It isn’t just insulting Islam itself that the Muslim reactionaries in Egypt and elsewhere want banned. Or rather, it is, but they think criticizing them is blasphemy too. A group of Islamists in Egypt have filed a legal complaint over a reform politician daring to criticize them in public:
A complaint was filed with the prosecutor general on Sunday by forty Egyptian lawyers, accusing renowned reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei of offending Islamists, of being against Islamic sharia law and of having insulted prominent Islamist preachers…
The complaint claims that ElBaradei, during a press conference held on Friday in Aswan, Upper Egypt, described some religious preachers as “clowns” and “merchants of religion”.
Imagine that. That’s about the mildest thing you can say about these religious and political theo-fascists.
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Ace of Sevens
November 14, 2012 at 12:35 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I would imagine not.
dingojack
November 14, 2012 at 12:49 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
‘Islamist clowns’ – a more solid justification for coulrophobia would hard to imagine…
;) Dingo
Bronze Dog
November 14, 2012 at 12:55 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’ve seen a similar thing with Christian fundies. When a moderate/liberal/secular Christian (or anyone, for that matter) mildly criticizes a fundie preacher, it gets spun into an attempt to destroy the Christian religion and an infringement on their freedom of religion.
daved
November 14, 2012 at 1:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ed, I don’t think that your first sentence says anything near what you intended it to say.
Marcus Ranum
November 14, 2012 at 1:01 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
they think criticizing them is blasphemy too
Religion as political control. Who’d a thunk it.
grumpyoldfart
November 14, 2012 at 2:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The Muslims will probably win the case. It’s that sort of country.
Funny Diva
November 14, 2012 at 3:38 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Brilliant move, Islamists!
Yes, going after a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (2005, as IAEA Director General) is going to win you a _lot_ of friends, and influence a _lot_ of people to view you more positively.
TCC
November 15, 2012 at 10:41 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
daved: I think you’re parsing it incorrectly. Read it instead as It isn’t just [NP: insulting Islam itself] that the Muslim reactionaries in Egypt and elsewhere want banned. I’m fairly confident that Ed did intend to say that the act of insulting Islam isn’t the only thing that Muslim reactionaries want to ban.
slc1
November 18, 2012 at 5:03 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Even worse, Mohamed ElBaradei actually visited the Zionist entity during his sojourn as head of the IAEA and met with the leaders of that place. Quelle horror!