Over Blasphemy Row
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pakistan's only Christian minister Shahbaz Bhatti was shot dead today after pushing for the reform of harsh blasphemy laws that impose the death penalty for insulting Islam.

The assassination comes just a fortnight after Mr Bhatti, Minister for Minorities, said he was prepared to die for his beliefs following a series of death threats.

He claimed his faith gave him strength during a recent visit to Canada.

The member of Muslim-majority Pakistan's Christian community, was on his way to work in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, when unknown gunmen riddled his car with bullets, police officer Mohmmad Iqbal said.

He was taken to Shifa Hospital with his driver who was also badly wounded.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but private Pakistani TV channels showed pamphlets at the scene of the killing that were attributed to the Pakistani Taliban warning of the same fate for anyone opposing the blasphemy laws. >>> | Tuesday, March 02, 2011

Facebook Row as Middle East Officials Ban User 'Who Insulted Islam'
THE TELEGRAPH: A row has erupted in the Middle East after officials banned a Facebook user in Abu Dhabi for breaking the law after they “insulted” Islam by claiming to be Allah.

All internet providers in the United Arab Emirates have been ordered to block the unnamed user behind the site, after he alleged his claims were supported by verses of the Koran.

His actions sparked a wave a protest, with many calling on users to boycott the social networking site unless the site was removed.

After dozens of complaints about the Arabic-language site, titled “God and Prophets”, the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced this week it would ban the user from holding an internet account.

But that decision was met with more protest from what some viewed as censorship of the internet.

The user claimed they were an atheist and believed in no God but him/herself, reports in the Middle East claimed.

They said that Muslim prophets would be able to connect with users through the site, which contained Koranic verses and also appeared to mock Islam, as well as answering their questions.

The site soon had more than 600,000 followers, with many critical of the site.

Mohammad Al Ganem, the authority’s General Manager, defended the authority’s decision to ban the site, saying it “insulted” Islam.

“TRA received numerous calls and complaints from internet users expressing their anger against unidentified people who created a site on Facebook that is offending to God, prophets, messengers, the Holy Koran and even to all God's books," he told Gulf News.

"The creator of this site which he named ‘God and Prophets' Site', attributes divinity to himself and spreads distorted writing pretending they are verses from the Koran.

“He also declared writing a new book falsifying himself as a god.”
He added: “He spreads talk that is insulting to the prophets and to their holy stature.

“This is considered to be a felony according to the federal law." >>> Andrew Hough | Friday, March 19, 2010

Does “Daughters of Allah” Insult Islam?

Ed West: Geert Wilders Is Not 'Far Right'
THE TELEGRAPH: Like my colleague Douglas Murray, who has already written an excellent post on the show trial of the century, I’ve been surprised by the lack of British media interest in Geert Wilders’s martyrdom in Amsterdam. An American minor celebrity only has to fart to receive blanket coverage in the British press, but when a major politician next door faces jail on trumped-up charges – in a case that will have implications for our freedom of speech – there seems to be little interest.

For those who haven’t visited these parts, Wilders is a Dutch politician on trial for “insulting” Islam by comparing the Koran to Mein Kampf, and for saying that Moroccans commit many street robberies in the Netherlands. Yes, put on trial – not fisked or twitter-lynched or condemned by the Equality Gestapo, but actually brought to court. Wilders calls it “surreal”, and it certainly seems strange that in a city where a gentleman can smoke Morocco’s most famous export and view half-naked women in shop windows, he can go to jail for criticising a religion. >>> Ed West | Saturday, January 30, 2010

New Dark Age Alert! Hero on Trial in the Netherlands
TIMES ONLINE: The Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders was greeted with applause from the public gallery as he faced court for the first day of his landmark trial on charges of inciting racial hatred against Muslims.

Mr Wilders, 46, sat impassively as his lawyer argued that the leader of the Freedom Party, which made big gains at last summer's European elections, had made his critical remarks about Islam in his role as an elected Member of Parliament.

Bram Moszkowicz said that Mr Wilders had a mandate to speak out against what he saw as the Islamisation of the Netherlands and argued that he had not discriminated against a specific national group, saving his attacks for the ideology of political Islam.

Around 200 supporters of Mr Wilders had travelled from as far as Cologne in Germany to hold up placards declaring that free speech was under assault by Islam and by the politically correct. The case is being watched as a test of the limits of political tolerance in the Netherlands after years of relaxed immigration policies which have seen the Musim population rise to around 1 million out of 16 million.

"This case is about more than Mr Wilders," Mr Moszkowicz told Amsterdam District Court this morning. "It touches us all. It is such an important and principled question that could have far-reaching consequences."

Mr Wilders faces a 70-page charge sheet covering five counts of breaking Dutch law on incitement and discriminiation against Muslims in more than 100 public statements, for example by likenening the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and calling for an end to the "Islamic invasion."

The alleged offences include Mr Wilders' film Fitna, which shows images of 9/11 and beheadings interspersed with verses from the Koran. It ends with a the controverisal Danish cartoon of the prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb as a turban. Far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders on trial for anti-Muslim stance >>> David Charter in Amsterdam | Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Islam-Gegner Wilders in den Niederlanden vor Gericht: Alle Anschuldigungen beim Prozessauftakt bestritten
NZZ ONLINE: Zu Beginn seines Prozesses wegen angeblicher Anstachelung zum Hass gegen Muslime hat der niederländische Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders alle Vorwürfe der Volksverhetzung zurückgewiesen.

Die ihm zur Last gelegten kritischen Äusserungen über Muslime, den Koran und den Islam seien «ein substanzieller Beitrag zur öffentlichen Debatte» und keineswegs strafbar, erklärte Wilders Abraham Moszkowicz vor Gericht in Amsterdam.

Der Gründer und Chef der Partei für die Freiheit (PVV) habe seine Islam-Kritik zudem stets in seiner Eigenschaft als Abgeordneter des niederländischen Parlaments vorgebracht und müsse daher Immunität geniessen. Gerichtsgebäude abgeriegelt >>> sda/dpa | Mittwoch, 20. Januar 2010

MEIN KOMMENTAR: So nervös sind wir des Islams wegen in Europa geworden, daß harmlose Kommentare wie dieser, aus Angst, werden nicht mehr gedruckt:

In Europa ist es so weit gekommen, daß wir nicht mehr aussprechen dürfen, was für ein Gefahr für unsere Zivilisation und unsere Freiheit Islam ist. Erstaunlich! Blödsinnig! Dumm! Wir begehen Selbstmord! – © Mark

Dutch Lawmaker, Charged With Insulting Islam, Fears Prison Sentence
FOX NEWS: A member of parliament in the Netherlands who has been charged with "insulting" Muslims says he fears he will be found guilty and sent to prison in only a few months.

An appeals court on Wednesday overturned a previous decision by prosecutors not to charge Geert Wilders, and ordered that he stand trial.

"The decision of the court today was so strong that there is a real chance unfortunately that there will be a guilty verdict," Wilders told FOXNews.com. "In fact, it was so bluntly motivated that it already looks like a verdict instead of just ordering the public prosecutor to start a trial." >>> By Joel Mowbray | Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Oh, for God’s Sake Don’t Insult Islam! Morocco Bans French News Magazine for Doing So!
THE PENINSULA: RABAT - The French weekly news magazine L’Express International has been banned from sale in Morocco for “insulting Islam”, the country’s ministry of information said yesterday.

The Moroccan government alleges that the October 30 - November 5 issue had breached Article 29 of the country’s press code, the information ministry said in a statement, without giving precise details on the offending article.

Article 29 of Morocco’s press code gives the government the right to shut down or ban any publication “prejudicial to Islam, the monarchy, territorial integrity, or public order.”

Reporters Without Borders, a group which campaigns against press restrictions worldwide, said in its 2008 report on Morocco that since King Mohammed VI came to power in 1999, 34 media outlets have been censored and 20 journalists have been given prison sentences. [Source: The Peninsula] November 1, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
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Jordanian Poet Arrested for 'Insulting Islam'
THE MEMRI BLOG: Jordan's chief prosecutor has ordered the detention of Jordanian poet Islam Samhan for "insulting Islam," from October 5 until the completion of the investigation.

The charges against him followed a lawsuit filed by the Publication and Distribution Authority, for including Koranic verses in his poems without receiving permission from the authority. [Source: The Memri Blog] | October 20, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Malaysian Blogger Jailed for Insulting Islam
NEW ZEALAND HERALD: Malaysia's leading blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has been ordered to spend two years in detention under internal security laws after being accused of insulting Islam.

His wife, Lee Abdulah, said the founder of the controversial Malaysia Today website had been sent to the Kamunting detention centre in northern Perak state under a detention order signed by the Home Minister.

Abdulah said police had told her "he will remain there for two years with no trial". [Source: NZ HERALD] September 24, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Pakistan: Man Sentenced to Death for Insulting Islam
AKI: Sialkot - A Pakistani judge has sentenced a man to death and life imprisonment on charges of blasphemy and desecration of the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

Shafiq Latif of Kulluwal in northeastern Pakistan is alleged to have made derogatory remarks against the Prophet Mohammed and desecrated pages of the Koran on 17 March 2006. Pakistan: Man Sentenced to Death for Insulting Islam >>> | June 19, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US)

Afghan Journalist Sentenced to Death for Insulting Islam
Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The Taliban-style intimidation of Afghan newspapers came to the surface after a journalist was sentenced to death for distributing an article deemed to have "insulted Islam".

Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh's crime was to have passed around a piece taken from a website questioning why Muslim women cannot have multiple husbands in the same way as their menfolk can legally take four wives.

Mr Kaambakhsh, who works for "The New World", a newspaper in Afghanistan's northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, was prosecuted for downloading this article, apparently gleaned from an Iranian website, and distributing it to his friends.

On Tuesday, a court found him guilty of "insulting Islam" and sentenced him to death. Afghan journalist gets death for insulting Islam >>> By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Expel Muslims NOW Who Cannot Accept the Norms of a Civilized Democracy!
Muslims, in London, have been calling for infidels who do not respect Islam to be beheaded! It is high time that this be STOPPED!

I stated in my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, that this would happen. We MUST put a stop to this BEFORE it is too late!

Expel ALL people NOW who cannot respect the norms of a civilized democracy! Furthermore, let all those sniveling politicians, who are so weak that they excuse this disgusting and barbaric behaviour, resign immediately!

Tony Blair’s government simply has to go! It is too pathetically weak to deal with the challenges of this age! Mr. Blair should keep well in mind that history will deal very badly with him for selling out the freedoms of the British people!

©Mark Alexander