The following is a translation of an article that appeared today in the Egyptian Daily Almasry Alyoum:

ANHRI Requests Kareem’s Immediate Release from President Mubarak for Having Spent 3/4 of His Sentence

Wael Ali wrote on 16 October 2009

Yesterday, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information raised a plea to President Mubarak to issue instructions to the Minister of Interior to release blogger Kareem Amer, especially since the Ministry of Interior released officer Islam Nabih who was found guilty on charges of torture. The officer was not only released before completing three quarters of his time but was also allowed to report back to his work at the said Ministry.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Network assured that the Ministry of Interior revealed its intentions of depriving Kareem Amer – who has been in the prison of Burj Al-Arab for the past three years- of his right to be released after having served three quarters of his time, which is a legal right for all prisoners.

The statement reported that some officers at the Egyptian Prison Administration, which is part of the Ministry of Interior, informed the attorney of the Network’s Legal Support Unit for Freedom of Expression that the plea to release Kareem Amer, which was filed by the Network will not be accepted by the state’s Security Apparatus, and that the release decision should be issued from a higher authority – meaning the President of the Republic – in order to be accepted.

The statement also pointed out that Kareem Amer is entitled to his right to be released on the 5th of next November, when he completes his three-year sentence in prison, as part of the penalty of his imprisonment for a period of four years following investigations and court hearings pertaining to issues that Kareem published on his blog and on the civilized dialogue website [الحوار المتمدن].

The statement also pointed out that despite the fact that the Egyptian court of cessation will issue its decision regarding the plea – filed by Kareem Amer’s attorneys at the Arab Network for Human Rights Information on the 20th of last October, which all attorneys working in the field of defending freedom of expression in Egypt and around the world anticipate that this decision will clear things in the correct manner and order another hearing for Kareem – Amer’s right to be released after completing three quarters of his sentence shall prevail despite the court’s decision.

It also pointed out that at the time when the Arab Network received more than 600 letters and postcards from citizens in Egypt and around the world in support of Kareem, the state security apparatus in Egypt continues to harass Kareem in prison and deprive him of visits since last March, where Kareem suffered for a state of “prison within a prison.” [Many letters were sent via our letter campaign and the "Flood the Jail with Mail" initiative.]

A supporter of this campaign volunteered his efforts and translated basic information about Kareem to Italian:

Chi è Kareem Amer?
Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, meglio noto come Kareem Amer suo pseudonimo usato in Internet, è un 23enne di Alessandria, in Egitto. E’ cresciuto in una famiglia molto religiosa ed ha sempre frequentato la scuola religiosa Al-Azhar. Ha cominciato a ribellarsi all’estremismo religioso che percepiva nella sua scuola iniziando ad esprimere le sue opinioni su un blog e su Modern Discussion (Discussione Moderna NdT)Quando la direzione di Al-Azhar scopre il suo blog verso la fine del 2005, viene espulso dalla scuola ed il suo caso segnalato alle autorità giudiziarie. Il 22 Febbraio 2007, Kareem viene condannato a quattro anni di prigione: tre anni per ‘oltraggio alla religione’ ed uno per ‘aver diffamato il Presidente della Repubblica Egiziana’. A metà marzo la Corte d’Appello conferma la sentenza a lui sfavorevole di quattro anni di prigione ed un tribunale civile approva anche un procedimento presentato da undici avvocati che vogliono multare Kareem per ‘aver offeso l’Islam’. I legali di Kareem faranno appello alla Corte di Cassazione (terzo grado).

Sul suo blog, Kareem si descrive così:

Sono un pragmatico studente di Legge; voglio aiutare l’umanità contro ogni forma di discriminazione … voglio fondare uno studio legale che si occupi di coloro che difendono i Diritti Umani e che coinvolga altri avvocati che condividono le mie stesse opinioni. Il nostro obiettivo principale sarà difendere i diritti delle donne musulmane ed arabe contro ogni forma di discriminazione e di fermare i crimini violenti perpetrati quotidianamente ai loro danni in questi paesi.

Perchè è stato espulso dall’Università Al-Azhar?

All’inizio di marzo 2006, Abdul Kareem è invitato a presentarsi davanti ad una commissione disciplinare presso la Facoltà di Sharia & Legge (Damanhour Campus) dell’Università Al-Azhar. In tale sede è messo di fronte ad alcuni suoi articoli apparsi sul suo blog, così come quelli pubblicati su Modern Discussion e Copts United (Copti Uniti NdT) all’interno dei quali esprimeva opinioni secolari, promuoveva l’uguaglianza tra uomo e donna e criticava l’Università Al-Azhar.

Gli articoli su cui viene interrogato sono quelli in cui Kareem espone le proprie posizioni laiche, critica le politiche di segregazione dei sessi dell’Università ed esprime disaccordo sulle pressioni esercitate dal Grande Sheikh di Al-Azhar sull’Islamic Research Academy a supportare il Presidente Mubarak.

Kareem non ha disconosciuto la paternità di questi articoli, affermando che essi rappresentano le sue opinioni personali e che sono apparsi su Internet, non all’interno del campus.

Alla fine dell’udienza, Kareem viene accusato di:
→ Oltraggio alla religione in generale e dell’Islam in particolare;
→ Offese al Grande Sheikh di Al-Azhar, così come ad un altro professore;
→ Ateismo.

Pochi giorni dopo, egli viene formalmente espulso dall’università ed il Preside della Facoltà di Sharia & Legge, Dr. Hamdi Shalby, presenta una copia dei documenti relativi all’indagine interna alle autorità giudiziarie.

——

Translations are a great way for us to spread global awareness. If you would like to support this campaign by translating its publications, please contact us.

Thanks to the help and hard work of Sara H, the campaign is proud to announce a newly launched French version.

Please check it out and subscribe to it here.

More languages coming soon!

Below you will find a translation of the 6th letter Kareem sent from prison. The Arabic version is available here.

I write, while the completion of a “whole” year in prison approaches, with my cuffed freedom and restricted movements. The tough experience pushed me to realize the bitterness of injustice that indescribable feeling which has no resemblance, particularly if applied on a victim that committed no guilt. I did nothing but merely practicing my legitimate right to speech, guaranteed by all civil and humanitarian rules despite the tyrants who do not approve it.

Apparently, a quite long time has passed since the day of unjustly sentencing me to four years in prison. Until recently, I was not able to comment on the event because I had no access to media and I was deprived from exchanging mails or talking. I spent more than two months in the cells dedicated to those sentenced to death and serving punitive penalties. The prison officials claimed that there was no other proper place for me. They prevented me from having pens. Whenever I wanted to write a letter, I had no choice but to dictate it!

Now, things have changed greatly. At least, I can write and exchange mails, not with complete freedom though. My letters unlike the letters of other prisoners are subject to censorship. However, the prison officials deny that any of the letters coming to me is confiscated. They confirm that they send them to me after reading the content regardless of content. Therefore, I found it a good opportunity to talk after a long period of forced silence and staying away from those who “invested” my crisis – according to my Tunisian friend, Emad Habib – because they do not deserve my slightest attention.

I still clearly remember that day. I prepared myself, psychologically, to the final session of announcing the judgement. I did not care for the expected sentence, then. I was preoccupied with history and the anniversary that coincided that day. History repeats itself all the time; yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all alike. My final judgement session was held on February 22nd the day that I can never forget.

On the same day forty six years ago – particularly in February 22nd, 1943 – a military court in Germany headed by a “racist” judge sentenced three University of Munich students to death. They are the brothers Sofia and Hans Scholl and their friend Christoph Probst. They were punished because they dared to confront the fascist regime in a non-violent way. They established a resistance movement against the ruling regime. They called it “White Rose Movement.” Their peaceful activism, for which they were executed, was limited to confronting the ruling fascist regime by simple tools like drawing on street walls at night, writing and distributing street bulletins, with the purpose to expose the inhuman crimes against ethnic and religious minorities in Germany. They used to distribute their bulletins inside the campus; computers and blogging was not known for them.

Sixty-four years later, a “tyrant” judge in an Egyptian court, motivated by Al-Azhar University, sentenced me to four years in prison because I practiced my right to free speech online. Al-Azhar University released me recently by expelling me out and I am still paying for this freedom.

I am not trying to compare myself to those brave heroes; I just wanted to focus on the historical coincidence. The blogger friend, Shahinaz mentioned in one of her letters that “tyrants and dictators looks alike in every place and time” However, I was preoccupied by the situation of university in both cases. At that time, University of Munich took the initiative to expel the three students out and handled them to the Gestapo. At this time, Al-Azhar University took the initiative of expelling me out, then informed the prosecutor with my activities… No comment!

Every day in the morning, I find an urge need inside my mind to think of my current situation, as if I am discovering it for the first time. I ask myself many questions with hope to find appropriate answers to justify my current situation. I am detained with dangerous criminals who resemble danger against individuals and properties. I tried to find convincing answers for my questions. At a certain moment, I decided to abandon logical thinking. I decided to look for a good interpretation based on the prevailing inherited concepts of inhuman characteristics and which are mostly related to our miserable facts.

I found out that the accusations levelled against me, regardless of its legal paraphrasing, can be divided into two sections:

A total section related to using my right to free expression in an unfree climate and daring to exceed social, political, and religious limits and redlines.

A detailed section, which can be summarized in the following points:

First: my absolute rejection of violence, particularly that hidden under religious covers and justified by Quran texts, which lost their value by time.

Second: using my mind to analyze the unseen and unbelievable facts derived from religious superstitious heritage.

Third: my rejection to be classified according to any affiliations imposed forcefully on me because I decided not adopt something which does not express what I feel.

Fourth: I believe naively that I live in a democratic free atmosphere and that I enjoy my basic civil rights, including my absolute right to free expression in addition to the aforementioned points. I did not realize the bitter fact that I live under the rule of repressive regime chasing those who have different opinions.

Fifth: Bending myself to frankness and transparency in expressing my views. For example, I am not disguised behind a false name and had been able to do so. It was evident during the investigations conducted by Disciplinary Council of Al-Azhar University and the Public Prosecutor. I think this is the real reason behind everything that happened to me so far.

I think these are the true accusations leveled against me. Things will not change as long as our country does not change. These days, we cannot neglect the tyrant judgment against columnist and poet, Ahmed Abdel Muti Hijazi who was charged with defamation against a mohatasib. He simply talked about religious fundamentalism in one of his articles published in Rosalyousif newspaper, few years ago. He compared between political Islamists and inquisition courts in the Middle Age and Israeli religious extremists who insist that their country is a religious one.

Al-Azhar University is currently planning for a new conspiracy against freedom of thought and expression against Ph.D. Dr. Mahmoud Al-Khayal. He mentioned a TV show that he wants to translate an American book titled “End of Faith” into Arabic. Now, the supporters of retardation are preparing to chase him with the charge of disdaining Islam like what happened with me.

I announce from her that my accusation is not a shame for me. I have it like a crown on my head and necklace on my chest. Every one must know that I did not force myself to respect any tyrant law that hinders freedoms. I am against any act to limit the right of freedom of expression of any person. Laws were created to regulate the relationships between individuals inside the same society. They are not meant to limit their freedoms and violate their basic rights. It is not logic to say that: “… there are limitations on the right to freedom of expression …” according to those who work against freedom. These limitations, according to them, include justifying suppression and intellectual circumcision supported by shallow-minded fundamentalists who cannot go abreast with the modern age.

Let everyone, including the tyrant judges who sentenced me and those who misused my crisis to get me, know that prison will not work out with me. I do believe in myself, respect my right to free thought and expression, and use their minds all the time. My thoughts which deprived them of night sleep, will not change until I get convinced of other thoughts. Terrifying and intimidating me, expelling me out of university and putting me in prison will not change my mind. Also, inciting people to kill me and claiming hisba cases against me and any other barbarian methods will not panic me. Only stupid, weak, and inflexible people use these methods to justify their violent actions by breaking the pencils of writers and silencing their voices. They cannot achieve what they want.

I do not know how to address Al-Azhar University that led me to jail, the tyrant judges who sentenced me to prison, and the leaders of the repressive regime who are preventing us from breathing. The best message I want to deliver to them is quoted from the young Sofia Scholl who were in my age at the time of her execution. She said to the judge who sentenced her to death: “One day, you will be at my place!” This happened.

To the enemies of freedom, tyrants, and authoritarians, heads of religious institutions, officials of the governing regime and their supporters, I say:

“The garbage of history will be stuffed with you soon. The coming generations will not have mercy with you. They will do as I am doing now. They will curse you. Please, make sure that no one will shed a tear for your sake, because you do not deserve it. Tomorrow is ours. It does not matter how tyrant you are in your attempts to silence us and confiscate our views. You should be aware for our revival because your days are counting down. Your dark night approached its end. Our dawn will come up very soon. Tomorrow is ours.”

Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman

To read all previous letters, click here.

“You can cage the singer but not the song.” – Harry Belafonte, in International Herald Tribune, 3 October 1988

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.

For the Arabic readers and bloggers, here is a translation of our letter campaign:

(You may also download the document in word.)

Dear readers,

For those of you who requested it, below you will find an English translation of Kareem’s 2nd letter from prison, which he wrote in November 13, 2006. You may read the first translated letter here.

Translation credit: Dalia Ziada.

Message from Behind prison walls (#2)

I have been detained for a whole week now. I expected this since long time ago. Usually, I expect the worst in order no to be shocked and subsequently collapse. I can say that I was in high spirits along this period. I did not feel the time passing despite the rarity of entertainment and time-wasting tools. I did my best to waste time by talking to those around me and giving hope to desperate ones. I also read some of the newspapers sent to some prisoners. It is noteworthy that I am the only person detained for a speech case in the whole prison. Most of the accusations range from robbery – all types of robbery – and drug traffic. This made me feel distinguished, despite this means nothing in a prison. In prison, all are equally suffering. Probably my fate is much worse than those colleagues who got accustomed with staying in such places!

The place of provisional detention, where I exist, in Moharram Beik Police station is divided into two floors. The higher floor contains a room for political detainees transferred by State Security Bureau. In the lower floor (underground), there are four rooms; two rooms are for provisional detention upon public prosecution resolution, one room for women, and another room for the prisoners sentenced by the court and awaiting transformation to their final prison.

I spent one whole week in one of the provisional detention rooms before I had – yesterday – to move to the second room, after I suffered many difficulties in dealing with colleague prisoners. They behave in barbarian way, do not respect the privacy of others, and interfere in others’ affairs. I had to limit the amounts of food I take per meal to avoid going to the very dirty bathroom. That is not only because of being unsuitable for human usage, but also because there is no lock to close it when I get in. It is not weird to find more than one person using the bathroom at the same moment. In the very little times I use it, I had to ask some colleague to stand close to the door and prevent any one from getting in until I finish. Apparently, this provoked sarcasm to the extent that they decided to mock me and laugh at me with no regard to my reaction at all. Once I got in the bathroom, I found two others trying to open the door in spite of my will. I could not help screaming until they stopped and closed the door again. I got out of the bathroom with great anger, particularly that I realized that person I asked to stand close the door conspired with them. Therefore, I had to move to the other room, which is much calmer as it includes only ten detainees in comparison to more than thirty in the other room.

I write these words while a sunbeam is stealthily moving into the small calm room that I am staying in now. In the other room, we can only tell what time is by looking at our watches. I spend the whole night yesterday waiting to know if the morning has come. It seems that the sole sunbeam is going to disappear too. It already disappeared. However, the barbed window overlooking on the wide space will tell me the time passing and the time remaining. I missed this in the other room that looks like a mass grave where people are buried alive.

During the last week, I got out of prison twice. The first one was when I went to renovation session. The judge ordered me to be imprisoned for additional fifteen days. The other one was when my name was enlisted among the prisoners to be transformed to Gharbiniat prison in Borg El-Arab. In the last time, we carried our luggage and they packed us in a vehicle with other dozens of prisoners from other police stations. The road took more than one hour before we eventually reach Gharbiniat prison.

We got into prison in a general inhuman atmosphere and insult. We were forced to get undressed except for hiding our body molestation, to process the routine medical examinations. An officer called me and asked me about my accusations. Once I told him, he asked me to wear my civil clothes again in order to be returned to Moharram Beik police station in transformation vehicle.

I saw with my eyes, at that day, how the incoming prisoners are treated. They are insulted severely and some times they are beaten by plastic sticks that make bloody signs on their bodies. It seemed to me like driving a group of sheep to their prisons. This can be a suitable way to deal with humans. It is true that they are guilty. Yet, this does not mean that they are not humans.

I will be seen by the renovation judge on Wednesday 22/11. I am not sure that I will be released or transformed to trial and subsequently face imprisonment. Anyway, I am not afraid of the consequences. I did not commit some regrettable mistake. On the contrary, I am so proud of what I did. No power on Earth can force me to retreat or surrender. I always ask myself when I feel depressed: what did they take from me to regret losing it? Their absolute stupidity made them believe that they took my freedom away because I expressed my views. Did they gave us our freedom from the beginning so they can take it now? Egypt is simply a large prison; I can move with some more freedom within its borders. Yet, this is not the freedom I seek. Instead, I am working on crashing the restrictions of my thought and speech. The most powerful man on earth may not take them away from me unless by killing me.

Here I quote the magical expression of the Egyptian novelist, Ne’amat El-Behiery whom I wish to be cured soon from the monster attacking her body. I quote: “I am not sad. I do not see my self as a piece of meat all what it cares for is to fulfill its sensual needs and animalistic instincts, in order to reproduce my rage into a deficit freedom.”

To all those who support me in my crisis: I wish I can pay your favor back. I owe you many favors, which I will not forget as long as I live.

To my beloved Sahar: When I remember you and your sufferings with the patriarchal society and your patience and persistence to cause some changed in your society, I become more and more strong and I have great hope to cause a general change in the world around me.

To my dear friend Sara: They will not crash me from within as you imagine. Just remember that the strike that will not kill you, will definitely strengthen you.

I end up my letter with hope that it can be published as soon as possible. That is only if I was lucky and some one of my friends visits me soon in this prison.

Abdul Kareem Nabeil Suliman
Monday 13/11/2006
From the civil prison of Moharram Beik Police Station

[Read the letter in Arabic here.]

Click here to download the letter in word document. A PDF version of the letter for printing purposes is also available.

Previous Letters:

● Letter #1
Date written: November 8, 2006
Original (Arabic): HTML
English translation: HTML (Translated by Ismail El-Naggar)

● Letter #2 (in Arabic)
English translation: HTML, PDF
Date written: November 13, 2006 (Translated by Dalia Ziada)

● Letter #3 (in Arabic)
Date written: November 24, 2006

We hope to receive more letters from Kareem shortly.

Dr. Abu Khoula writes on Elaph, a leading Arab liberal news Web site, an open letter to President Mubarak: A Call for President Mubarak to Free Abdul Kareem (In Arabic).

In his previous article on Kareem, Dr. Abu Khoula predicted that this case will tarnish the reputation of Al-Azhar University, as well as Egypt’s educational system and judicial branch. His letter goes on to explain how his predictions were correct due to the global outrage worldwide. For example, Amnesty International had set up a Web page to collect letters in support for Kareem, and UN Watch has brought up Kareem’s case several times. He bolsters his argument further by reminding President Mubarak that Kareem was awarded a 2007 Index on Censorship Award.

Furthermore, Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim assured the writer that the Ibn Khaldoun Center for Development Studies is determined to defend Kareem during the upcoming months, for his case is another case for freedom of opinion.

On such bases, Dr Abu Khoula hopes that the President of Egypt could pardon Kareem and end the injustice he is facing from Al-Azhar University.

(Correction: While Reporters Without Borders overwhelmingly supports Kareem, the article is incorrect to say that this Web site is set up by them. We are not affiliated with any organization.)

Last November, Kareem wrote three letters while he was held in prison. Below is the translation of the first letter.

Many thanks to Ismail El-Naggar, who translated it to English. You can read the Arabic version here: رسالة من خلف القضبان.

A Letter from Behind Bars

I started writing these words shortly after I was brought back from the prosecution. I had been detained for two days at the cell of the Moharram Bek Police Station, after the General Prosecution ordered that an investigation be opened with me for my viewpoints published on the Internet. Today, the prosecution ordered my detention for fifteen days. Surprisingly, I’ve been detained at the same place with suspected drug dealers, drug addicts, thieves, and killers just for freely expressing my views. I had never taken into consideration that this may be regarded as a crime that would cause my detention in extremely poor conditions, unsuitable even for beasts and livestock. Such inhumane conditions are imposed by force upon a man whose sole fault is that he openly, frankly, and transparently expressed his inner self.

I am not sad! I will never let them have the chance to psychologically ruin me by such arbitrary acts, which are mastered only by idiots. Such idiots have rigid thoughts with no power to stand firm against any free thinking that challenges well-established truths. They resort to full violence and cruelty to suppress it – an expression of their inability to confront it with counter thinking. The aim is to silence the voice of birds singing outside their own herd. They will never achieve such a goal!

Day after day, this impotent trick, adopted by Al-Azhar University by employing its barbaric and foolish acts, proves that Al-Azhar is nothing but an environment that spreads backwardness and ignorance. In addition, it keeps urging people to be satisfied with their disgraceful conditions. This is done through discouraging them from thinking, through disrupting their minds, and through chasing those who use their minds in questioning what is illogically imposed on them.

I announce, from my detention cell, that nothing and no one will ever make me submit. Even when my hands are in chains and my freedom of movement is denied, this will only make me stronger and more stubborn in my confrontation with the enemies of mankind disguised under the cover of religion.

My day was hard indeed. I was transferred from the cell to the prosecution while my hands and the hands of two other prisoners were tied together in chains. One of my hands was released, and the other remained tied to the hand of one of the two prisoners unti the session came to an end. I was then brought back again to the cell. I cannot withstand the weather around me, as I’m detained at an underground cell that has only two windows. The breath of fresh air is an extremely difficult task through such windows. Furthermore, since my detention on Monday, I could not use the water closet because it simply does not befit human beings. However, all of this will never make me abandon, even for a moment, any of my convictions that I have expressed and which have lead to my imprisonment.

In the aftermath of my release last year, I wrote some words that I still remember: That the human being experiences plights and misfortunes that either make him submissive and weaken his stubbornness or that strengthen him. I’m fully certain that my current plight will, like its predecessor, make me more capable of confrontation and more stubborn in the face of the enemies of mankind, who are frightened by any free voice singing outside the herd.

Let them imprison me if they wish! They will never rob anything from me, for my freedom exists inside me. They will never deprive me of it regardless of how heavy their chains are, or how narrow their cells are.

Finally, I’d like to express my deepest thanks and gratitude to all those who expressed solidarity with me in my current plight. Special thanks are due to lawyer Rawda Ahmed, as well as the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and its manager, Mr. Gamal Eid. From the depths of my soul, I thank my Bahraini friend Esra’a Al-Shafei, whom I heard had launched a Web site demanding my release. Moreover, from the depths of my soul, I thank my dear friend Dalia Ziada, who proved to be a real-life example of the proverb “some friends are brothers not delivered by your mother”. Every time I read her poems and remember her words, my belief and certainty that those who fail to say “no” do not deserve life increases.

I send my sincere greetings to Sahar, the one I fell in love with at first sight and who inspired me so much. Through her stances that reject all forms of male domination forced upon her and any female in life, I found that she is a rebellion that walks on two legs. She made me more convinced that the natural human is one who does not submit or tend to make others submit. I will never forget you, Sahar, no matter how long I will be spending my time behind bars.

Abdul Kareem Nabil Suleiman
November 8, 2006
The Civil Detention Cell, Moharram Bek Police Station, Alexandria

Kareem Amer was interviewed by Copts United after being investigated by Al-Azhar University for his online writings. As a result, he was charged with disdaining religions, insulting Al-Azhar’s teachers, and atheism. A few days later, he was formally expelled, and the Dean of the Sharia & Law Faculty, Dr. Hamdi Shalby, submitted a copy of the investigation documents to the Public Prosecutor.

The two videos below were recorded during his two-part interview. We have provided English subtitles and transcripts below.

(Thanks to Mina for providing the translation for the first video!)

Transcripts:

Interview with Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, Part I

Following is a transcript from the first of a two-part interview with Egyptian blogger Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, which occurred on March 14, 2006. You can view the video with English subtitles here.

Interviewer: The young thinker Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman: Welcome to Copts United. We welcome you, and we would you like to tell us about the investigation that was run today by the disciplinary board in Al-Azhar University. Go ahead.

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: Frankly, I wasn’t expecting you to label me as a thinker. I’m just a seeker of the truth. Thank you, you made me happy by your saying this, but I do not acknowledge that I am a thinker. I’m just a seeker of the truth. Today I headed for the college to attend the disciplinary board, and the lawyer Mr. Mamdouh Nakhla was with me. Our appointment was at 11:00 a.m. but we started a bit late, at 2:30 p.m. The investigation was initiated by four of the college professors: Dr. Abdul Hadi Zarea, Dr. Ra’fat Hammad, and two others.

Interviewer: Sir, we would like to know from you what the reason of the investigation is in the first place.

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: The reason of the investigation is some of my articles published on the Web sites of Modern Discussion and Copts United. There was an article in which I criticized Al Azhar University because of its segregation of male and female students; they accused me of insulting Al-Azhar University because of this article.

Interviewer: And is this wrong, or what?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: Well, I am criticizing and expressing my opinion. I am trying to criticize. The purpose of…

Interviewer: That’s what I mean. To Al-Azhar University, is criticism wrong? As well as freedom of expression, or what exactly?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: They prevent… In Al-Azhar, here in the university… In the end of the investigation, the told me that that this article is considered to be insulting and slanderous. They accused me of insulting and slandering, but I did not write anything of the sort. All I did was try to express my thoughts. I tried to criticize something I saw is wrong. But they interpreted it another way.

Interviewer: In a wrong way.

Interviewer: Mr. Abdul Kareem, we would like to know what exactly you are charged with.

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: I was charged with disdaining religions in general, and specifically Islam; as well as insulting and slandering the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University [inaudible] and one of the professors of the college here [Sharia & Law Faculty]. That’s all.

Interviewer: Anything else?

Interviewer: Anything else?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: And another charge, I don’t know from where they got it from: Atheism.

Interviewer: Atheism?

Interviewer: Mr. Abdul Kareem, we would like to know: How did the investigation end?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: The investigation ended by my refusal to sign on my statements. Not out of fear; I told them everything. I was frank with them about everything. However, I refused to sign because I don’t recognize the legitimacy of the disciplinary board. I told them in the end that they don’t have the right to investigate me inside the college for an activity I exercised away from list of rules that should bind me only inside the university. They imposed on me…

Interviewer: A certain way of thinking?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: Yes, indeed, they imposed on me a certain way of thinking, and they prevented me from even trying to think outside this framework.

Interviewer: What do you expect the result to be after the investigation? Or what will their judgment be?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: In reality, I have been expecting confronting Al-Azhar University for a long time. From the time I entered this university, I felt it’s not my place.

Interviewer: It’s not your place?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: Of course [it’s not my place].

Interviewer: Were these thoughts, Abdul Kareem, a reason for arresting you a while ago in Alexandria or not?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: Of course. I was previously arrested on the 26th of last October [2005], following the events that occurred at the church of Muharram Bek, because I wrote an article criticizing some of the acts of the demonstrators in the Muharram Bek area. They tried at that time to attack the church, and they assaulted some of the Copts and [stole] their property. So, I was held for eighteen days, and I was released after pressure from human rights organizations and other international bodies.

Interviewer: Thanks to the young thinker, Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, a second-year student in the Faculty of Sharia & Law at Al-Azhar University, Damanhour branch.

Interview with Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, Part II

Following is a transcript from the second of a two-part interview with Egyptian blogger Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, which occurred on March 14, 2006. You can view the video with English subtitles here.

Interviewer: This is our second interview with the young thinker Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, a second-year student in the Faculty of Sharia & Law at Al-Azhar University, Damanhour branch, after taking a rest, and after he had calmed down after leaving the investigation. Mr. Abdul Kareem, welcome to our second interview. Could you provide us with an idea on the summary of today’s investigations at the Faculty of Sharia & Law?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: The investigation began at around 2:30 p.m. It was about some of what was brought up in my articles that were published on the Modern Discussion and Copts United Web sites. Among the professors who investigated me were Deputy Dean Dr. Abdul Hadi Zarea and former Dean Dr. Ra’fat Muhammad Hammad.

I was asked some questions regarding opinions I had expressed in my articles. They saw that these opinions constituted exceeding their red lines. Of course, I do not recognize the existence of such red lines in the first place, and never in my life have I been limited by a red line. The only red line is my relationship with others. That is the only red line that I might accept to limit the freedom of the individual.

I answered them in all frankness. I cannot let go of my frankness for any reason. No matter what the price is, I cannot let go of it. This might cause me trouble but I shall never rest until I am frank and until I have a single personality.

For example, I could have denied all what had happened, and to, as they say, ‘play on words’ by pretending that nothing had happened. However, I’d lose myself. What would I have gained? What would I have gained when what’s inside me is one thing, and what’s outside of me, what I tell and face people around me with, is something else? I’d surely lose myself. Even if I were to have gained people, and if people were to encourage me and were to be impressed with me, in the end, I would not be pleased with myself this way.

Interviewer: Mr. Abdul Kareem, can you tell us what you were specifically charged with, and what your response to these charges was?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: The disciplinary board accused me of three main charges. The first charge… They are ideological charges. It’s the first time for me to learn that an idea would be a charge. Today, when I went to the university, I learnt that I can commit a crime that does not have any physical effects: Thinking!

The first crime I was accused of committing was disdaining religions, and of course specifically Islam. I had not imagined that I would face a charge like this because it was never my intention to disdain any religion. The purpose of the existence of religions was to institute ethics that human beings can make use of in their lives. That was the purpose of the emergence of religions, regardless of how they were founded and what their origins are. Whether they are mythical or not is not our topic. I found them accusing me of disdaining religions.

The second charge: Atheism. I had written an article during the election period of the President of the Republic, titled “Pledge Allegiance to President Mubarak… As The Leader of the Believers!” The first paragraph of this article was interpreted by them as… Well, I was discussing in it the relationship between those with religious authority and those with political authority, and the ties that bring them together… That is, the benefits that bring them together. There are mutual benefits. For example, they monopolize the authority of deities. I employed a phrase that they used against me: I described god as ‘the imaginary being’. I did not mean it that way. Generally, in the view of some people, deities are imaginary, and there is no physical evidence to prove god’s existence. This does not mean that I am an atheist. I make my own point of view clear, and I write neutrally and stay away from claiming the existence of this god or that god. That was what I meant, but it was used against me.

The third charge they caught and used against me… It seems that they deliberately track down my mistakes. The most eloquent expression describing what they do is tracking down mistakes. They try to highlight my mistakes and bring anything against me. There was an article in which I criticized some of the policies of Al-Azhar University. I was discussing the idea of segregating male and female students. I described it as apartheid segregation, and indeed it is so, on the basis of the race of male students being separated from the race of female students. That generates problems. It gives them excessive repression, and each gender looks at the other gender as… Well, what’s forbidden is desired. They look at each other as strange beings, and as nonexistent in front of them, or not available for them. Once they get the chance, they tend to commit adultery. That was the topic I was handling.

I also criticized one of the doctors in a lecture who was teaching the students the invalidators of wudu [partial ablution]. In a blatant manner, he explained to the students wudu invalidators in an unethical way. So I criticized him, and they considered that to be insulting and slandering of this doctor.

There was also something else I had written about: When Dr. Muhammad Sayid Tantawy, the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, tried to produce a document pledging allegiance to President Mubarak during the election period of the President of the Republic, from the Islamic Research Academy members, which they refused to do. The disciplinary board considered that this writing is insulting and slanderous.

Interviewer: Mr. Abdul Kareem, do you expect to be referred to investigatory agencies, aside from the disciplinary board?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: Well, in such a country where law is designed to serve certain aims, I do not rule out being referred to any agencies. However, this will not dissuade me from doing what I wish to do. It will not push me to leave the path I have begun to walk in. I shall walk in it in endlessness. In fact, it has no end. I don’t believe that this ideological way is ascending, but walking in it is endless. I’ll keep walking in it until I die.

Interviewer: Do you interpret the position of the university toward you as a personal one, or is it a public policy that aims to place many more restrictions on the freedom of expression, opinion, and belief?

Abdul Kareem Suleiman: In general, the policy of the university is one that denies the thinking of the ‘other’. It employs the policy of one opinion, one idea. It has no readiness to accept a differing idea to appear. Because of that, any idea that goes against its unidirectional ideas – that it wants to impose on its students – even if they do not publish on it… I have no publications inside the faculty or university, and my activities are almost completely limited to the articles I publish on the Internet. To be precise, the university aims to extract students’ minds. They do not want them to think. They want them to learn the material as it was brought down, and that they accept it and submit to it as it is. They cannot try to think of it, or to use their minds to think of it.

Interviewer: Thanks to Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, a second-year student in the Faculty of Sharia & Law at Al-Azhar University, Damanhour branch.