You are the one who refuses to act.

Hmmm. By starting an entire campaign, that is a refusal to act? That's a rather wonky philosophy.

Once again the point is lost on you, no matter how often it was made and by how many people.

So now, I resort to only one thing. Copy/paste from a commenter who actually gets it -

But surely, you care alot about freedom of speech and human rights as well. That is why the work you do is even more valuable.

Because there is no doubt that it “works”, and that the “case is good enough”. The story is already in all major international news agencies. Heck, it´s on the front page of NORWAYs major newspapers online. Today! JJ may not know it, but this will raise internation attention on the matter. And international pressure sure may have a whole lot to say regarding how the Egyptian authorities act. Believe it or not.

And that refutes the following baseless argument which highlights your utter misunderstanding of this entire campaign -

ignore the fact that what is happening to Kareem is part of a widespread systematic attack on the rights of ALL Egyptians.

We are doing this BECAUSE his case represents human rights in Egypt. It's VERY simple! By defending Kareem, we are defending human rights in Egypt.

Finally, read the "note on comments" post. If you fail to see the significance of this campaign, then just wait until we achieve more and you might actually realize it.

Your comments at this point will not be replied to unless they are addressed in the correct forum which we have taken the time to start for these kinds of discussions to take place. If you want to continue this further, go here. If not, then please do not write comments.

You are the one who refuses to act. You focus on one single case and ignore all others and ignore the fact that what is happening to Kareem is part of a widespread systematic attack on the rights of ALL Egyptians. Read this article:

http://www.muslimbrotherhood.co.uk/Home.asp?zPa...

It's not only the leftists or the MB who have suffered in this systematic attack. I know people of no political persuasion who have been wrongly imprisoned for crimes they didn't commit.

Tell me, are you willing to stand up for the rights of the tens of thousands of others who have been wrongly imprisoned? Or only your friend? Where is your sense of justice for all?

If Tibor made an effort to read the previous statement made in reference to this claim he/she would have the guts to support Kareem no matter what he said. JJ doesn't support Kareem (for the sake of "reputation") and instead chooses to whine about the fact that WE chose to support him, out of all the others that she claimed are going through the same things. Do you not understand the extremely simple fact that we are doing this for a friend? Must we repeat this on an hourly basis? What baffles the mind is how you come here to complain and ask us to change the route of this campaign when you're not willing to do anything for any just cause, or for anyone's sake. I made it perfectly clear (more than just once) that we chose to support Kareem for specific reasons which I have taken the time to outline and explain, and how I think this struggle is a worthy one and now many Arabs and Muslims are actually making their voices heard and are agreeing with the values set forth by this campaign. If you think this isn't helping anyone, I implore you to reconsider.

And make an effort to also read what Teri said, which refutes both of your arguments profoundly.

Stop whining, start acting. I am tired of repeating myself for those who refuse to understand what's been said frequently regarding the issues you bring up.

"why don’t you actually do something about it rather than complaining to those who are actually working towards a stable and more tolerant future?"

If admin would be a bit more patient and read what JJ said she would understand that by supporting Karim and not others in same position the "good cause" is missed by many other muslims. Political bloggers that claims to defend human rights have some responsibility to the whole muslim world and not just to "friends".

I am American. I am 26 years old. There are things I love about my country while there are also things I despise about my country. I am from Houston, TX and have, at one point in my life lived within 100 meters of former President, Gorge Bush. One would think an American from Texas would, if nothing else, blindly love his fellow Texan President. I do not. I think George W. Bush happens to be a social imbecile much of the time and he does not represent my country in ways I wish it were represented. One thing I do love about my country is that I can make the above statement without fear of imprisonment. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are very important things in any society. As far as I am concerned, Kareem is Egypt's Martin Luther and he should be freed and recognized for his bravery and his willingness to speak out for what he believes is right AND what he believes is wrong.

As for my personal opinion of Egypt's justice system and it's leader, Hosni Mubarak: In the wake of recent events it is my contention that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and all of those directly or indirectly responsible for the arrest and conviction of Kareem thoroughly enjoy licking the scrota of mature male goats in their free time. It is their favorite pastime. Come and get me scrotum lickers.

Once again you managed to entirely miss the point of many of the above comments and jumped straight to generalizations about how you personally perceive Kareem's case. You have a personal bias, where you ignore the actuality of what's going on within the Middle East right now for the sake our overall reputation. We are not going to coat this campaign with sugar and deny our problems. If you want to deny it; go ahead and do so. WE WON'T.

I will not bother answering any more since I have done more than enough on my part. You are sounding more and more like the nationalists who refuse to support people like Kareem merely because he didn't conform. If you don't want to support Kareem, we won't beg you to! Stick with the same mentality and I hope you will realize how much you're hurting those in the Middle East as much as you claim that we are, even though we are giving thousands of Arabs and Muslims a voice for by creating this campaign. And it's a powerful voice, much more powerful than your silence.

We are not going to deny our problems for the sake of our worldwide reputation. We will not be silence due to our "pride." If you care about your reputation so much, why don't you actually do something about it rather than complaining to those who are actually working towards a stable and more tolerant future?

And for the record; I'm female.

I understand that he is supporting his friend. That's noble, but if this is just about supporting friends then I would have to say that I have already seen evidence that your actions in support of Kareem will negatively impact MY friends and family, in more than one way. So if you want to argue this on those petty grounds, then I can't support you. If this is about "starting small" and saving one person, hurting others in the process, then don't expect my support.

If your goal was really bigger, and you did this with the goal of ensuring justice for all Egyptians wrongly imprisoned and making their country a better place, then maybe more people would support you. But it's no wonder you don't have popular support among Egyptians, you are supported by people like Sandmonkey who call themselves "pro-US" and says "I hate this region." Self-loathing like that doesn't inspire other Egyptians and it certainly inspires non-Egyptians to hate Egyptians . Look at the blogs of MB members, they talk about how they love their country. You can say it is rhetoric on both sides but rhetoric can be powerful and it shapes opinion.

With regards to Lutoklawski's question-Mubarak is playing both sides-he throws some loud-mouthed liberal bloggers in prison to appease the MB, and he throws some MB in prison to keep the liberal bloggers and the foreign leaders happy. In the end, no one is happy because everyone is getting squeezed.

I just want to thank the admins for their insightful comments in this post. Your "counterpart" in this discussion clearly miss all your points, and I am sorry about that. But I know you will keep on with your terrific effort anyway.

First of all, JJ clearly miss the point that you are doing this for your friend! Even if that was your main motive, and you did not worry so much about freedom of speech, it would be a good deed. One should care for their friends and family! But surely, you care alot about freedom of speech and human rights as well. That is why the work you do is even more valuable.
Because there is no doubt that it "works", and that the "case is good enough". The story is already in all major international news agencies. Heck, it´s on the front page of NORWAYs major newspapers online. Today! JJ may not know it, but this will raise internation attention on the matter. And international pressure sure may have a whole lot to say regarding how the Egyptian authorities act. Believe it or not.

Let me ask you, admin, a question out of curiousity. You say that the sentence have nothing to do with Islam - only the authorities. But isn´t so that seeing Kareem in prison generally is accepted and appreciated among egyptian muslims? So could it not be part of a islamification by Mubarak to prevent more people from following MB? I am no expert in egyptian politics, so please correct me if I am wrong.

Greetings from Norway,
Lutoklawski

"n the US, freedom of speech is one of the basic laws. But in the US, everyone knows that if they are not respectful of others when they speak, that they may encounter social disapproval."

Social disapproval is a little different than 4 years in jail.
I live in the US, and I have lived in Egypt, and I have to say that here in the US I can say anything I want--responsible or not (barring "I have a bomb" at an airport)--and I'm not likely to be arrested for it. Every day I insult the president. I know my phone line is tapped by the government and I still talk about my government on the phone. I am a Christian (there are some of those in Egypt too, in case you didn't notice--12.5% of the population there) and I routinely say things about "Christianity" that are not flattering, but you don't see me getting arrested, even though my government is run by fundamentalist Christians. Sure, I may encounter people who disapprove, people who don't like what I have to say, "social disapproval" as you put it, but I'm not spending time in jail. That's the part of this that is so disgusting and needs to be stopped.

Keep up the good work here, friends.

@ JJ

"With the freedom of speech comes the responsibility to be respectful of others when you speak."
I disagree. U can use free speech without showing any responsibility. There cant be laws on free speech otherwise its not free.

"Did he choose the proper way to express himself? "
It has any relevance what so ever?