Free Kareem! - Mohamed Fadel Fahmy’s Extensive 15-page report on Kareem Amer

Mohamed Fadel Fahmy is an Egyptian-Canadian writer/film producer best known for his book, Baghdad Bound: An Interpreter’s Chronicles of the Iraq War, which has been developed into a screenplay and is currently in the Hollywood pipelines.

He has worked as a freelance investigative journalist with The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Star, Al Jazeera English, Dubai TV, and Showtime among others.

He currently works as a delegate for the International Committee of the Red Cross specialized in the protection of detainees and civilians.

Recently he has also sent a report to us which features a highly informative interview with Kareem Amer, detailing his earlier days and rough experiences with familial life and blogging.

We feature an excerpt below, with links to download the document further along in the entry:

Kareem Amer’s own words from an audio-recorded interview conducted by Mohamed Fadel Fahmy.

I started blogging because it was a way of expressing my disapproval of many issues in society, specifically the ill treatment of women in the Muslim world. That freedom didn’t last long. I launched my blog in August 2005 then I was arrested two months later on October 26, 2005. I liked the idea of blogging when I first saw a blog called An Egyptian Girl, owned by a girl called Shainaz.

The blog world represents the new media to me. It allows individuals to become news reporters and it is not the government who is in total control of journalism anymore.

I used to write in Cops United (A Christian Coptic online paper). A girlfriend of mine introduced me to their site but I later realized that they are not promoting civil rights like they advertise. They are simply bias towards Christianity. They want to separate the nation and religion. They simply want a religious Egypt just like the Muslim Brotherhood. I only started to write so that I can have a voice. I wanted to feel alive. I did not have any rebellious ideas in my head. It was a form of venting because my problem since I was a kid is that no one ever listened to me, or I couldn’t simply talk to anyone. Blogging has opened doors we could not even dream.

My problem with Islam built up gradually. It was not over night. I do not think I was ever a real Muslim in any way. Not because my birth certificate states that I am a Muslim and not because I was born into a Muslim family do I really have to follow it. These are mandatory identities forced on us from birth. Many people defend Islam and say that it is a peaceful religion. But, I of course studied in Al-Azhar, the oldest and biggest Islamic institute in the world and what I learned there really disgusted me. The oppression of women in the Islamic Sharia (guidelines) is one of my biggest problems with this religion. I do not think I need to go into detail about that. It is obvious.

[....]

On the night of the arrest I was in deep sleep when I heard the loud knocks at 3 am. My mother opened the door. One of the Amn El Dawla (National Security) cops pulled me out of bed and threw me on the floor. He ordered me to put my clothes on then he explained to my mother that they were taking me in. The five other cops dressed in civilian clothes searched the house looking for a computer but I didn’t own one. At first, they were treating me well. When I asked them about our destination, one of them replied, “ten minutes and you will find out.”

As soon as I entered the National Security headquarters, the officer in charge ordered me to face the wall just like we were punished in school. Half an hour later, a different officer approached me from the back and blindfolded my face. He then dragged me and pushed me up four floors to a room where I sat silent on a chair for hours not aware that there was someone in the room watching me.

The blindfold was not tight. Suddenly, I could only see the man’s shoes as he approached me. I then saw his hand and he said, “I want you to tell me everything or I will gradually torture you like there is no tomorrow. “Ok. What do you want to know?” I answered.

“You know,” he replied.

“Because of the last blog?” I asked.

“Yes. The one called ‘The Naked Truth About Islam As I Saw It’.”

The rest of the interview can be found in the following document:

Kareem’s report by Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (Word Document)

It’s also available in PDF format for those who require it.

COMMENTS

Posted In: Kareem, Press, Translation

John Hayman

The Egyptian government is using Kareem as a scapegoat. How many bloggers would be in jail if the U.S. clamped on those who attack George Bush on their blogs!

I doubt the Egyptian president was threatened by comments made by a young man like Kareem. I think he needs a good lawyer and this campaign should try to locate one for him through the donations possibly. I am not familiar with the judicial system there but I am sure he can appeal the sentence or is there a certain time to do that?

Good report.

Admin

Dear Mohamed,

Freedom of speech includes speech that offends you. We too are disturbed by Kareem's remarks, we too are Muslims, that doesn't mean that we should torture and jail anyone we personally disagree with.

And even if you disagree with his stance on Islam - you need to remember that he got one year in jail for "insulting" the President. Is that not worthy enough to fight for? Kareem was mostly used as a tool to threaten other bloggers, and to stifle the status of free speech in not only Egypt but the Arab world as a whole.

Supporting his freedom does not mean supporting what he says. It means supporting his right to express his opinions, whether religious or political.

On that note, opinionated arguments belong in our forums, as this blog is strictly reserved for strategizing - not discussing. This rule is due to the increasing amount of threats both Kareem and we are receiving.

Mohamed

He called our prophet a criminal and a barbaric man and his followers. I understand that you are an objective journalist or author and that you did not take sides, but still, you are calling for his release and supporting that.

Manar Hamoudi

Thank you Mohamed. You never seize to amaze me. Always in the right place in the right time. I was wondering how one man can alienate himeself from his religion to this extent but your report clarified his history and his family's fanatic behaviour and it does make sense to me. I read your Baghdad Bound book too, two years back. I am Iraqi living in London. I would like to send you an email about a personal issue? Do I contact the editor for the address?