This essay was originally published by Kareem Amer on his blog. It has been translated by the Free Kareem Coalition: Al-Azhar University and Its Apartheid Policy between Male and Female Students: Shut Down Al-Azhar University.

(You can also download it in PDF format here.)

Al-Azhar University and Its Apartheid Policy between Male and Female Students: Shut Down Al-Azhar University

By Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman (Kareem Amer)
Thursday, November 11, 2004

I used to frequently enquire myself about the reason that leads Al-Azhar University to continue, to the present day, with its apartheid policy of segregating between male and female students; this is accomplished by having university-affiliated colleges for males, and other separate colleges for females. However, I believe that yesterday, and only yesterday, I found a satisfactory answer to this inquiry.

I was standing at the premises of the Faculty of Sharia & Law in Damanhour, where I study, and was waiting for a lecture to begin. I noticed that someone standing not far from me was glaring at my lecture notebook that I carry with me. At first, I did not give any interest in him, thinking that he’s one of the inquisitive students spreading around in the university. However, after a few minutes, he approached me and told me, while pointing at the lecture notebook, “Is that a scene you place on a lecture notebook in college? I have broken my fast in the Ramadan daytime because of you!”

I then remembered that I had glued, on the notebook’s exterior, the sticker of this month’s program for the arts center affiliated with the Alexandria library. The special shows for this month were basically some of the first Egyptian cinematic movies, The Beginnings of Cinema Parlant in Egypt. I had placed beside the show schedules some pictures taken from the films that were in the program, including the picture that aroused this student and made him accuse me of making him break his fast in the Ramadan daytime. It was a picture of the late artist Muhammad Abdul-Wahhab, with an actress whose name I do not know, as a snapshot of The White Rose, one of the movies of the program.

After hearing what this student said, I instantly realized the true reason that made Al Azhar University’s administration continue, to the present day, with its filthy policy of apartheid segregation between male and female students. For if that picture, which had nothing but the heads of the actor and actress, had aroused this student such that it made him break his fast in the Ramadan daytime, then we would expect that if the system of segregation between male and female students were to be cancelled, then all of Al Azhar’s female students would be returning to their homes, from the first day, carrying embryos in their wombs from those students who are sexually frenzied because of Al-Azhar’s policy.

It is in Al-Azhar’s interest to have female students treated in this humiliating manner which we do not even treat our animals in. This has created from the university students a large segment of homosexuals; this has become known to everyone, and no one differs on its demonstration.

This apartheid segregation policy has significantly affected the students. Al-Azhar University’s male students now look for anything to quench their strong sexual thirst. They do not leave any searchable thing without searching for its sexual indications; this search did not even exclude their academic books and lectures.

For example, we find them searching specifically in Islamic jurisprudence books for any phrase that refers to sex, sexual conditions, or the stipulations of extramarital sex and Islamic jurisprudence related to women. We find them heavily focused on these topics, and at the same time neglecting the rest of the important academic subjects whose topics do not necessarily bring up this matter.

During academic lectures, you can talk about this with no embarrassment. You find them, particularly in the Islamic jurisprudence lectures, trying to understand what the lecturer says in different ways, and they attempt to have him bring up thorny sexual topics while they are in a state of extreme sexual frenzy. They wait for these Islamic jurisprudence lectures with no patience so they can satiate their pervert sexual instincts by enjoying crude sexual phrases that the lecturer uses.

For example, I recall a lecture given by one of the college’s teaching assistants of the Shafi’i Islamic jurisprudence subject. His name is Ismail Abdul-Rahman Oushab. During that lecture, he spoke about the invalidators of a Muslim’s wudu [partial ablution], and among those he mentioned a man touching a foreign non-mahram woman! And in order for the lecturer to deliver this information to the minds of those sexually sick students, he explained it as follows:

“If your wudu were valid, and you were standing in a crowded train with a young female displaying her finery standing beside you, and the train were completely crowded so some parts of your body were stuck to parts of hers, would your wudu be invalidated?”

The students initiated with asking what essentially these body parts were!

So he asked them, “If your hair were in contact with hers, would your wudu be invalidated?”

Intensely craving for the questions that would follow this one, the students replied, “Yes.”

He then asked them, “If your shoulder were stuck to hers, would your wudu be invalidated?”

The students again replied, “Yes.”

He then asked them, “If your chest were stuck to hers, would your wudu be invalidated?”

The students again replied, “Yes.”

He then asked them, “And if your thigh were stuck to hers, would your wudu be invalidated?”

With a tone of laughter, and with crude sexual phrases being repeated in the hall, the students replied, “Yes.”

He finally asked, “And if your reproductive organs were stuck to hers, would your wudu be invalidated?”

The hall rocked with laughter and shameful sexual phrases called out by the students, in the presence of this doctor who did not hesitate to join them in their laughter and happiness for bringing up this sexual topic.

This is the situation of the students in the university, as is the situation of the teachers who were studying within its walls in the past… Utter insolence and shameful focus on disgraceful sexual topics inside this university, which they always claim is the largest referential for Muslims on a global scale. So if the largest Islamic jurisprudence referential for Muslims has this level of degradation and shabbiness, then what about the religion that they preach and adhere to? It will necessarily be more disreputable, and bleaker than what we see in this university.

Al-Azhar University is the only university in Egypt that continues, to the present, to exercise this filthy policy toward its students, out of its wish to exaggerate these topics in their minds, and to make them not think of anything other than that. They do not envision the existence of a clean relationship between a young male and female outside the scope of sex; this is reflected by the behavior of the students who now enjoy a state of sexual frenzy upon merely seeing a young girl walk in front of them in the public road.

In the past, a person’s enrolment to study in Al-Azhar was something to be joked at, and the scholars of Al-Azhar – because of their extreme ignorance of the reality they live in – served as examples in stupidity and underdevelopment.

When Napoléon came to Egypt, he attempted to joke at Al-Azhar’s scholars. He gathered them in his home, brought in one of the scientists who had come with his fleet, and informed them that he will show them a strange invention.

The scholars impatiently waited for this invention. In the presence of Napoléon, the French scientist told them to each hold the hand of his colleague to form a single coherent circle. The scientist then brought a long rope (it later turned out to be an electrical wire) and connected one end to the hand of the Azharite Islamic scholar who stood in front of him, and so an electrical shock from the cable ran into all of them. (This was at the time when those scholars knew nothing about such inventions.) This made them tremble under the impression that what these Frenchmen were doing to them was an example of magic or sorcery.

As for our present time, the Azharite characteristic is added to anyone in whom people notice an extreme sexual frenzy due to the repression falling on him from any side. So, do the Islamic scholars of Al-Azhar still uphold, to this degree, their ideas which led to sexual repression suffered by the male and female students and transformed to openly stark debauchery practiced outside the walls of the university in an uncivilized manner?!

To those who don’t know, Al-Azhar University is one of the main causes of strengthening sectarianism between the sons of the single homeland in Egypt. As everyone knows, Egypt is comprised of two large ethnic sects: Muslim Copts and Christian Copts. (By ‘Copts’, I mean the Egyptians, for the word ‘Coptic’ means ‘Egyptian’ in the ancient Egyptian language.) And as is known, Al-Azhar University follows an extremely bigoted and discriminatory policy when it comes to offering admission to students, for it does not accept among its students other than Muslims. Even if a Christian student wished to study Islamic studies, it would not accept him as a student.

If we truly want to completely eliminate sectarianism in Egypt, then we must perform one of two important tasks: We either move to shut down Al-Azhar University, because it is the only university in Egypt that encourages increasing the sectarian and ethnic discrimination between the sons of the single homeland. Such discrimination is accomplished by not accepting non-Muslim students to study in it on one hand, and on the other hand by its teaching of Islamic subjects that incite to hatred, hostility, and humiliating treatment of non-Muslims.

Or, we move to include this university under the Ministry of Higher Education, eliminate the religious university characteristic from it, and transform it into a secular university that accepts all students regardless of their creed and affiliation, and without giving any consideration to religious differences in it. In addition, the religious colleges present in it should be shut down and transformed into colleges that teach contemporary science, which Al-Azhar to our present day insists on forbidding some students from studying. Within this context, we should also take into account the cancellation of the gender-based, apartheid segregation policy between male and female students by including all students in one college, like all other colleges in Egypt and the world. At the same time, we should demand dissolving all hard-line Islamic organizations that are present inside the university, as well as those that are recognized by the university’s administration, such as the extremist Jeel Al-Nasr Al-Manshood [The Promised Generation of Triumph]. This is so students do not transform someday into extremist fighters the same way students in the Faculty of Sharia in Kabul previously transformed into the Taliban movement, which with its reactionary and eccentric ideas reigned Afghanistan.

I call on Egyptian government officials to take the necessary procedures to protect the Egyptian youth from the spread of subversive religious ideologies among them by permanently shutting down religious institutions in this country. Shutting them down will stop the prevalence of the tone of hatred and sectarian enmity, heated by what Al-Azhar students study from things that incite to hatred and scorn of non-Muslims, and depicting them as infidels, ritually unclean, et cetera. We still study these things to our present day in this expired university, which today transformed into pastures and fertile grazing land for religious extremists. Hundreds of those extremists are affiliated with this university, and they graduate from it carrying Al-Azhar diplomas. The West views Al-Azhar University as being the correct referential for moderate Islamic thought, while at the same time they are ignorant of many facts on this university that is considered to be a tool for sowing sedition, and for spreading vice among the sons of Egypt.

In the end, I hope to hear an echo of what I wrote, and that these words do not go unheeded. I hope what I wrote will be taken in consideration, so we can live in an atmosphere prevalent of security and safety among our families, friends, and neighbors in our beloved Egypt. We hope to someday see our beloved Egypt tearing off the garment of sectarian discrimination, and wearing the garment of tolerance. We hope to see it spreading love and peace among people, as it used to in various eras and millennia.

Original (Arabic) text:

جامعة الأزهر …. وسياسة الفصل العنصرى بين الطلبة والطالبات - أغلقوا جامعة الأزهر

الخميس، نوفمبر 11، 2004

كثيرا ما كنت أتسائل عن السبب الذى يدعو جامعة الأزهر الى الاستمرار حتى وقتنا هذا فى سياستها العنصرية بالفصل بين الطلبة والطالبات وذالك بجعل كليات للبنين تابعة للجامعة وكليات أخرى منفصلة عنها للبنات ….. ولكنى أعتقد أننى بالامس … وبالأمس فقط وجدت إجابة شافية لهذا التساؤل.

فأثناء وقوفى بساحة كلية الشريعة والقانون بدمنهور - حيث أدرس - انتظارا لبدء محاضرة وجدت من يقف على مسافة غير بعيدة عنى وهو يحملق فى دفتر تدوين المحاضرات الذى أحملة معى ، فى البداية لم أعرة اهتماما ظنا منى أنة أحد الطلبة الفضوليين المنتشرين عندنا فى الجامعة ، ولكننى وبعد دقائق وجدتة يتجة ناحيتى ويقولى لى وهو يشير الى دفتر المحاضرات : ” هل هذا منظر تضعة على دفتر المحاضرات فى الكلية …. لقد افطرت بسببك فى نهار رمضان ” !!!!! .

تذكرت حينها أننى كنت قد الصقت على الدفتر من الخارج الملصق الخاص ببرنامج مركز الفنون التابع لمكتبة الاسكندرية لهذا الشهر وكانت العروض الخاصة بهذا الشهر عبارة عن بعض الافلام السينيمائية المصرية الاولى ” بدايات السينما الناطقة فى مصر ” وقد وضعت بجانب الجداول الخاصة بالعروض بعض الصور الملتقطة من الافلام التى سوف تشارك فى البرنامج وكان من ضمنها الصورة التى أثارت هذا الطالب وجعلتى يتهمنى بأننى جعلتة يفطر فى نهار رمضان وهى صورة تجمع بين الفنان الراحل محمد عبد الوهاب وممثلة أخرى لا أعرف اسمها كلقطة من فيلم ” الوردة البيضاء ” أحد الافلام المشاركة فى البرنامج .

بعدما سمعت هذا الكلام من هذا الطالب أدركت على الفور السبب الحقيقى الذى جعل ادارة جامعة الازهر تستمر حتى الان فى سياستها القذرة بالفصل العنصرى بين الطلبة والطالبات …. إذ أنة واذا كانت هذة الصورة التى لم يظهر منها الا رأس الممثل والممثلة قد أثارت هذا الطالب حتى جعلتة يفطر فى نهار رمضان فاننا نتوقع أنة فى حالة الغاء نظام الفصل بين الطلبة والطالبات فان جميع طالبات جامعة الازهر سوف يعدن الى بيوتهن من أول يوم وهن يحملن فى أحشائهن أجنة من هؤلاء الطلبة الهائجين جنسيا بفعل سياسة جامعة الأزهر التى من مصلحتها ان تعامل الطلبة بهذة الطريقة المهينة التى لا نعامل بها حيواناتنا الأمر الذى خلق بين طلاب الجامعة شريحة كبيرة من الشواذ جنسيا الأمر الذى أضحى معروفا للجميع ولا يختلف على حجيتة أحد .

لقد أثرت سياسة الفصل العنصرى تلك فى الطلبة تأثيرا كبيرا ، فأصبح طلاب جامعة الأزهر يبحثون فى أى شىء عما يروى غليلهم الجنسى ، فلم يتركوا شيئا يمكن البحث فية عن اى شىء لة دلالة جنسية الا وبحثوا فية ، ولم يتركوا حتى كتب الدراسة والمحاضرات الدراسية .

فنجدهم على سبيل المثال يبحثون فى كتب الفقة بالذات عن أى عبارة تشير الى الجنس او الى الاحوال الجنسية او الى أحكام الزنا والفقة الخاص بالمرأة … ونجدهم يركزون على هذة الاشياء تركيزا شديدا مهملين فى الوقت ذاتة بقية المواد الدراسية الهامة التى لاتطرق موضوعاتها بالضرورة الى هذا الشأن .

أما فى المحاضرات الدراسية فحدث ولا حرج …. فنجدهم فى محاضرات الفقة على وجة الخصوص يحاولون فهم مايقولة المحاضر على ألف وجة ويحاولون جعلة يتطرق الى الموضوعات الجنسية الشائكة وهم فى حالة هياج جنسى شديد وينتظرون محاضرات الفقة هذة على احر من الجمر لكى يشبعوا فيها غرائزهم الجنسية الشاذة بالاستمتاع بما يقولة المحاضر من عبارات جنسية فجة .
أذكر من ذالك محاضرة لأحد الاساتذة المساعدين فى مادة الفقة الشافعى فى الكلية ويدعى اسماعيل عبدالرحمن عشب ، كان يتحدث فيها عن نواقض الوضوء وذكر من ضمنها مس الرجل للمرأة الأجنبية عنة !!!!! ، وحتى يستطيع هذا المحاضر ايصال هذة المعلومة الى أذهان هؤلاء الطلبة المرضى جنسيا قام بشرحها كالتالى :

اذا كنت تقف فى داخل قطار مذدحم وأنت متوضىء ووقفت بجوارك فتاة متبرجة والقطار مذدحم عن آخرة وبعض اعضائك ملتصقة بأعضاء الفتاة فهل ينتقض وضوئك؟!!!! …. فبادرة الطلبة بالتساؤل عن ماهية هذة الأعضاء الملتصقة !!!!! … فسألهم … إذا التصق شعرك بشعرها .. هل ينتقض وضوئك ؟ … فأجابة الطلبة على الفور وهم فى شدة الشوق الى ماسيتلو هذا السؤال من أسئلة … نعم ……..فسألهم … إذا التصق كتفك بكتفها …..هل ينتقض وضوئك ؟…. فأجابة الطلبة أيضا بــ نعم …. فسألهم …. إذا التصق صدرك بصدرها هل ينتقض وضوئك ؟ فأجابة الطلبة أيضا … نعم …. فسألهم … وإذا التصق فخذك بفخذها فهل ينتقض وضوئك ؟ فأجابة الطلبة ونبرة ضحك وعبارات جنسية فجة تتردد داخل القاعة … نعم …. فسألهم أخيرا … فاذا التصق عضوك التناسلى بعضوها …. هل ينتقض وضوئك ؟…. فضجت القاعة بالضحك وبالعبارت الجنسية الفاضحة التى اطلقها الطلاب فى حضور هذا الدكتور الذى لم يتورع عن مشاركتهم فى ضحكهم وسعادتهم بسبب تطرقة الى هذا الموضوع الجنسى .

هذا هو حال الطلبة داخل الجامعة وهذا هو ايضا حال الاساتذة الذين كانوا يدرسون فى يوم من الأيام بين جدرانها …. وقاحة متناهية وتركيز فاضح على الموضوعات الجنسية الفاضحة داخل هذة الجامعة التى يدعون دائما أنها أكبر مرجعية للمسلمين على مستوى العالم …. فإذا كانت أكبر مرجعية فقهية للمسلمين بهذا المستوى من التردى والسفالة فما بالك بالدين الذى يدعون الية ويتمسكون بة …. انة بالضرورة سيكون أشد حقارة واظلاما مما نراة فى هذة الجامعة .

إن جامعة الأزهر هى الجامعة الوحيدة فى مصر التى لاتزال الى الان تمارس هذة السياسة القذرة تجاة طلابها رغبة منها فى تكبير هذة الموضوعات فى عقولهم وجعلهم لايفكرون الا فيها ولا يتصورون وجود علاقة نظيفة بين الفتى والفتاة خارج نطاق الجنس الأمر الذى انعكس على سلوك الطلبة فأصبحوا يتمتعون بحالة من الهيجان الجنسى لمجرد رؤية فتاة تسير أمامهم فى الطريق العام .
فى الماضى كان انتساب شخص للدراسة فى الأزهر شىء يتندر بة وكان علماء الأزهر - من شدة جهلهم للواقع الذى يعيشونة - يضرب بهم المثل فى الغباء والتخلف .

وعندما جاء نابليون الى مصر حاول ان يتندر بعلماء الأزهر فجمعهم فى بيتة وأحضر أحد العلماء الذين جائوا مع حملتة وأخبر علماء الأزهر انة سوف يريهم اختراعا عجيبا .

وانتظر العلماء بفارغ الصبر هذا الاختراع …. فأمرهم هذا العالم الفرنسى - فى حضور نابليون - ان يمسك كل منهم بيد زميلة لكى يكونوا دائرة واحدة متماسكة ثم أحضر حبل طويل ( اتضح فيما بعد انة سلك كهربائى ) وقام بتوصيل طرفة الى يد الشيخ الازهرى الذى يقف فى مواجهتة وسرت فى الجميع رعشة كهربية مصدرها السلك ( فى الوقت الذى لم يكن هؤلاء العلماء يعلمون شيئا عن هذة المخترعات ) الأمر الذى جعلهم يرتعدون ظنا منهم ان مايفعلة بهم الفرنسيون ضربا من السحر والشعوذة .

اما فى وقتنا الحاضر ، فأصبحت صفة الأزهرى تضاف الى كل من يلاحظ الناس هياجة الجنسى الشديد نتيجة الكبت الواقع علية من أية جهة …. فهل لا زال علماء الأزهر وشيوخة متمسكون الى هذة الدرجة بما درجوا علية من كبت جنسى للطلاب والطالبات استحال الى حالات فجور علنى وصارخ تمارس خارج اسوار الجامعة بصورة لا حضارية ؟!!!.

ان جامعة الأزهر - لمن لايعلم - هى أحد الأسباب الرئيسية التى تقوى النزعة الطائفية بين ابناء الوطن الواحد فى مصر …. فكما يعلم الجميع ان مصر تتألف من طائفتين عرقيتين كبيرتين هما الأقباط المسلمون والأقباط المسيحيون ( اعنى بالأقباط هنا المصريون اذ ان كلمة قبطى تعنى باللغة المصرية القديمة مصرى ) وكما هو معروف فإن جامعة الأزهر تتخذ سياسة عنصرية شديدة التعصب فيما يتعلق بقبول الطلاب بها ، فهى لاتقبل بين طلابها الا المسلمون حتى لو رغب الطالب المسيحى فى دراسة العلوم الاسلامية فانها لاتقبلة طالبا فيها .

فإذا اردنا - حقا - أن نلغى الفروق الطائفية تماما بين ابناء مصر فعلينا أن نقوم بأحد أمرين هامين : فإما ان نقوم باغلاق جامعة الأزهر لأنها الجامعة الوحيدة فى مصر التى تشجع على زيادة الفروق الطائفية والعرقية بين أبناء الوطن الواحد وذالك بعدم قبولها للطلاب غير المسلمين فيها من ناحية وكذالك تدريسها للمواد الدينية الاسلامية التى تحرض على كراهية غير المسلمين وعداوتهم ومعاملتهم بطريقة مهينة من ناحية أخرى .

وإما ان نقوم بضم هذة الجامعة الى وزارة التعليم العالى والغاء صفة الجامعة الدينية منها وتحويلها الى جامعة علمانية تقبل جميع الطلاب على اختلاف مللهم ونحلهم دون اعطاء اى اعتبار لاختلاف الأديان فيها واغلاق الكليات الدينية الموجودة بها وتحويلها الى كليات لتدريس العلوم الحديثة التى يصر الأزهر حتى يومنا هذا على حرمان بعض طلابة من دراستها ، وكذالك نراعى فى الاطار ذاتة الغاء سياسة التفرقة العنصرية على اساس الجنس بين الطلبة والطالبات بضم جميع الطلاب فى كليات واحدة أسوة بجميع الجامعات الأخرى فى مصر والعالم ، فى الوقت ذاتة نطالب بحل جميع التنظيمات الاسلامية المتشددة الموجودة داخل الجامعة والمعترف بها من قبل ادارة الجامعة كتنظيم ” جيل النصر المنشود ” المتطرف وحتى لا يتحول طلبة فى يوم من الأيام الى مقاتلين متطرفين كما تحول قبل ذالك طلبة كلية الشريعة فى كابول الى تنظيم ” حركة طالبان ” الذى سيطر بأفكارة الشاذة الرجعية على افغانستان .

اننى اطالب المسؤلين فى الحكومة المصرية باتخاذ الاجراءات اللازمة لحماية الشباب المصرى من انتشار الافكار الدينية الهدامة بينهم بالغاء المؤسسات الدينية الغاءا نهائيا من البلاد حتى لاتطغى نبرة الكراهية والحقد الطائفى الذى تذيد نارة أوارا مايدرسة طلبة الأزهر من اشياء تحرض على كراهية غير المسلمين والاحتقار من شأنهم ووصفهم بأنهم كفار وبأنهم أنجاس الى اخر هذة الاشياء التى لانزال ندرسها الى يومنا هذا فى هذة الجامعة التى أكل الزمان عليها وشرب وتحولت فى أيامنا هذة الى مراتع ومراع خصبة للمتطرفين دينيا الذين ينتسبون بالمئات الى هذة الجامعة ويتخرجون وهم يحملون شهادات جامعة الأزهر والذى ينظر اليها الغرب على أنها المرجعية الصحيحة للفكر الإسلامى المعتدل فى الوقت الذى يجهلون فية الكثير من الحقائق عن هذة الجامعة التى تعتبر اداة لزرع الفتنة ونشر الرذيلة بين ابناء مصر.

ختاما، أتمنى أن أجد صدى لما كتبتة وأن لا يذهب هذا الكلام أدراج الرياح وأن يأخذ بعين الاعتبار كى نعيش فى جو يسودة الأمن والأمان بين اهلينا وأصدقائنا وجيراننا فى مصرنا الحبية التى نتمنى ان نراها يوما ما وقد خلعت رداء العنصرية الطائفية وارتدت رداء التسامح ونشر الحب والسلام بين الناس كعهدها فى مختلف العصور والدهور.

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Very chilling. There are really no words. We have translated his story below.

Notes:
• The article below is an English translation of a blog entry Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman (alias: Kareem Amer) published on May 7, 2006, approximately two months after his expulsion from Al-Azhar University.
• The original text can be found below, or at his blog.
• This translation was produced by the Free Kareem Coalition, an interfaith alliance of young bloggers and college students committed to the principles of freedom of thought and freedom of speech.
• Distribution of this translation is encouraged.

An Adobe PDF file of this translation is available for distribution: Get PDF version here.

The University of Terrorism… And An Exposed Security Connivance

By Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman (Kareem Amer)
Sunday, May 7, 2006

I was not surprised when some security bureaus announced that one of those who executed the recent Sinai Peninsula bombings was an Al-Azhar University student from the Faculty of The Fundamentals of Religion. I am well aware that this university is one of Egypt’s important producers of terrorism through its academic curricula, with which it strongly fills students’ minds, and so turns them into human monsters that do not hesitate to harm whoever announces his disagreement with them. This is because their curricula have taught them – in all simplicity – that those who differ from them do not have a place in this life.

Until not long ago, I used to know about this in a purely theoretical manner, without entering into the midst of a practical experience with the university’s students or teachers from the field of material terrorism. Until a few hours before writing these lines, I did not expect to face a violent terrorist operation by those who study at that university, because generalization is harmful in all cases. Just as evil is present, so is good, even if in a quasi minimal state.

This unconsciousness continued to afflict me successively until this morning. I headed off to pick up my papers from the faculty; I was expelled from it by the decision of a disciplinary board about two months ago for freely expressing my opinions. From the moment I entered the door, I felt gazes of wreak and revenge in the eyes of every one who saw and recognized me. When I went to the student affairs office to request my papers, they asked me to wait for a short while because the employee in charge will be present soon.

During the sting of waiting, I decided to take a stroll in the faculty because it could be my last, and I could bid farewell to this ruined nest in which I tasted calamities during my years of studying in it. Once I passed in front of the door, a police assistant guarding the faculty sent to me some of his affiliates, who ordered me to head to the security cabin. I accompanied them, and was surprised with the aforementioned police assistant requesting that I leave the faculty because I’m not allowed to enter it.

I was shocked at this request. I told him that I did not come here wearing an explosives belt around my waist to blow up this place, but rather to pick up my papers because of my expulsion. He said that the employee in charge is absent today, even though I was told by some student affairs office employees that he would be coming in a short while.

Some security officials, including one in civilian clothes, were standing in the room during our quarrel. Students thronged in front of the door, and stared at me with their eyes as though they had found a rare archaeological masterpiece. One of the students shouted at me in an exaggeratingly angry manner, “Are you the one who wrote what’s being attributed to you?” I asked him to get away from me because I was not in a state that permitted me to engage in a discussion.

After the police assistant made some phone calls within the faculty, he informed me that my file was at the Legal Affairs office in Cairo to confirm the decision to expel me, and that I have to call the faculty from time to time before coming in order to learn whether the file had returned to its headquarters. I obtained from him the phone number, and then walked out of the faculty through the door designated for students.

The violent phase of this Azhar-shaped University’s farce did not begin when I glimpsed at the security official, who was inside, coming toward me with a cylindrical-shaped stick in his hand. At first, he took my hand under one of his arms and asked me to sit with him someplace to discuss something with me. Realizing the danger of this situation, I stripped my hand from under his shoulder and told him that I was in a rush, and that I needed to hurry home. However, he violently pulled me by my clothes, so I ran like the wind toward the back door of the faculty that I had originally exited from.

A university guard glimpsed at me and instantly told me to stay away because I’m prohibited from entering. I asked him, “Do you know what was about to happen to me?” He literally responded, “I know… But I did not see anything!”

At that moment, I clung to the door and asked them to bring me a taxi, because I could not leave under these circumstances. I waited for some time until the police assistant accepted my request. I accompanied him to the public street so I can wait with him to take any taxi ride to the bus stop at the west of the Nile Delta, and from there I would go to Alexandria. However, he asked me to take any other transportation means, and I refused because I couldn’t guarantee what might happen inside the vehicle. He told me, “We do not work for your parents,” and left me in front of the door.

I did not wait for long before I found a taxi coming toward me. I stopped it and asked the driver to take me to the bus stop. A student sat beside the driver, so I had to sit in the back seat of the car. The driver barely drove away from the faculty door when I found that about twenty students had surrounded the car from all sides, and with them was the security official who was dressed in civilian clothes. In their hands, I saw white weapons [knives], leather belts, and sticks. After forcing the driver to stop, they opened the back doors and forcibly attempted to get me out of the car, but I held onto my seat. They were threatening to kill me in a manner that I had not expected from students who have supposedly been receiving their education in a university. The other student then left the car, and the driver managed to escape them with difficulty. He asked me to get out of the car after driving a large distance from them.

I left the car and ran a sufficient distance from the source of danger, which seconds ago was about to have me killed. I rode another taxi, which took me to my destination. I returned safely, but with some minor scratches and bruises on my feet as a result of what happened with me.

I found myself enquiring: What did I commit so I would face such attacks? Is my mere disagreement with prevalent ideas a matter that requires attacking me and trying to kill me?!

It causes me grief when I find these youths being brainwashed in this manner, transforming into people who harm others for their mere disagreement with them in some of their points of view!

It causes us pity to find that one of our universities is turning into an institution for graduating all kinds of terrorists!

It causes us to cry, be grieved, and be struck with frustration to find ourselves threatened with death. Not because we kill. Not because we loot others’ property. Not because we transgress the limits of our freedom. But because we think!

Al-Azhar University does not move a muscle when one of its students blows himself up, or heads off to kill the defenceless innocents. Yet, it raises hell when one of its students has an independent, bold, and free opinion!

Today, and only today, I have realized the truth of the security forces’ connivance with religious extremism in Egypt. I learnt well how the regime lives on this terrorism, and that its existence is based on the existence of extremist groups, and the extremist (Al Azhar) university as well. This regime’s disappearance is necessarily coupled with their disappearance.

Original (Arabic) text:

Other translations: What Kareem Said.

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Giovanni, manager of theViewPoint.org and dalMondo.info, has kindly provided an Italian translation of one of Kareem’s blog articles: Non c’è altra divinità se non l’essere umano.

You can read our English translation here: There Is No Deity but the Human Being. Translations of more of his writings are available on our What Kareem Said page.

Lunedì 11 settembre 2006
Non c’è altra divinità se non l’essere umano

È sensato parlare di “restrizioni” alla libertà? Questa domanda mi assale ogni volta che mi imbatto in presunti sostenitori del liberalismo in Medio Oriente e li sento contraddirsi per evitare di scontrarsi con il pensiero corrente, e raccogliere consensi senza prendere in alcun modo in considerazione il significato assoluto del principio cui si appellano. Principio che, ovviamente, contraddice i principi della società ed i valori che ha ereditato.

La libertà, per come l’ho imparata, l’ho capita, e per come la intendo, è la liberazione dell’essere umano da tutti gli orpelli che lo opprimono. La schiavitù, che ne costituisce l’antitesi, rappresenta la sottomissione dell’essere umano a restrizioni poste con lo scopo di controllare lui e la sua vita. Dove vi sono restrizioni non vi è libertà, e dove vi è libertà, non vi sono restrizioni.
Tutto questo è evidente e non ha bisogno di prove pratiche, ed è illogico obiettare che devono essere presi in considerazione i valori della società o i credo religiosi. O prendiamo come nostro fine la libertà assoluta, oppure è meglio essere onesti con noi stessi ed ammettere di odiare e rifiutare la libertà, e di preferirle l’imposizione di regole e restrizioni.

Il rifiuto di limitazioni alla libertà non significa che l’essere umano deve poter fare tutto ciò che è in suo potere fare. Se io sono forte, ciò non significa che devo essere libero di soggiogare chi è più debole. Perché uno dei principi fondamentali, quando si parla di libertà, è non violare la libertà altrui; in questo modo la libertà acquista un significato, e non è semplicemente una giustificazione per le azioni di coloro che, con la forza, sottomettono altri. La libertà, associata alla responsabilità, è un diritto per tutti gli esseri umani, senza alcuna distinzione, e per avere un quadro realistico di questo diritto, ogni singolo individuo deve rispettare la libertà altrui, e non limitarla. È compito della legge organizzare questi aspetti, e fare in modo che ogni individuo non violi la libertà altrui nel nome della “libertà”.

Il che ci porta ad un punto importante: la funzione fondamentale della legge è di organizzare le relazioni tra gli individui all’interno della società, e di proteggere la loro libertà dallo sfruttamento o dalla restrizione. I legislatori hanno quindi il diritto di imporre ad altri – alla libertà di altri esseri umani – limitazioni ulteriori, che non hanno nulla a che vedere con la necessità di evitare la violazione della libertà altrui?

Ad esempio: la legge può stabilire che è criminale un atto che non ha effetti al di fuori della vita privata di un uomo? Ed è ammissibile imporre per legge ai cittadini degli obblighi che, di fatto, limitano la loro libertà personale?

Credo che questi aspetti non rientrino negli scopi per i quali la legge è stata creata e, di conseguenza, questa può essere considerata una deviazione dal suo scopo originario, ossia la protezione della libertà degli individui. E così, da strumento di protezione della libertà individuale ne diventa una restrizione, senza alcun beneficio se non la sottomissione dell’individuo al bene di una nuova organizzazione sociale, che onora la legge più di quanto onori l’uomo (la divinità).

L’essere umano viene prima della costituzione dell’organizzazione sociale, e la necessità di costituirsi in una società ha comportato la nascita della legge. E come si sa, una delle più importanti funzioni dell’organizzazione sociale è proteggere, con la legge, l’integrità dei diritti dei singoli individui. Pertanto, è l’individuo –che precede la legge – che deve essere onorato e rispettato, e non la legge (che viene dopo), e che dovrebbe proteggere i diritti degli individui, non limitarli.

Indipendentemente dal fatto che questa legge si basi sulle tradizioni, sulla religione, o su di un approccio positivista, non può in alcun caso dominare l’essere umano, e porsi come un fardello suo suoi desideri e sui suoi sogni. Le leggi non sono altro che prescrizioni rigide e sorde, mentre l’essere umano è un insieme di emozioni vive che non possono essere sottomesse a questa sorda entità, e noi non abbiamo alcun diritto di soggiogarlo con queste prescrizioni.

In sostanza, dobbiamo risalire alle origini e definire esattamente la funzione della legge nella nostra vita. E, prima ancora, dobbiamo convincere l’essere umano della sua “santità” come individuo, dobbiamo convincerlo che nulla può superarlo in importanza né può stargli davanti. Ne consegue che la legge deve essere a servizio, a protezione e per l’organizzazione della sua vita. Non può essere uno strumento di dominio al quale prostrarsi e rendere onori.

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Blogger Moneer has posted two videos he took inside and outside the March 12 appeals court session for Kareem.

The first video above is quite dim and Kareem is not visible. The judge confirms Kareem’s four-year sentence. Following that, you can hear the prosecuting lawyers’ acclamations and chants of “Allahu akbar!” (English: “Allah is the greatest!”)

You can also see his father about 22 seconds into the video. In addition, about 45 seconds into the video, a woman, possibly a relative of Kareem’s, seems to be wailing and approaching him at the prisoners’ cage.

The second video shows Kareem being escorted to the prisoners’ vehicle. He is dressed in blue prisoner clothing and his head has been shaved.

Moneer also blogs on his experience and feelings from the court session that day: The Darkest Day in Freedom’s History (in Arabic).

After the judge ended the session, I heard acclamations and takbirs [“Allah is the greatest!”]. As for me, I wanted to cry. Yes, I swear I wanted to cry, I was frustrated…

I exited the courtroom, and I saw the [prosecuting] lawyer [Mohamed Dawoud] and his colleagues… I heard them happily say, “Very beautiful years!” [expression of mockery]… As I went down the stairs, I tried holding the tears from my eyes. I became frightened; I don’t feel safe in a country that punishes people for their words. Tomorrow they will punish us for our dreams and thoughts…

Below are some of the pictures he has taken. You can find other pictures on his blog post.

Kareem’s father is searching for his son’s name on the list of sessions to be held that day.

Kareem’s father, along with others interested in the case, waits for the session.

Islamist prosecuting lawyer Mohamed Dawoud, who has lead the prosecution and who previously declared that he is waging a jihad on Kareem.

Prosecuting lawyers are attacking Kareem’s pro bono publico lawyers. The lawyers got engaged in a ‘shouting match’ after one of them shouted to a member of the defense team that he is an “infidel”.

Defense lawyer Ahmad Saif (left), the head of the lawyers of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center who represent Kareem.

This prosecuting lawyer threatened Moneer to have his camera confiscated after his camera caught him and his colleagues attacking the defense lawyers.

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Notes:
• The article below is an English translation of an article Kareem Amer published on his blog on October 22, 2005, the day following the Alexandria riots that occurred in Moharram Bek (Maharram Beh).
• Kareem was arrested for this article in the same month. He was held for 18 days, then released on November 13 with the help of human rights groups.
• The original Arabic text can be found below, or at his blog.
• This translation was produced by J. Ahmed Salib.

DISCLAIMER: The creators of the Free Kareem campaign would like to stress the fact that they do not agree with the contents of this article.

The Naked Truth about Islam As I Saw It In Maharram Beh

By Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman (Kareem Amer)
Saturday, October 22, 2005

The Muslims have taken the mask off to show their true hateful face, and they have shown the world that they are at the top of their brutality, inhumanity, and thievery. They have clearly shown their worst features and have shown that in dealing with others they are not governed by any moral codes.

From what I have seen yesterday of the events at Maharram Beh, which were quite shameful, and have shown me more facts that they have tried to cover over the centuries.

They have indicated that Islam is a religion of peace and forgiveness, but their true face has been uncovered to show barbarism and thievery and fanaticism and not acknowledging others, and attempting to remove them from existence.

Some may think that the actions of the Moslems does not represent Islam and has no relationship with the teachings of Islam that was brought by Mohamed 14 centuries ago, but the truth is that their actions is not different from the Islamic teachings in its original form when it has urged people to deny others and hate them and kill them and take their property, things that they know well but they try to deceive people by falsely defending the teachings of Islam by extremists and they are hiding from the truth and they prefer living a lie.

I have seen with my own eyes the thugs as they break into our Christian brothers’ stores after the whole area of Maharram Beh was completely out of control of the government authorities, and I saw them as they ransack the contents of the store right and left, amidst cheering and shouting extremist Islamic slogans, and I saw them stealing the money from inside the drawers of the cash registers and splitting it among themselves as if it is justified by being owned by what they call the infidels and the worshippers of the cross.

I saw them break into a liquor store owned by a Coptic merchant Labib Lotfy and I saw them smash everything they can get their dirty hands on, including the refrigerator and the scale and the boxes and liquor bottles. I saw some of them stealing liquor bottles so they can get drunk after a hard day’s work against the Coptic infidels.

It is worth mentioning that although some people may think that this Christian-owned liquor store was particularly targeted because the owner is selling the forbidden alcoholic beverages that is forbidden in Islam, but another liquor store in front of the Christian-owned store happens to be owned by a Moslem merchant, and none of the thugs dared to attack, as they did with the Christian-owned store. Now you can see the hateful sectarian actions.

What the Moslems did yesterday in a very vulgar and criminal and horrible way proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that they don’t acknowledge others or their rights of existence or their rights to live with the freedom of expression and also consider them less than them, and these actions should be fought and exterminated for is it right to leave these horrible human beings to do what they want and kill, destroy, steal, and burn??!!

The Islamic teachings that was brought by Mohammed 14 centuries ago should be faced with courage and boldness, we should expose and show its faults and warn humanity of its dangers. We should, even though we are different –look with reason to these teachings that urges people, human beings, to become monsters that don’t know anything in life except killing and looting and plundering and raping and pillaging.

We should stand courageously and boldly against these teachings that became a plague on humanity and is not supported except by extremists like bin Laden and al Zarqawi and al Zawaheeri and the thugs that assaulted our Coptic brothers and burned their homes and stole their properties, and tried to assault their religious men and destroy their churches.

We should take off the religious and sectarian gown and look at matters in a more humane way. We should hold trials to all the acts of terrorism and extremism, that our Islamic history have kept their names and their criminal actions starting with Mohamed ibn Abdullah and his company of murderers like Khalid ibn el Waled and Omar ibn el Khattab and Saad ibn Abbi Waqqas and Moiizah Bin Shaabah and Samra bin Gandab and the kings of Beni Ummaya and Beni al Abbass and al Osman, and ending with the Moslem criminals of the modern day that became more famous than movie stars and singers.

We should show the world the truth of these criminals that unfortunately have become role models for our youth and our children and our women. We should expose their false teachings and show the world that they are a big danger that should be exterminated and removed from its roots.

Before you put on trial the people that are responsible for the crimes that occurred on Black Friday in Maharram Beh, you should first put on trial the dirty teachings that caused them to go on a rampage of stealing and plundering and looting.. put Islam on trial and sentence it and its symbols with a figurative execution so that you can be sure that what happened yesterday will never be repeated again.

For as long as Islam exists on this planet all your efforts to end wars and disputes and upheavals will fail because Islam’s dirty finger will be found behind every catastrophic event to humanity.

Original (Arabic) text:

More translations available here: What Kareem Said.

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Portuguese translation of our latest press release. Thanks Andrew!

CONFIRMADA PENA DE PRISÃO PARA BLOGGER EGÍPCIO
12 de Março de 2007

NOVA IORQUE— A Free Kareem Coalition lamenta a decisão do tribunal de recurso egípcio de confirmar a pena de prisão de quatro anos a que foi condenado em Fevereiro Abdul Kareem Nabil Suleiman, mais conhecido por Kareem Amer, por criticar o governo egípcio e condenar o extremismo islâmico. Solicitamos ao presidente egípcio Hosni Mubarak que indulte Kareem assim que possível.

De acordo com o coordenador de Nova Iorque da Free Kareem Coalition, Constantino Diaz-Duran, “o prolongamento do encarceramento de Kareem vai servir apenas para gerar mais atenção negativa para o registo do Egipto em termos de direitos humanos, que foi recentemente criticado, entre outras organizações, pelo Departamento de Estado dos Estados Unidos, pelos Repórteres Sem Fronteiras, pela Amnistia Internacional e pela Human Rights Watch”. O governo do Egipto ofereceu-se para receber o Internet Governance Forum das Nações Unidas em 2009. “A libertação imediata de Kareem mostraria à comunidade internacional que o Egipto está disposto a respeitar a liberdade de expressão e que lhe pode ser confiado um papel no desenho do futuro da Internet”, afirmou Mohammed Shouman, o coordenador da Free Kareem Coalition no Canadá.

Kareem está preso em Alexandria, no Egipto, desde Novembro de 2006. Foi-lhe negado o acesso a visitas e à sua própria equipa de defesa legal e a sua família condenou-o publicamente. Dado que os prisioneiros egípcios dependem dos seus familiares para lhes fornecer roupa e comida, Kareem enfrenta condições extremamente duras sem o seu apoio. A Free Kareem Coalition está a liderar esforços para assegurar que roupa e comida são entregues a Kareem enquanto ele aguarda a sua libertação. Donativos para o fundo destinado e estes esforços podem ser feitas via PayPal no site www.FreeKareem.org.

Os apoiantes de Kareem podem também expresser a sua solidariedade nesta causa comprando t-shirts e outros materiais com a inscrição “Free Kareem” no site www.FreeKareem.org. Uma parte de cada venda contribuirá para o fundo de auxílio a Kareem.

O membro da Free Kareem Coalition, Chris Kilmer acrescentou que, “embora as notícias de hoje sejam claramente frustrantes, acreditamos que os esforços continuados dos apoiantes de todo o mundo podem ser decisivos para ajudar o Kareem”.

Contactos da Free Kareem Coalition para os media:

Mohammed Shouman, Coordenador no Canadá
editor@freekareem.org

Constantino Diaz-Duran, Coordenador em Nova Iorque
constantino@freekareem.org
+1.202.288.3328

Andrew Perraut, Coordenador em Londres.
andrew.perraut@freekareem.org

A Free Kareem Coalition é uma aliança inter-religiosa de jovens bloggers e estudantes universitários dedicados à defesa dos princípios da liberdade de pensamento e da liberdade de expressão.

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Abdul-Mon’em Mahmoud, a journalist for the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan), is against imprisoning Kareem, despite his disagreement with his views. (Hat tip: Yaman).

He writes in his Ana Ikhwan journal (translated to English):

I disagree with Abdul Kareem Amer’s views. However, I do not disagree, at all, that the his security treatment and punishment for his personal opinions… I do not disagree at all that this security practice is unjust towards a youth in the prime of his life. Punishing him, or punishing others having their opinions, will not succeed in changing their ideas.

[…]

The regime does not care about religion to rise up in defense of it. Rather, it cares about shutting up any person who tries to speak or express his opinions.

Bravo!

You can join the debate at his comments section, or at our forum.

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Shortly after Kareem was sentenced to prison on February 22, the Foreign Minister of Egypt told the world he doesn’t care about the global outrage caused by chasing a harmless blogger: القاهرة تستنكر ردود الأفعال على الحكم بسجن مدون. (Hat tip: Ahmed)

We’ve translated the Arabic Al-Jazeera article:

Cairo Condemns Reactions to Sentencing Blogger to Prison

PHOTO: Ahmed Abul-Gheit considers criticism of Abdul Kareem Suleiman’s sentence as interference in the judiciary system.

Egypt strongly criticized the reactions to condemning an Egyptian blogger, who owns a Web site, on charges of attacking Islam and President Hosni Mubarak, and to imprisoning him for four years.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit issued a statement rejecting the intervention of anyone, “whoever he may be”, in the work of the Egyptian judiciary, or anyone commenting on its provisions.

Abul-Gheit also said that Egypt rejects the positions of “some media outlets and non-governmental organizations abroad”, expressing Egypt’s “strong displeasure and dismay” for that.

A court in Alexandria, in northern Egypt, sentenced Abdul Kareem Suleiman to four years in prison under the charges of contempt of the Islamic religion and insulting President Mubarak.

The Moharram Bek Misdemeanor Court sentenced the defendant to three years in prison under the charge of contempt of Islam, and one year under the charge of insulting the President. Suleiman was a student at Al-Azhar University, which expelled him last year and demanded having him tried. He is the first Egyptian blogger to be issued a prison sentence.

U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said he is “very concerned” about the prison sentence that was imposed on blogger Abdul Kareem Suleiman for expressing his opinions. In addition, foreign human rights organizations, as well as Egyptian organizations, such as the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, have denounced the sentence.

Eight Articles

Suleiman wrote his articles under the pen name Kareem Amer. He was tried because of eight articles that he published on his blog, in which he strongly criticized Al-Azhar University, which he described as a “university of terrorism and spreading extremist ideas”.

Furthermore, in one of these articles, he strongly criticized Mubarak, equating him with “pharaonic dictators”. In another article entitled “The Naked Truth of Islam as I Saw It”, Suleiman talked about the sectarian confrontations that occurred in Alexandria in 2005, accusing it of inciting sedition and tarnishing the image of Muslims.

Held since last November, Suleiman did not deny writing these articles, but he said that they only reflected his personal opinions. The defense team asserted that he would appeal against the sentence, describing the trial as unjust.

Mr. Abul-Gheit is wondering why the outside world seems to be so concerned about the judicial branch of sovereign Egypt.

Albeit being anachronistic, an eloquent response was written by Kareem Amer himself, shortly before his arrest:

I hereby declare, in all frankness and clarity, my rejection and repudiation of any law, any legislation, and any regime that does not respect the individual’s rights and personal freedom, and does not acknowledge the absolute freedom of the individual in doing anything – as long as he does not affect anyone around him in a physical way –, and does not acknowledge the individuals’ absolute freedom in expressing their opinions, whatever they may be and whatever they cover, as long as this opinion is merely an opinion or words coming from a person, and is not coupled with any physical action that harms others. At the same time, I declare, in all clarity, that such laws do not obligate me in any way, and I do not acknowledge them or their existence. I detest, from the depths of my soul, whoever works on implementing them, whoever uses them as a guide, and whoever is satisfied with their existence or benefits from them. And if these laws are forced upon us, and we have no power or strength in changing them because that is in the hands of those in power with agendas, who are more than satisfied for the existence of such laws and are making use of it: Nevertheless, all of this will not push me into submission, or into waiting for relief and appeasement.

I hereby declare that I do not acknowledge the legitimacy of my summons to investigate a matter like this, which is within the realm of my freedom to express my opinions. This freedom was stipulated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Egypt has supposedly signed. Moreover, setting this declaration aside, and even if it did not exist, and even if Egypt did not sign it, human rights are very self-evident matters that do not require legislations or laws to regulate them or to define their essence.

UPDATE: (April 11, 2007)
An Italian translation of the article is now available here!

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Notes:
• The article below is an English translation of the final entry Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman (alias: Kareem Amer) published on his blog on October 28, 2006, prior to his arrest.
• Kareem was interrogated two days later, and was arrested on November 6, 2006.
• The original text can be found below, or at his blog.
• This translation was produced by the Free Kareem Coalition, an interfaith alliance of young bloggers and college students committed to the principles of freedom of thought and freedom of speech.
• Distribution of this translation is encouraged.

An Adobe PDF file of this translation is available for distribution: Get PDF version here.

Your Blessings, O Azhar!

By Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman (Kareem Amer)
Saturday, October 28, 2006

The human being might be forced to be connected to something, and he would find himself incapable of getting rid of it in spite of his rejection and hatred of it. However, a defining moment might come when he will be granted the opportunity to get rid of this heavy connection forever, without any results or side effects to follow.

It is rare for the separation from this thing to be accompanied with quasi-harsh or undesirable results. Nevertheless, it is a matter that may occur, and an example of that is what is happening with me and what I am facing these days.

I joined Al-Azhar to study in accordance with my parents’ desires. In spite of my complete rejection of Al-Azhar and religious thought (at a subsequent time), and despite my writings that strongly criticize religion’s infiltration into the public life, its control over human beings’ behavior and dealings with each other, and its directing them in conduct, getting rid of these fetters, which were in the form of my (formerly) being a student at Al-Azhar University, was not something easy or trivial as I had envisioned it would be.

When I obtained my freedom in the form of a final expulsion paper from the university last March, I had envisioned that these issues had ended at this point, and that obtaining this document was tantamount to my liberation from Al-Azhar University’s capture and its authoritarianism, first on its students’ lives, then on society members and on life in our country in varying degrees. I ignored what the Al-Gomhuria newspaper published regarding a copy of the investigation papers from my disciplinary board session – which I did not sign for reasons personal to me – being sent to the Public Prosecutor. I also ignored the university administration’s unpublicized refusal of handing me my file. I let life run as it is without engrossing myself in thinking of what might happen after that; this impression was in light of the fact that they had expelled me and hence that gave rest to all of us. I had thought that this was the end of my relationship with them, and I said: Let them keep my file with them. And indeed, I proceeded to apply for new original documents from these on my file, which I was in great need of.

However, it seems that the ‘blessings’ of Al-Azhar to its students cannot be easily erased. They keep pursuing students like a shadow. For instance, a student who obtained the Azharite Secondary Certificate cannot hand in paperwork requesting to study at any public university. I have repeatedly tried to do it this year, and in years before my expulsion, but all my endeavors yielded failure. The mere fact that you have obtained this notorious certificate disqualifies you from studying like other citizens in this country, who differ from you by carrying the General Secondary Certificate!

It also seems that the ‘blessings’ of Al-Azhar to its students are not limited to depriving them of completing their studies far away from it. What had happened, and what will happen to me in the coming days, seriously prove to me that these Azharite ‘blessings’ do not leave a student who tries to rebel against the university, and who attempts to reject what he is forced to study in it – from things that are inconsistent with logic, and that incite to violence against people who differ in creed – until he faces the edge of the grave (just as what was about to happen to me by impetuous students of the Sharia & Law Faculty, who were close to having me killed with their white weapons [knives] in jealousy for the religion of Allah – as one of the higher-level students justified to me at a later time – during last May in front of the faculty. Nevertheless, predestination, which I do not believe in, had written for me a new lease on life, and I managed to escape from their hands), or until he enters the gates of prison. And it seems that this is what I will be facing in the coming days, despite my dislike of rushing to predict future events and to foretell of what is unknown, but I always expect everything that is bad so the truth does not strike me at once.

Several hours ago, a summons reached my house, demanding my presence to appear for an investigation next Monday at the Moharram Bek Prosecutor Office. This is due to the investigations that the Prosecutor is initiating in the case that Al-Azhar raised with me by its intervention in what I write and publish outside its walls, on the free cyberspace that does not acknowledge any authority on what its users publish on it. It seems that the ‘blessings’ of Al-Azhar, which I vainly imagined that I had gotten rid of after I had obtained my liberation document from it, still follow me to this day. The summons by the Prosecutor to investigate me on this matter is one of the manifestations of these ‘blessings’, which do not leave their companion until he is in a situation similar to that of Dr. Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, whose Al-Azhar blessings resulted in a court ruling that separated him from his wife; or in a similar situation to that of Dr. Ahmed Sobhi Mansour, whose Al-Azhar blessings resulted in him going to jail and then being forced to permanently emigrate from the country; or, at best, they leave him in a situation similar to that of Dr. Nawal Al-Saadawi, Ahmed Al-Shahawy, and others whom Al-Azhar has always recommended and recommends the confiscation of their writings, and the prevention of their distribution in the market.

I’m not afraid at all. My happiness that the enemies of free thought deal with me by employing such methods – which only the intellectually bankrupt excel at – make me more confident of myself, more steadfast in my principles, and on readiness to face anything for the sake of expressing my free opinion, without any restrictions imposed on me by governments, religious institutions, or even the totalitarian society, whose continuation serves these vile methods that the enemies of thought and the hobbyists of drugging, either by religion or by drugs, are no good at employing.

The mere existence of legal provisions that criminalize freedom of thought, and punish to prison whoever criticizes religion in any way, is considered to be a grave defect in the law. The law was supposed to be founded to regulate the relationships of the individuals in the society, not for suppressing their freedom for the benefit of religion, the law itself, or the social order. The human being – the individual – is the first, and his existence preceded everything. On that basis, criminalizing the human being for criticizing the social order, religion, or authority – which are things that came following the appearance of the first human being – is considered to be a grave defect in these laws. Such laws greatly transgress their powers to intervene in matters pertaining to the freedom of the personal individual, which is the sanctified area that no human being, regardless of who he is, has the right to transgress.

I hereby declare, in all frankness and clarity, my rejection and repudiation of any law, any legislation, and any regime that does not respect the individual’s rights and personal freedom, and does not acknowledge the absolute freedom of the individual in doing anything – as long as he does not affect anyone around him in a physical way –, and does not acknowledge the individuals’ absolute freedom in expressing their opinions, whatever they may be and whatever they cover, as long as this opinion is merely an opinion or words coming from a person, and is not coupled with any physical action that harms others. At the same time, I declare, in all clarity, that such laws do not obligate me in any way, and I do not acknowledge them or their existence. I detest, from the depths of my soul, whoever works on implementing them, whoever uses them as a guide, and whoever is satisfied with their existence or benefits from them. And if these laws are forced upon us, and we have no power or strength in changing them because that is in the hands of those in power with agendas, who are more than satisfied for the existence of such laws and are making use of it: Nevertheless, all of this will not push me into submission, or into waiting for relief and appeasement.

I hereby declare that I do not acknowledge the legitimacy of my summons to investigate a matter like this, which is within the realm of my freedom to express my opinions. This freedom was stipulated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Egypt has supposedly signed. Moreover, setting this declaration aside, and even if it did not exist, and even if Egypt did not sign it, human rights are very self-evident matters that do not require legislations or laws to regulate them or to define their essence.

To every gloating and spiteful person among those who envision that the likes of these primitive measures might change my positions, affect me, or force me to stray from walking in the path that I have set for myself, I say: Die in your rage and hide in your burrows. I shall not recant, not even by an inch, from any word I have written. These restrictions will not preclude my dream of obtaining my freedom, for that has been my wish ever since I was a child, and it will continue to run in my imagination in endlessness.

And to Al-Azhar University, its professors, and its Islamic scholars, who stood and are still standing against anyone who thinks in a free manner, far away from their metaphysical aspects and superstitions, I say: You will end up in the junkyard of history, and when that time comes, you will not find anyone to cry over you. Rest assured that your grasp will disappear as has happened with others like you. Happy is he who took advice from others!

Original (Arabic) text:

Previous translation: Kareem Amer: “There Is No Deity but the Human Being”.

UPDATE: (April 15, 2007)
Italian translation available: Italian Translation of Kareem’s Final Blog Post.

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Last week, Metro Holland published an article on the case of Kareem and on the fact that now, for Egyptians and many others throughout the Arab world, the Internet is not the free marketplace of ideas it once was.

The author, Christian Derlagen, has kindly sent us the original Dutch article, accompanied by his English translation. His article is the first major publication on Kareem Amer’s case in Dutch.

Metro Holland has a daily production of over 500,000 copies, reaching around one million readers. Thank you, Christian!

You can view the original article on the sixth page of the February 28 edition of Metro Holland: Bloggen is misdaad in Egypte (PDF file).

(There is also a reference to the article on the front page.)

A screen shot: (click here for full-scale image)

English translation:

Metro Holland
Wednesday, 28 February 2007

Blogging is a crime in Egypt

For millions of people around the world, the weblog is their podium to express their ideas and opinions to the broader public. But on the internet, the freedom to write what you think does not exist everywhere.

An Egyptian court last week convicted the blogger Abdelkareem Suleiman to four years in prison for ‘insulting the president’ and ‘contempting islam’. After censorship over newspapers, radio and television, now the internet seems to become the new victim of Arab regimes’ desire to exercise full control over the media.

Worried
Though human rights organizations worldwide are worried about further limitations to freedom of speech in the Arab world, Suleiman could not count on too much support in his own country: “Someone who openly speaks out against islam, his life is not safe here.’

The 22-year old blogger, better known under his nickname Kareem Amer, wrote on his blog that president Mubarak’s government is ‘the perfect example of a dictatorial regime’. He labelled the prestigious Islamic Al-Azhar University, where he studied law, as ‘racist’. Consequently, the blogger was not only expelled from university, but the institution also filed a complaint with the Egyptian authorities. Amer is imprisoned in the Alexandria jail since his arrest, last November.

Sharia
The court ruling came as a slap in the face of Dalia Ziada, a 26-year old blogger and human rights activist of the Arabic Network for Human Rights in Cairo. “This means that we are not free what we want to say on our websites”, says Ziada, who followed the case from the beginning. “The judge is not independent and is under full control of the government. It is a terrible time for freedom of speech in Egypt.”
The reaction of Amer’s dad has also shocked her. A few days before the court session, he said in an interview with an Egyptian newspaper that his son, in line with the sharia, should be killed now he had fallen off his faith. Amer has also received hundreds of death threats in his electronic mailbox, because he would have insulted the prophet Mohammed with his criticism on Islam.

Censorship
Freedom of speech is under serious pressure, and not only in Egypt. Other Arab states too, such as Tunisia, Syria and Saudi-Arabia, censor newspapers, radio and television. Information that is critical on the ruling governments is blocked even before it is printed or broadcasted. Because the internet seemed to offer more freedom, there is now a large community of young, critical webloggers in the Arab world. But out of fear for the regimes’ security authorities, these bloggers usually do not reveal their real names. Amer was the exception to this rule.

With Kareem Amer’s verdict, the Egyptian government seems to give a warning: Egyptian should be careful with what they say, also in cyberspace. But bloggers in Egypt seem more resilient than ever when it comes to defending freedom of speech. As a colleague of Amer said after the ruling: “The government should not think that it has won and that I will stop saying what I think. I will not stop to criticize the government of president Mubarak and his regime, and I will also continue to reveal all human rights violations in Egypt.”

Christian Derlagen
Metro-reporter

He looks exhausted, doesn’t he?

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