Free Kareem! - Note on comments

Our comment policy will be more strict. It appears to be that many people are taking the chance to bash Kareem rather than express concern for him. This site is not meant to serve as a message board. It’s an informative source about Kareem, and a place for people to receive his constant updates.

I’d like to make it clear that the creators and main supporters of the Free Kareem campaign are Muslim, and we are doing this despite what Kareem said about our religion. Free speech doesn’t mean “speech that you approve of.” It includes criticism.

You may be disgusted at what he said, even angered. That’s okay, so are we! But we will defend with all our might his right to express such opinions, because it is his basic human right that none of you have the right to justify and take away.

Kareem is a good man. Some of us know him personally, and thus we know that he is harmless. If you want to express your dislike for Kareem, please go elsewhere. We have no time to put up with hate mail or disgusted rantings, but we will address the remarks of those who e-mailed us respectfully without insulting any of us or Kareem.

We are preparing a new section on the site to address Muslims who think that Kareem deserves imprisonment merely because of his stance against Islam. That is not the right mentality to have. We should not fear criticism, we should welcome and refute it respectfully. We love our religion and we do not like what Kareem had to say about it, and we also dislike the manner in which he said it in. But as Muslims, it is our duty to make sure that others understand that this isn’t Islam. Islam did not put Kareem behind bars, the Egyptian government did. And Muslims should not approve of the fact that the Egyptian government, and a lot of Arab governments for that matter, are using Islam to hide behind their own faults.

If you truly want to help Kareem, don’t target Islam. Target the Egyptian authorities, and the mentality that Kareem “deserves” this treatment merely for disagreeing with us and our beliefs.

COMMENTS

Posted In: General, Kareem, Site info

MK

Hello:

The first time I heard of Kareem was on the BBC news site the day his verdict was announced. As a practicing Muslim, I do not agree with the views Kareem holds towards Islam and Al-Azhar in general, However, I find that it is important to allow people the freedom of speech.

From what I read on this site, I understood that Kareem considers himself as being secular, which is also another thing I don't agree on. Being secular entails providing respect to all religions, and not being destructively critical, as the case is with many of Kareem’s opinions. He might have encountered many unfortunate incidents with certain characters that happened to be Muslim, but this does not mean that Islam supports such bad behaviours and what not.

I truly believe he deserves the freedom of speech and that the sentence was ridiculous, however, to consider him as being secular is incorrect. I hope he is freed for the sake of human rights, but I strongly disagree on most of his views.

Karridine

Kareem did not even necessarily criticize Islam, but rather the actions being done IN THE NAME OF Islam, today. Freedom of Conscience allows people to CHOOSE Islam if they want, and CHOOSE otherwise if they want. Nobody is forced to be a Baha'i, and Kareem may not have even KNOWN of the coming of the Holy Mahdi, promised by the Blessed Apostle Muhammad.

But even if Kareem criticized the things done by those who are supposedly "Muslim", such criticism is NOT a just and fair reason for 4 years of imprisonment.

Unless the Egyptian clergy and Mubarrak's government ARE AFRAID of such rational investigation of the truth.

"We have given power to the people."
"The Best-Beloved of all things in My sight is Justice. Turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me." Baha'u'llah, the One Promised by Muhammad

Tom G. Palmer

The clarification above is very important. It is not whether anyone agrees or disagrees with what Kareem said, but whether he should be punished with loss of freedom for saying it.

Those who believe deeply should not be afraid of criticism. We have minds for a purpose: to think. The person who wants to kill someone who contradicts him merely shows his lack of confidence in what he believes. I think that that is why such sincere Muslims have stood up for rights and justice -- because they are not afraid of contradiction or dissent, but welcome it as a means of testing and reaffirming their own beliefs. Only those who have secret doubts would hit someone because they didn't like his or her dissenting views.

Those who stand by the principle of freedom of speech can still do much. Respectful letters to the Egyptian Ambassadors around the world can make a difference. They should ask the authorities to correct the mistake that was made and to release Kareem. They should not be angry, but reasonable and give the authorities the option to save face by correcting a mistake and releasing Kareem. It's easy to help someone who needs our help -- it only takes a few minutes to send a letter, a fax, or an email. It can make a difference in the life of a young man who has been unjustly robbed of his freedom, as well as a difference to people the world over who want to live in peace. Governments everywhere know that if "they" can do "it" (suppress dissent), then "we" can do it, too. The cause of freedom of speech knows no borders. When one man is forced to shut up, we are all threatened.

Sandy

Please open a forum and let the discussion flow. Various factions will stick to various threads and the best points will be put forward into the threads that are the main arena.
I have Muslim friends who are horrified by the actions of a small minority, but nobody is hearing the majority of Muslims express their disapproval.

Brandon Fields

I don't know Kareem but know that everyone should be entitled to their own opinions. From what I understand he received 3 years for the insults to Islam and only 1 year for the insult to the Egyptian president. Why is the punishment so lopsided here if it is strictly government censorship.

"You will do me the justice to remember, that I have always strenuously supported the Right of every Man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it." - Thomas Paine

This is a quote ALL governments should be built upon...

Marie-Aude

As a catholic married to a muslim Moroccan, I really know how much tolerant and open Islam can be. I was really shocked to learn about what happened to Kareem. This is obviously a governmental censorship, in a country which is unfortuntly for its people, far from being democratic...

I'll widespread the link